Why self-care is important and how it can benefit your mental health

Emma Seton·2 March 2021·6 min read
Why self-care is important and how it can benefit your mental health

As all students know, throughout the semester you can become increasingly preoccupied with meeting all your deadlines, applying for jobs, volunteering, working, and socialising. You can be easily consumed with all your responsibilities and often forget to take time away from all your commitments. Forgetting to take time to recharge can often have adverse effects for both your physical and mental health. You can often become overwhelmed with the pressures of day-to-day life which may exacerbate any symptoms of stress or anxiety. Self-care is paramount for your overall wellbeing, take time to recharge, to put yourself first and to give your body the things it needs. Self-care is important for a positive healthy lifestyle.

What is self-care?

The term ‘self-care’ is pretty much what it says on the tin – it’s about looking after yourself. It’s about doing things for YOU and making yourself a priority. Self-care practices will often aim to improve your overall physical and mental wellbeing. Self-care doesn’t need to be something which is elaborate or fancy, the things that constitute self-care will vary from person to person. It may be about planning yourself an extravagant pamper night, cooking your favourite meal and watching your favourite film, but it can be as simple as taking a walk each day or eating a balanced diet. Everyone’s needs are different.

What are the benefits of self-care?

Improves overall wellbeing:

Self-care can help to improve your overall wellbeing and your mood. It will improve not only your physical health, but also your mental health. Self-care involves giving your body what it needs; things like good nutritious food, exercise and ensuring that you’re getting enough sleep. Getting yourself into a good routine can stop you from neglecting your own needs. Keeping your mind and body happy are the key goals of self-care.

Limits anxiety and stress:

It can help improve anxiety and stress: Taking time to unwind can be key to managing feelings of stress and anxiety. Spending time away from your desk, or other environments which can induce stress helps to limit the imposition of stress on your daily life. If you’ve been worrying about an assignment, taking some time to have a relaxing bath or to watch a film with your flatmates can be a great way to relax and unwind. Any activity that helps you to feel relaxed will lessen the feeling of stress or anxiety. Taking time to care for yourself stops your mind from being constantly occupied with thoughts about your commitments and responsibilities. After all, your biggest commitment is you!

Improves self-awareness:

Engaging with activities such as yoga and mindfulness are practices of self-care that cause both the mind and body to feel relaxed. Meditation can really help you to understand your feelings and enable you to increase your ability to manage your feelings and thoughts. Improving your self-awareness does not need to be through yoga and meditation exclusively, it may be as simple as understanding how to improve your overall wellbeing. For example, if taking a walk each day helps you to feel more positive, then understand that this is important for you and then meet that need.

Improves your overall mental health:

Although self-care is not a substitute for professional interventions, self-care can stop existing mental health problems from escalating. Self-care can help us to manage our mental health and nourish our internal thoughts and feelings. Doing things that you enjoy can stop you becoming consumed by the things in your life that you don’t enjoy. Although there’s no formula to stop bad things in life occurring, managing an active self-care routine can help you to improve your response to these events.

Tips and ideas for self-care:

- Relax: whether you take a walk or whether you have a bath – find some time to switch off.

- Meditate: although this can seem intimidating, mindfulness can be a useful way to help you focus on the present moment and to overcome present challenges - even if it’s just for 5 minutes a day.

- Do something you enjoy: whether you do something creative or go on a socially distanced walk with a friend, this is a great way to unwind.

- Take a break: taking time away to relax is key to looking after yourself.

- Take some time away from social media: social media can often exacerbate our stress, especially if you compare yourself to others. Taking time away, even for just an hour can help to improve your overall mood.

- Spend time outdoors: going outside once a day can help to reduce feelings of worry or anger and help to promote positive well-being.

- Connect with others: whether you do a group video call or just send a text to a friend or family member, connecting with others can stop you from feeling isolated. Self-care doesn’t just have to be something you do alone.

- Eating a balanced diet: Improving what you eat can go a long way in helping to regulate your hormones and improve your mood.

There’s no formula for how to engage with self-care, it’s simply important to take some time out of your busy schedule and to focus on what you need.