What is Self-Care?
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
Self-care has been tossed throughout social justice circles for a few years now; its connotations carry many meanings and weight. Often though, it’s used to denote the way we care for ourselves and the way we heal in order to move forward and live.
In many communities of color, self-care can be seen as selfish. Why should you get the chance to step away from the chaos and frustrations to care for yourself when the rest of your community cannot?
Audre Lorde writes: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
It is absolutely crucial to take care of yourself, she argues. And it is. It’s important for members of the community to step away, to breathe, to exercise something that would allow them to “recharge” again.
After all, you cannot support your community if you are not present.
What does it look like to you?
Self-care can look very different for each individual. People come in different sizes, shapes, color, with different interests, likes, and dislikes. Why should self-care look the same for everything?
The goal is to recharge yourself, to heal yourself, and/or to take care of yourself in a way that allows you to be present in the spaces you occupy.
Here is a short list of five different ways to care for yourself:
1). Take a breath. This doesn’t mean you have to literally take a breath. Maybe a situation is escalating or your work is quickly becoming overwhelming. Take a step back, take a moment for yourself, and then come back. That could be a second, a few minutes; it could be a couple hours. Maybe longer. What matters is that you need to be away from that situation for the time being.
2). Do the things you love. What are your passions? What drives you? Taking some time to indulge in what makes you happy will increase your mood and love. And it’s okay to indulge in what you like, for example, doing puzzles, baking, collecting, or even just sleeping.
3). Take care of your physical needs. Are you feeling sleepy? Take a power nap. Feeling hungry? Grab something to munch on. Feeling cold? Wear extra layers or grab a blanket.
4). Be with people (or not). Spend some time with your family and/or friends. Call up someone you haven’t talked to in a while for a quick chat. Or just spend some time with yourself and really let yourself be.
5). Self-care doesn’t always look happy either. It’s okay to take a moment and scream; it’s okay to take a moment and cry. Let out those feelings and express yourself. And it doesn’t have to be anything momentous either. It could be finishing up that last load of laundry that’s been hanging out for the past week (or month) or finally clearing out your desk of junk mail.
With the constant barrage of anxiety-inducing news and the daily struggle of a busy life, self-care can be difficult to implement. So maybe you can’t start self-care right away, maybe not soon. But it’s important that you start with a solid and detailed plan. Incorporate it into your daily routine. Maybe it’s self-care hour every Thursday evening or every morning before you head into work.
If you’re already implementing some self-care techniques, go ahead and share some of what’s been working for you! Or share some that hasn’t worked out in the past.
Other Resources:
- Self-Care As Warfare
- Audre Lorde Thought of Self-Care as Warfare
- For Black Women, Self-Care Is A Radical Act
- Implement a Consistent Self-Care Routine