Why is Self-Care So Important?

A little over a decade ago, I worked 7 days a week, 8 hours a day. I even worked the second job in the evenings a couple of times a week. This went on for three years. I was desperate. Circumstances dictated I take such extreme action, but the cost was enormous. Looking back, I see that I sacrificed so much to survive. My youngest child got involved in drugs because I was never around. My relationships suffered because I did not have the time or energy to give. I was an emotional wreck because I did not know whether I was coming or going. I was reacting to life’s circumstances. My only plan was to put one foot in front of the other and survive the day ahead. I did not know what self-care was, much less practice it. I would work and work and then come home to check-out by watching TV and mentally check out of everything.

I realized, eventually, what I was doing was unsustainable. I realized that I was destroying my health, my personal wellbeing and my relationships. It was not until later that I learned the term “self-care”, but I realized that if I did not prioritize my sanity that I would totally lose myself.

My circumstances required me to make some difficult choices, but I never stopped to be purposeful on how I would take care of myself. Does that sound familiar? Are circumstances dictating your life? I realize, because I lived it, that sometimes we have to take extreme action in our life. But without a plan to take care of yourself, there is a good chance you will end up in an emotional or mental ditch somewhere trying to figure out how you got there in the first place.

We all know we should practice self-care, but why is it so important? Why do we need it? This article will examine why self-care is important.

What Life Looks Like Today

Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. -Dolly Parton

My grandfather was a farmer. He woke up before sunrise. He ate a big breakfast and then worked on the farm until lunch time. After lunch he would go back to work until dinner time. He would then relax for a little bit and go to bed shortly after dark. He did this 6 or 7 days a week. We may look back at this and this and think there was no work-life balance. But let’s compare that to what our modern day lifestyle looks like.

What time did you get up this morning? 5 a.m.? 6 a.m.? 7 a.m.? Did you immediately reach for your phone to catch up on the latest news or social media? Did your feet hit the ground running to get yourself ready for work or to start wrangling children to get them ready for school? Did you stop and take a few minutes to eat breakfast or did you grab something to eat on the way to “save time”?

When you arrived at work did you immediately dive into your emails? The work day was likely one event after another, responding to one fire after another, meeting after meeting, situation after situation. Did you eat lunch at your desk and continue to work? Did you have the opportunity to get outside for 5 minutes to see what the day looked like?

Did you then hurry from work after staying over to pick up your children from school or daycare? Did you rush to an after school activity such as soccer or volleyball? Maybe you then hurried home to eat some semblance of dinner and then work on homework? Did you then engage in the evening fight to get children ready for bed and try to get ready for the next day?

You put the children down and then you get five minutes to yourself. What did you do then? Did you watch television to try to unwind? Or maybe you spent time on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or TikTok to have some “me time.” You then had a few minutes of conversation with your spouse or significant other and fall into the bed knowing you get to do it all over again tomorrow.

As you can see, life is not so much different than a couple of generations ago when it seemed like all people did was work. We run and run and run and never have a moment’s respite. We react to the world around us and it sucks us dry. We give all we have to address the crisis or fire in front of us and never have a moment to breathe.

Why Life Should Not Look That

People are feeling lonelier and less able to unwind and slow down, which makes them feel more anxious and overwhelmed by even the simplest tasks. Kelsey Patel

However, life does not have to be this way. The constant rat race of life can lead to feelings of loneliness, inability to unwind, burnout, depression, anxiety and the list goes on. The consequences to your health by doing this day in and day out for months and years are staggering - diabetes, hypertension, obesity, joint pain - just to name a few!

Remember the story about my grandfather. I bet at first you were thinking he had no life. Well, at first I did not think so either. But I remember that in the evening, after dinner he would sit on his porch, nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians, and just stare at the view. At the time as a child of less than ten I thought he was weird. But now I realize he was taking time to himself. He was practicing self-care. No, he did not meditate. No, he did not read a book or journal. He just sat there and enjoyed the view and listened to the world around him. That was his self-care. That was his time to himself to unwind and enjoy the life in front of him.

Why Self-Care is Important

Now that we know the consequences of not practicing self-care, let’s look at why self-care is so important. Self-care is important for your mental and physical health. Self-care helps battle against depression, burnout, hopelessness, anxiety, etc. Are you having any of those feelings? Stop and ask yourself if you are practicing self-care. If you are not, then maybe you need to consider adding a self-care routine into your life.

To me, self-care is vital because it keeps me centered and grounded. In the busy and hectic life that we live, self-care gives me the tools to bring my best to interactions and decisions. Let’s face it, we have hundreds, if not thousands, of interactions and decisions each and every day and it gets tiring. If you are old enough, you might remember the “Time to Make the Donuts” add campaign from Dunkin’ Donuts. Briefly, the commercial is about how Dunkin’ is always making fresh donuts and shows the donut maker coming and going his house to make donuts all hours of the day and no matter the weather. At the end, he is walking out the door saying, “time to make the donuts,” but meets himself coming in the door replying to himself, “we made the donuts.”

That commercial sums up our busy and hectic lives. We are so busy coming and going that lose track of ourselves and end up catching ourselves! However, self-care gives you the time to stop, refocus and refresh. It is like restarting to your computer or phone. Doing that clears up your cache and fixes any glitches. The same thing happens when you practice regular self-care. You get a few minutes to recenter, refresh and refocus.

Conclusion

Now you know the reasons self-care is so important. We are not made for constant going. We are not made for this hectic, constant tempo we have adopted as a society, especially in America. We need time to unwind, reset, recenter. We need time to take care of ourselves. Unfortunately, with the advent of modern technology, which has many advantages, we are constantly bombarded by external inputs. We must take time to unplug, unwind and take care of ourselves.

If you do that, you will take better care of your responsibilities as a spouse/significant other, parent, child, employee and the list goes on. No one is going to give you that time. You must take it back. Social media and modern technology are bombarding you to sell you something. Work is bombarding you to benefit the needs of the organization you work for. You take care of yourself by taking your time back and prioritizing yourself.

So, take some time for yourself. Learn to say no. Learn to unplug and switch off everything and get some time for yourself. You will be glad you did.