Are you tired of hearing about self-care yet? It can be exhausting seeing people post and share about self-care all the time. It can be exhausting seeing people post and share about self-care all the time, especially if it feels surface, unintentional, and vague. Christine Arylo, the founder of the Path of Self-love teaches that “self-care is intentionally giving your mind, body, and soul what it needs every day.”

Self-care is not always about doing things that make you feel good [check out Your Self-care is Bullshit], it is not always easy or simple. Self-care is something that you can choose to do every day and sometimes you have to do it even when you don’t feel like. Here are the 5 Most Important Things to Know About Self-care:

1. self-care is not selfish

Put yourself on your list of to do’s. Yes, you have priorities, and you are one of them. is Self-care does not mean that you need to exclude taking care of individuals you care for, but it does mean that you to add yourself to that list. Be a giver of care and a receiver of care; someone who takes care of themselves just as much as they do others. You are worth taking care of.

The quote, “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” is not a joke. Burn out is real, toxic stress is real, and so is high blood pressure and heart disease. When you take care Make sure your cup is full. Your self-care is your right. Believing that you are worthy of being taken care of is a part of practicing self-care

2. self-care is not just physical care

There is more than just one type of self-care. Physical self-care is marketable and it may be the type of self-care that you are most familiar with but there types of self-care that are equally important [check out my article Six Ways to Take Care of Yourself – The Heart Advocate to learn them all].

3. your self-care is not just for you

When you take care of yourself you are taking care of everyone around you. Your self-care practice teaches your children, your friends, your partner, your parents, your coworkers, and the community’s you are a part of to take care of themselves too.

4. self-care is a part of self-love

You cannot practice self-care without the other branches of self-love [to learn more about the 10 Branches of Self-love, please check out Self-care is A Part of Self-love – The Heart Advocate]. Yes, self-care is an important part of self-love, but it is not the only way to self-love.

In order to take care of you, you need to accept yourself, be compassionate with yourself, forgive yourself, trust yourself, express yourself, and honor all that you are and all that you are not.

5. self-care is a privilege

Not everyone has access to the same types of care. Your self-care needs and my self-care needs are different, but that is not always based on our individual needs. Some practice self-care based on what they have been exposed to, what they have access to, and what the know. A lack of knowledge, access, and affordability can hinder certain self-care and even self-pleasure practices.

Yes, there are self-care activities that do not cost any money but many of them do and can be considered expensive, such as getting massages, traveling, requesting time off work, buying organic foods, joining a gym, going to therapy, or getting manicures and pedicures. It is important to understand your own privilege … reading this article is a privilege.

© 2022 Ta’lor L. Pinkston, The Heart Advocate