Self-Care Check-In Activity

Defining Self-Care

When attempting to teach the importance of self-care, many people use the “airplane mask” metaphor. If on a plane and an emergency occurs, the aircraft emergency oxygen system may deploy. The flight attendants always instruct that the proper procedure during this crisis is to first put your own mask on yourself. Once it is safely secure, then you can help someone else put on theirs. This act is important for the survival of both yourself and the individual you are caring for. Why? Because if you run out of oxygen, you and the ones you love are more vulnerable, and may not survive the emergency. This metaphor rings true when applying it to general self-care. When we are attempting to meet the needs of family members, employers, children, friends, or society in general, we must ensure that we include ourselves on that list. If we don’t, we run out of energy to sustain ourselves, which simultaneously means having no energy to assist others.

Self-care is an action based on love towards the self. By caring for ourselves unapologetically, we get into a deeper level of self-love and become a master of our own lives. It’s attending to yourself by yourself with the mindset that you deserve to be treated like the god/goddess that you really are. It’s spending time and resources to discover yourself, build yourself, and nurture your potentials. It’s scheduling breaks in advance and taking them.

Self-Care Equals Self-Love

Self-love is not settling for a life you will not be happy living. It’s a mindset about having inner peace. That no matter your perceived inadequacies you are the best you can ever be and you appreciate you. Self-love is from within and allows you to embrace your strengths and project yourself to new heights. Self-love means that you are not measuring yourself by the standards of the world, but on how much better you did each time around. It’s being aware of your limitations and willing to work on them and perhaps with them because you know that therein lies the value.

Results of Neglecting Self-Care

It can be easy for us to neglect self-care. We may feel it is immoral, believing the act is selfish and therefore morally wrong. We may disregard our bodily signs of need because we are hyperfocused on the needs of others. We may not even know what self-care is, and therefore do not know how to engage in it.

When we neglect our self-care, stress begins to have an effect on our bodies. Some cognitive signs of stress are an inability to concentrate, anxious or racing thoughts, difficulty in decision making, difficulty learning new information, constant worrying, sleep disturbance (including nightmares), and forgetfulness. Some emotional symptoms of stress include depression, low self-esteem, feeling overwhelmed or like you’re losing control, frequent crying spells, apathy, irritability, and agitation.

Physical symptoms include nervousness, weakness, fatigue, aches and tense muscles, nausea, frequent colds, headaches, and insomnia. Last but certainly not least, behavioral symptoms include changes in appetite, sleeping too much/too little, social withdrawal, difficulty communicating, and procrastination.

Checking Your Self-Care

Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader and author, beautifully stated, “If you want to give light to others you have to glow yourself”. It’s important that you remember that your light is valid and should glow. This can be an easy thing to forget, especially for those who are busy, or find themselves in caregiver roles. Therefore, the

Self-Care Check-In Activity: To explore the various areas of self-care and examine areas that might need some more love and focus, below are self-care check-in questions. The questions coordinate with the body silhouette below. Grab your favorite coloring materials (or use the mark-up tool on your mobile device/tablet) in order to participate in the activity. Read each area, take a moment to ask yourself the question, and then follow the coloring instructions. Once complete, notice your color choices. Notice the thickness of your coloring. Notice the line choice and shapes. Then, consider placing your self-care buddy somewhere you see all the time to remind yourself to take a moment to self-care.

• How have you been practicing self-care today?

  • If you have done something to care for yourself today: mentally, physically, emotionally – color in half of the head of your figure. 

• What do you need right now?

  • Do you need some extra sleep? Do you need something to drink? Do you need something to eat? – color in the hands of your figure. 

• How is your body feeling?

  • Are you hot? Cold? Tired? Happy? Calm? – color in the legs of your figure. 

• What boundaries do you need to enforce?

  • Is there a conflict with a friend that needs a boundary? Is someone overstepping, impending your self-love? – color in the arms of your figure. 

• Is there anything upsetting or bothering you?

  • Is there something making you upset in this present moment? Go ahead, color it out and let it go just for this present moment until you are ready to address it. – color in the torso of your figure. 

• Have you taken care of your basic needs today?

  • Have you showered? Eaten? Hydrated? Gotten enough sleep? – color in the neck of your figure. 

• How’s your self-talk?

  • Have you been talking down on yourself today or have you been your own personal cheerleader? Have your thoughts been positive or negative? – color in the other half of the head of your figure.

Did you try the self-care check-in? If so let us know in the comments section below!