THOUGHTS: ON SELF CARE

Self-care has become a buzzword for overspending, overeating and ignoring our problems.

The internet is saturated with photos of people making extravagant purchases, stocking up on pungent lush bath bombs and overeating and disguising it under the badge of ‘self-care’.

Bad day at work? Sink a bottle of wine

Feeling tired? Splurge on some lush goodies to pick yourself up

Feeling upset? Have a trolley dash in Zara

Perhaps we should address our problems and tackle them head-on as a form of self-care.

Maybe we should sort out our finances, say no to things we can’t afford, cut off relationships which make us unhappy. These are the real acts of self-care – the ones which see us move dangerously out of our comfort zone – which will leave a lasting impact. Great discomfort often leads to great learning – often going through the pain barrier can lead to long term benefits.

It doesn’t even need to be something extravagant – book a dental appointment, make the phone call you’ve been putting off, batch-cook some meals for the week, transfer some money to your savings account if you can afford to. These are all acts which our future selves will appreciate.

While I do think you should take care of yourself, I think self-care is far more and far deeper than just a lazy weekend spent binging on Netflix and Deliveroo. Go for a walk without your phone, cook something entirely from scratch, write in a journal, call a friend.

Self-care shouldn’t leave you with a hangover/buyer’s remorse/feeling like you just put a £5 bath bomb down the plughole. An ad popped up on my twitter feed yesterday promoting a self-care workshop. It cost £70 to attend. I think the movement has snowballed.

Using the guise of self-care to justify extravagance or indulgence just perpetuates greed and can leave you unhappier in the long term. So do something productive and worthwhile that your future self will thank you for – and remember self-care shouldn’t come with a side of regret or a hefty bill.