What is The Importance of Self Care

For the last few years, self care has been a popular topic, and it’s not hard to see why. The importance of self care cannot be overstated. It’s a great way to take into account your own needs and prioritize your mental health. In other words, it can help with decreasing stress levels and reducing anxiety. All of this combined positively affects productivity and happiness and leads to a more fulfilling life.

There are many ways to practice self care and the benefits these little actions have on your total health and wellness is fantastic. As a result, self care can help reduce anxiety, such as what you might experience when summer turns into fall. Unfortunately, many people experience autumn anxiety due to the change in weather, schedules, or routines, therefore, taking time out of your day to take care of yourself can help.

The following information will help you create the perfect self care routine for the fall season.

Types of Self Care

If you’re new to self care, you might be envisioning taking bubble baths or reading in front of the fire. While these are enjoyable activities, they only scratch the surface in regards to the importance of self care and what it can be.

There are many ways to practice self care. You can pick and choose according to your preference. Some common activities are listed below. In addition, I will say it could be worth exploring alternative methods if none of these appeal to you, so keep reading until you find something that fits your needs. So, if nothing here works, keep looking until you fit the right thing.

Self care is a personal experience, not a one-size-fits-all solution. Therefore, the best way to find out what works for you is to determine what type of self care activities or routines might make you feel better. You can then try those techniques and see if they make a difference in your life. Self care is a personal thing, so even though your best friend may like hiking, you might prefer other activities instead. That’s okay. Create your own path.

Here are some of my favorite areas of self care:

Physical

Physical self care means those activities that involve your physical self and those that improve your physical health. If you want to be healthier, invest in your physical health. For example, going for a walk at the beach can have an immediate positive effect on your physical health, as well as be fantastic for your general wellbeing. However, it can fit into other categories, too, such as mental health or even social wellbeing if you go with a friend. This one example shows how important self care really is.

Some other forms of physical self care are:

• morning yoga
• eating organic
• using sunscreen
• walking in the evening
• taking a nap
• taking your dog for a walk
• getting a massage

The importance of physical self care is clear. Remember, it should be enjoyable, with or without exercise. Likewise, if you are including exercise, it should always be done to improve your health, rather than with the sole intention of losing weight. If you do it for the wrong reason, you are missing the importance of self care altogether.

Personally, I love to exercise. I am a DvD exercise queen! I love Jessica Smith and her workouts. She has a great YouTube channel that has plenty of free workouts. There are also several you can buy on Amazon. I originally started with her YouTube channel but since I prefer to have DvDs, I have since ordered several from Amazon and they do not disappoint.

Emotional and Mental

Some self care is focused more on emotional wellbeing and mental health. Similarly, with this type of self care, you might find that some activities overlap with other categories.

Examples of emotional and mental self care activities:

• Meditation
• Listening to relaxing music
• Speaking to a therapist
• Reducing anxiety with essential oils
• Study a foreign language
• Watch a funny movie
• Journaling

Social

To most people self care seems like something you would do on your own. To clarify, there are plenty of self care activities that can be done solo, but there are just as many you can do with friends or family.

Some social self care activities might include:

• Plan a coffee date with a friend
• Meet your cousin for a new yoga class
• Go for a walk after dinner with your spouse
• Start a book club with your friends
• Go for a family bike ride
• Meet your mama to get pedicures
• Baking with your kids

Creative

Creative is probably my favorite category of self care and perfect for the Fall. Interestingly, I used to say I’m not creative, but I have become quite crafty over the years. I love exploring my creative side through reading and learning new things.

Creative self care activities might include:

• Learning to bake cookies
• Making wreaths or learning to make them
• Working on your hobby
• Taking pictures
• Creative writing

Creative self care can be any activity you love doing as long as it helps you relax and unwind. Therefore, have fun and enjoy what you do. It will help you to be more creative.

Spiritual

Spiritual self care is my final self care category. If you are spiritual and have a religion, these self care activities could include going to church, attending bible study, and reading the bible.

If you are not a religious person, that’s okay too. Similarly, non-religious spiritual self care can include practicing mindfulness, meditating, doing yoga, and reading a book on numerology.

Welcome Fall with Fun Self Care Activities

Fall is a great time for self care. Find activities that you will enjoy doing and create a fall self care bucket list. Something I look forward to every Fall is baking pumpkin bread with my youngest son. He loves to bake, and we do it roughly once per week. In the fall and winter months, though, I think it’s more fun for both of us because we bake seasonal treats.

