Part 1
Self-care is something that might seem casual and reasonable, but it is essential in our daily lives. We often tend to focus much on things that seem helpful but neglect the things that give us happiness and inner fulfillment. In these articles, the authors provide their personal experience that highlights the importance of self-care in living a fulfilling life. In the article “A College Student’s Convictions on Self-Care,” the author highlights the predicament of a college student who finds it hard to balance classwork and self-care demands. Students tend to focus more on finishing assignments and reading to pass exams without knowing the effects such a lifestyle can have in the future. The author notes that this kind of behavior is harmful, and students need to care for themselves to avoid being depressed.
Margaret E. Jacobsen’s article addresses the importance of teaching children self-care. The author provides the circumstances where black lives are endangered through killings and feels that children should be taught about the need to care for themselves. By asking her daughter to accompany her to a protest, she feels that the actions will go a long way to make her understand that self-care is important in their daily lives. The article that addresses the importance of self-care to a disabled person provides a personal account of a disabled person. The author narrates that it is important to realize that one has neglected oneself to cultivate the desire to care. The author particularly notes that disabled people are at risk of suffering more if they fail to care for themselves. Their disability can be worsened through depression if they focus more on their problems rather than finding positive ways that change their routines.
Katherine Carpenter wrote an article on the importance of self-care by noting that it helps to prevent heart conditions and other health issues. Through the life of a student, the author highlights the numerous challenges that can easily cause students to forget about themselves. In the end, the author provides simple ideas that could be implemented to improve personal worth. Kayla, in her blog, additionally addresses the importance of self-care by first narrating her predicament and further discussing the need to have time for oneself. In the end, she provides two projects that could be helpful to allow people to realize the good effects of self-care. The podcast, on the other hand, provides audio on various strategies to deal with anxiety. The author of the podcast notes that anxiety disorder is so common and is often neglected. Through the different podcasts, she provides different strategies on how to deal with anxiety.
In all these articles, the higher demands of life make it hard for people to care for themselves. Students, for example, are forced to read more and engage in class activities to pass their exams. The disabled are forced to focus on their weakness to the point where it becomes a disorder. Life challenges have forced people to forget about themselves.
Part 2
Engaging in different activities can help one to care more about oneself. We are faced with different challenges, and we often take more time focusing on better ways of solving these challenges to the point where we forget our physical, emotional, and psychological needs. The ability to understand oneself can be the catalyst for self-care. Involving different self-care abilities could go a long way to create a balance between work and fun activities.
Getting time off and finding time to engage in hobbies and fun activities is important for achieving self-care. Hobbies such as engaging in games could be crucial in relaxing and refreshing up for the next day’s activities. Engaging in hobbies allows one to forget about current problems and find happiness through activities that attract personal fulfillment. Hanging out with friends is another activity that supports self-care. Friends are important people whom individuals can share their problems and find solutions collectively. Friendship allows people to engage in joint activities such as hiking that can enhance the bond of friendship as well as divert the attention of a person from the daily hustle of life. Friendship additionally enables people to build trust and develop the confidence to pursue other things in life.
Sleeping is another activity that offers relaxation to the mind and brain. Sleep has been established to be a powerful tool for relaxation that allows people to forget about their problems. Sleeping has a healing mechanism that allows people get over fatigue and refresh their minds in order to engage in new activities. Swimming additionally provides body exercise that allows people to stretch their muscles and focus on something different. Individuals are often encouraged to go for swimming sessions as it is challenging in the first place and substitutes the daily struggle of making ends meet. Counseling and behavioral therapy allow individuals to care for themselves. Counseling therapies first allow people to accept that they have a problem. Accepting problems and looking for ways to deal with the problems shows some sense of care. Behavioral therapy and counseling sessions from psychologists can help people change their behaviors and adopt new behaviors that could enhance their health.
These activities have had physical, emotional, and mental impacts ever since I chose to get involved. The various physical exercises have kept me fit and healthy. The exercises have additionally been crucial in preventing lifestyle diseases that often arise due to lack of exercise. Mentally, I have been able to appreciate the importance of self-care in holistic growth. I have developed a culture of speaking to people and seeking psychological help whenever I am disturbed or focus too much on one activity. Emotionally, I have connected more with my friends and family members since they are crucial in realizing the goal of caring for oneself.
