Why Investing in Self-care is More Important than Ever During a Health Crisis
We’re facing unprecedented times. There’s an invisible enemy, and it’s easily infectious. Economies have been halted, tourism is temporarily dead, and the life you once knew might never be recovered. It’s no wonder you feel anxious and jittery. When you have no choice but to follow what your government and health institutions advise, you feel like you’ve lost control of your life.
This is when self-care is more important.
Caring For Your Basic Needs
Everywhere you turn, everyone is talking about the pandemic. There is uncertainty everywhere, and people are losing their jobs. You yourself might be okay on the financial end, but emotionally, you feel heavy. Mentally, you feel tired. When these things happen, it gets harder to wake up every day to have some semblance of a normal life. That’s when you need to care for yourself at the very basic level. What used to be part of your routine now needs to be emphasized, such as taking a bath, eating meals on schedule, and keeping work and life separate. Do these things even when you feel lazy, so that you can develop the habit of taking care of yourself, pandemic or no pandemic.
Pre-pandemic, the hustle culture was really strong and everyone kept saying that if you’re not working hard, you will not have a good life in your retirement. You repeat to yourself all the inspirational quotes about working hard, thinking that they will motivate you to push yourself to the limit. However, one thing you might not be paying attention to is your happiness. Caring for yourself means reaching deep within you and finding the things that you truly love and enjoy doing, and making room for them. Now that you can’t go anywhere or make a lot of decisions guided by peer pressure, you have time to care for your happiness.
Caring For Your Physical and Mental Wellbeing
When you look the part, you feel the part. When you look like you’ve just gotten out of bed, you feel groggy and listless. On the other hand, if you take some time to prepare for work, you feel ready for work. If you take time to wear Korean sheet masks and pamper yourself at the end of the day, your skin looks refreshed the next day. Whatever you put into your body feeds your mindset, and your mindset dictates your mood. Everyone is experiencing the same pandemic right now, but if you let it consume you and forget the life you still have, you will feel worse. Sometimes, it pays to remind yourself that you can get through this and that you will be okay. Give yourself permission to laugh and to have fun at home.
Yes, we are facing uncertainties right now. But if there’s one thing humanity is good at, it’s adapting. As a nation, we will rise again. Until things go back to normal–or form the new normal–you should take care of yourself at home. That’s the only way to guarantee that you’ll be there to see the world reopen again.
