Self-Care and Journaling

Self-care is a way of life for some people, keeping your moods high, your body healthy and your mind at ease.

What is Self-care?

Dictionary.com

• Self-care is the products or practices used to comfort or soothe oneself

Oxford Dictionary

• Self-Care is the act of caring for yourself, for example by eating and sleeping well, taking exercise and getting help so that you do not become ill.

My Definition

• Self-care is giving your body, mind and soul what it needs to be healthy.

Benefits of Self-care

Most people think there are three main areas of Self-care. Mind, Body and Soul, which are the most important sections to concentrate on when thinking of self-care.

craftyenginerd’s Instagram post takes the sections of self-care into a more in-depth aspects, which are Physical, Emotional, Mental, Social, Spiritual and Practical.  Let’s dig into these areas to find out more.

Physical

Taking care of your physical body not only makes you feel good, but helps you feel rejuvenate and refreshed, ready to take on whatever comes your way. There are many ways to accomplish this:

• Taking a calming bath
• Getting a massage
• Getting a manicure
• Get your hair done
• Drink water
• Talk a walk
• Exercise

Emotional

Staying connected with people, relaxing and doing things you enjoy are wonderful for your emotional health and keeping your stress level down. Ways to improve your emotional health:

• Connect with Family and Friends
• Join a support group
• Read a book
• Listen to a podcast
• Listen to Music
• Learn a new skill

Mental

Mental health is an important self-care section. Keeping your mind and body calm and at ease, reducing stress and anxiety, and improving your focus can make a huge impact on your daily life. These can help improve your mental health:

• Meditate
• Deep breathing
• Defuse essential oils
• Write in a journal
• Work on a goal
• Color

Social

Having a social life is good, but too much social interaction can cause obsession and unhealthy habits. Taking time away from the social interaction such as social media and online forums can help you reconnect with yourself and create better and healthier habits.  Here are some tips to try:

• Make a playlist of your favorite songs
• Plan a dinner party and connect with people in person
• Make popcorn and have a movie night
• Turn off your phone and leave it out of reach
• Take time for yourself on your lunch break

Spiritual

Staying in tune to your faith, beliefs and values is very important to your spiritual health. Finding your purpose in life and balancing your physical and social aspects helps to improve your emotional state, improves self-confidence, and helps build a strong support system.  Improve your spiritual health:

• Read Inspirational quotes
• Read the Scriptures
• Meditate
• Pay it forward
• Volunteer
• Make a Gratitude Log
• Say daily affirmations

Practical

Practical health is organizing your daily life. Create more order in your life by developing organizational habits that can help reduce stress and anxiety, while helping you prioritize and maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

• Cleaning out your email inbox
• Create a cleaning schedule
• Go through your wardrobe
• Spring Cleaning
• Create a budget
• Organize your office
• Meal plan for the week

There are many ways you can improve your self-care and stay healthy. A simple way to keep track of your self-care is too create a journaling system such as a bullet journal or self-care journal.

Self-care and Journaling

There are so many benefits of journaling your self-care. Keeping track of your self-care is development to a better you while keeping yourself aware of your progress and achieving your goals for self-care. There are a multitude of layouts, trackers and collections for your journal that you can use in your own journal to help keep up with your progress.

Planner Page Examples

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Final Thoughts

There are so many more pages and trackers you can use for your Self-care Journal. Here are some freebies to help you out.