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Self Care

A commonly asked question;
Is self care selfish?
And I say it till I'm blue in the face. Never is self care selfish.
Even if you don't suffer from a mental illness, everyone needs self care.
When I was young, I always put everyone before myself. I thought that, being from a somewhat religious family, that this was the right thing to do. I would keep my worries to myself so I didn't burden people, and let people use me as a doormat, so I wouldn't hurt their feelings. But then, as a little Aoife starting to spiral into depression, I realised something.
Keeping everything to myself was unhealthy. Putting everyone's needs ahead of mine just wasn't safe. Though, I still wanted to help people. So I continued trying to put everyone else in front of me for a while, until I realised I wasn't helping anyone.
Turns out, I couldn't benefit anyone without helping myself first.
I suppose this is when I first discovered self care. It's when I learned to say no to people, and to value my own health above others. I found that my self care was having time to myself. When I was that age, it was usually reading or writing or playing a game on the DS (though now, at nearly eighteen, my self care still includes those things).
Sometimes self care is tricky. I might spend hours alone because I need some me time, but this can sometimes worsen my mood. Self care isn't falling asleep to sad music after hours of crying. I feel that there's this stereotypical image of self care, a woman sobbing into a tub of ice cream.
Self care isn't self pity. Self care is taking a step back and looking at yourself.
Am I exhausted? Am I stressed? Am I burnt out?
Then take a break. Watch a silly youtube video, go for a walk, rant about your feelings to your friend, watch some ASMR.
Turn off your phone, don't worry about impending messages or emails, and take some personal time.
You are your own guardian in this world. You are your primary protector. If you don't take care of yourself, how can anyone do it for you?

~~
Hope this article can help! I post a new blog every Wednesday!
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Twitter: @justaoifethings
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