It’s important to remember that self care can take a lot of different forms. So, make the most of your downtime by engaging in various activities you ENJOY. These can range from physical to creative activities, or even group self care activities. Remember, the key is to do what works for you! If you need help, you could look into these few inspired suggestions and figure out how to make them your own.

One of the best parts of Fall (to me) is pumpkin. Therefore, Pumpkin Spice Latte, pumpkin bread, cinnamon, and other fall spices are all fantastic. Bring pumpkin into your house and embrace Fall. Pumpkin EVERYTHING!

Embrace Fall with pumpkin and some simple self care practices like:

• Savoring a pumpkin spice latte from your favorite coffee shop
• Baking pumpkin bread
• Decorating for Fall
• Making fall-themed crafts
• Get Cozy with Fall Hygge

Fall is a great time to practice hygge. You may be thinking, what is that?! Well, hygge is the Danish practice of being cozy and comfortable to establish inner wellness, which happens when you slow down. Likewise, it’s about taking time out for yourself because so many people feel rushed and busy all day long. The Danish definition for hygge is a feeling of contentment or wellbeing that comes from being surrounded by people or things you enjoy. This concept is labeled a self-help technique for managing stress and anxiety while improving wellness.

Hygge embodies the Danish culture of creating warmth, coziness, and friendliness through things like lighting candles, drinking spiced herbal tea with friends, and snuggling under a warm blanket.

Similarly, there are many other things considered to be hygge including comfy clothes, moments spent with family and friends, cuddling up under a fuzzy blanket while reading, watching a movie with your spouse, or curling up next to the fireplace with a cup of coffee while journaling.

The point is to feel hygge.

I love fall so much. Fall brings with it cooler weather, changing leaves, and again there is pumpkin spice EVERYTHING. Take advantage of the change in weather. For instance, go for a walk at a local park and soak up mother nature in all her glory. If you are lucky enough to live in a place where the leaves change, please go soak up nature’s beauty for me!! Florida doesn’t have that. Embrace the beauty of Fall with the changing leaves and cooler weather.

• Take Your Family to a Fall Festival
• Go for a Fall Walk in a Nearby Park.

Create a New Daily Routine

With the fall season already here, many people are gearing up for the busy days ahead. Oh, the holidays. I love fall but I LOVE the holidays! Consequently, one common reason people have for not adequately caring for themselves is a perceived lack of time and the holiday season just adds to it. In most cases, you do have the time to take care of yourself. It’s more probable that you need to schedule your self care activities as an appointment. That way you won’t have an excuse to miss it. It just requires making some adjustments in your daily routine to find the time.

You have to prioritize yourself because it’s so easy to get wrapped up in work and personal responsibilities and miss out. Take the time now to write out your self care plan for the next week. Give the importance to scheduling self care that it deserves.

Create a New Routine for Fall

Your daily routine can be in the morning or evening, depending on what type of self care activities you’re interested in and when you have more time to yourself. Some people use this time to get an early start on their day. They can get up earlier and have some quiet time before other people in the house get up.

You can also think about what self care activities you would like to do. For instance, journaling is an activity you can do either in the morning or evening, but many people prefer to do yoga in the morning and meditate at night before bed. For others, the only time they have may actually be at night before bed, after the kids are tucked in.

Here are some questions to get your routine ready for Fall:

• What time of day do you have more time for yourself?
• Is there a time of day you tend to waste time?
• What self care activities appeal to you most?
• How do you need to update your current self care routine for the Fall?
• How does the fall season change your current routine?

Journal these questions so you can let your thoughts flow more freely.

These questions will help you figure out a self care routine for Fall that keeps you happy and productive.

Make Your Own Needs a Priority

I want to talk about the importance of self care one more time. Don’t make excuses about not having money for self care activities, being busy, or lacking motivation. Maybe money is an issue right now. I get it. Just don’t let it be an excuse to never start. Find self care activities that you can do for cheap or for free. If you don’t take care of yourself, it will become more challenging to fulfill your family obligations.

Journaling is a cheap way to explore self care. You can journal the traditional way in a book or you can use a digital journal on your iPad if you have one. I prefer a digital journal. Check out some of my digital planners and journals in my Etsy shop.

Remember, self care isn’t selfish. It is something we should all do more often. Practicing self care can improve your happiness, reduce anxiety, improve your physical health, and improve overall wellness.

In closing, here are a few tips to keep in mind when figuring out your fall self care routine.

Tips:

• There are plenty of ways to take care of yourself for free.
• Do things you love.
• Do things by yourself and with friends or family.
• Making time for self care activities you love is time well spent.

As I’ve explained, the importance of self care is clear. If you want to start planning your own self care journey download the free Fall Bucket List below.