If you’re looking to renew your sense of self-care and benefit your health, the time is never better than now. With amazing posts that help you figure out that new normal with confidence, perhaps you could start that journey here.
Yet it’s also true that for some people, self-care can be too much, too overbearing, too cemented in one considered action, and sometimes, even overbearingly toxic. This comes from either direction. Like with anything, you can overdo a practice that may be good for you, and that can lead you to become brittle and unable to get the benefit from your self-care as you may have wished to.
Some of this comes from the fact that many self-care brands actively profit from making you think about improving your health and ‘optimizing your function’ at all hours of the day, and so they’re going to want to promote this to you in the most intensive manner. Yet as the healthy living section of our site shows, often it’s the simple but consistent approaches that have the most effect.
So – what do we mean by ‘toxic self-care habits and justifications?’ Let’s consider that, and how to avoid them, below:
Supplement Culture
With the number of food supplements out there, it’s easy for anyone to feel confused about what they should be adding to their diet, what it might not provide, and more. Vitamin D, K, Zinc, Magnesium, Fish Oil and a Multivitamin are usually considered the most important. Supplements can also help in specific instances, like fiber when you need it, but it’s important to let these become more of a substitute or a healthy, balanced diet, and you don’t need to supplement dozens of products just to be healthy. Keeping that in mind can help you exercise your best judgement.
Self-Care Isn’t Narcissism
It’s easy to wrap up self-care in highly spiritual talk or talk about ‘self-empowerment constantly in a way that can ring somewhat hollow. You don’t have to ‘connect with your vital essence’ or ‘become your most empowered spiritual self’ to practice great self-care and to maintain your bodily health, you just have to head to the local dentist, to stretch in the mornings, to eat well, to prioritize sleep, and to meditate or use other means of relieving stress (such as with herbal teas or baths) should you wish to. This way, you can avoid all of the marketing spiel, and focus on what has always mattered – you.
Self-Care Doesn’t Mean Hiding Away From Life
When people talk about ‘self care days,’ they often mean booking a day from work, laying around all day in pajamas, eating ice cream and watching Netflix. But that’s not necessarily a day caring for yourself, it’s a day indulging and getting the sleep you might so sorely need. It could be, then, that prioritizing sleep and caring for yourself is step one, and running into life rather than away from it can be even healthier. There’s nothing wrong with wanting your own space, but don’t mistake self-care for overindulgence, or even allowing yourself to be overly lazy. That time could possibly be spent in a manner that makes you feel so much better, like heading to a spa, working out, walking with your dog, or meeting a friend for coffee.
With this advice, we believe you’ll avoid toxic self-care habits and justifications and instead learn to love yourself, which is all you ever had to do.
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