Self-Care

Take care of yourself like you would someone else

Self-care is a newer concept in the world. The 'treat-your-self' motto. But self-care is more than a once in a while splurge it is taking care of yourself as you would someone else. It is learning to be attentive to your own needs. Which is easier said than done.

Don't know how to start? Start small! Keep scrolling to learn what self-care is, what it is not, the root to true self-care, and see some options - some my personal favorites - to help you transform how you truly take care of yourself from the inside out.

With love,
Hannah

What is Self-Care?

“Self-care is the practice of taking care of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life to promote health and wellness.”

What it is...

Prioritizing yourself

Valuing yourself

Nurturing yourself

Self-discipline

Self-responsibility

Boundaries

Self-compassion

Authentic & honest

Gentleness

What it is NOT

Self-indulgence

Overspending

Binge eating

Instant Gratification

Numbing/Disassociating

Substance Abuse

Self-neglect

Perfection

Comparing

What it includes:

Physical

Mental

Emotional

Spiritual

Hygiene (general & personal)

Environmental

Seeking Help

Healing, learning, & growing

Making 1 healthy choice at a time

The Root of Self-Care

The root of self-care lies in learning to accept and love oneself, a journey beautifully explored in Melody Beattie's works on self-care and codependency. Beattie emphasizes that true healing begins when we stop seeking validation from others and instead nurture our own sense of worth.

The Bible instructs us to, "love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31), So many of us overlook the "as yourself" part. Self-love is foundational to extending love to others. It reminds us that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14) - no exceptions - encouraging us to embrace our unique qualities as reflections of divine craftsmanship.

By accepting ourselves—flaws and all—we create a space for growth, resilience, and genuine connection with others. This self-acceptance is not about perfection but about recognizing our inherent value and treating ourselves with the same compassion and care we offer to those around us.

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Digging Deep

I will always recommend finding a therapist that works for you (get help finding one) to guide you while digging deeper, but these are my favorite authors, books, and podcasts that have helped me discover what self-care truly is - accepting yourself. They delve deep into the matters of the heart, how we think, and help change mindsets to for true transform from the inside out.

Stop Being Mean to Yourself

by Melody Beattie

An encouraging book that blends adventure and spiritual discovery, encouraging readers to embrace self-love, and find a happier, more meaningful place.

The Gifts of Imperfection

by Brene Brown

She encourages readers to embrace their flaws, offering guideposts for individuals to cultivate authenticity, connection, and a sense of worthiness.

The Skillful Podcast

Hosted by Marielle Berg and Ed Fowler explore skills and concepts from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help you reduce emotional suffering, improve their relationships and create the life they want.

Playing it by Heart

by Melody Beattie

An inspiring book that explores the journey of healing and self-discovery, encouraging readers to embrace vulnerability, let go of past pain, and live authentically.

The Self Love Fix

Beatrice Kamau helps you shift from shame, people-pleasing, low self-esteem, codependency, and self-doubt into alignment, self-trust, and expansion through spirituality and healing the inner-child.

Self Care Club

Lauren Mishcon and Nicole Goodman debunk a self-care practice every week, and report back the results. There is no subject left uncovered, helping you get to decide what is worth your time.

Uninvited

by Lysa TerKeurst

Explores the deep emotional impact of rejection. The book encourages anchoring self-worth in God's unconditional love and embracing a life of acceptance and connection.

Therapy & Theology

Lysa TerKeurst with counselor Jim Cress and theologian Dr. Joel Muddamalle, share tools and insights to help others not just move on from hardships but work through them with grace and understanding.

Mind

The mind is the cornerstone of self-care because mental health directly influences every facet of our well-being. A healthy mind fosters emotional resilience, clear decision-making, and better relationships, enabling us to navigate life's challenges with grace. Stress, anxiety, and negative thought patterns can take a toll on both the mind and body, leading to burnout and physical health issues. By nurturing our mental well-being through mindfulness, reflection, and positive habits, we create a foundation for overall harmony. When we prioritize our mind, we empower ourselves to be more present, balanced, and capable of embracing life's opportunities fully.

Affirmations

Nurture the way you talk to yourself. If you're like I once was, you may be planting seeds of criticism and negativity—words you’d never say to someone else.

Reframe weeds of negative thoughts. Many of them are seeds scattered in our minds long ago—untrue narratives we’ve unknowingly nurtured until they’ve grown into a tangle of beliefs choking out the light.

Transformation begins when we uproot those old lies and make the choice to sow truth instead. By replacing harmful messages with empowering truths, we create fertile ground for growth, resilience, and self-love.

Sticky Notes

Write out your affirmations on sticky notes and post them in places you view most.

Dry Erase Board or Mirror

Write out your affirmations on your bathroom mirror or a white board. It helps to say them out-loud.

Have an Affirmation Buddy

Something I learned was to have someone I trust hold me accountable when I say horrible stuff to myself. They would tell me to stop, reframe. Then say, "Yes you are" or "Yes you can!" after the reframe.

Daily Affirmations App

You can use any app, 'I Am' or 'Mantra' are good starts. I also recommending following positive affirmation accounts on social media.

Meditation

Meditation is like planting seeds in a garden. With each moment of stillness, you nurture peace, clarity, and resilience, allowing these qualities to grow.

By focusing on the positive and releasing distractions, you cultivate a flourishing inner world that blooms. The more you tend to this practice, the stronger and more abundant it becomes.

Remember to be gentle with yourself and know it takes time to train your brain and take your thoughts captive and change the narrative. It has taken me a long time to be able to weed through my thougts not get distracted.

Insight Timer

My sister recommended this app. It offers 130,000+ options for meditation & relaxation and I love being able to filter exactly to my needs that day.

Calm

Calm has been the #1 rated meditation app for several years. It has a meditation for everything and has sleep stories and curated music for your mental health needs.

Spotify

With Spotify you can listen for free (with adds) or get a subscription. I like listening with headphones to meditations with binaural beats.

YouTube

Another great free way to find meditations that suit your current needs.

Gratitude

When we are in survival mode, our mind has limited focus on the threat and survival outcomes. Gratitude is like sunlight. It gives us a clearer picture of everything that is going on around us. It puts the pain into perspective.

But by planting seeds of thankfulness, even for the small and simple joys, we shift our focus and bring ourselves back to the present moment and open our eyes to the entirety of life - which holds the good and the bad.

As we nurture this practice, we begin to see beauty sprouting around us—a blossom of lessons learned, growth gained, and resilience built.

The Five-Minute Journal

I love this journal! It truly only takes a few minutes and starts and ends your day establishing a healthy mindset. It also comes in fun colors!

Gratitude: Self-Care Journal App

For those of us who rely on our phones, this app provides prompts for developing gratitude and affirmations. It not only works for visual people, but provides audio options, a vision board builder, a widget, and daily reminders.

Prayer

I like to list everything I am grateful for when I lay down for bed - from my cozy bed to my family and friends - nothing is off limits.

HELPFUL ITEMS

Body

Healing Systems

After some intense trauma care, where I felt amazing mentally, my body still seemed to be suffering. It was like it didn't know what my brain did.

In the book, 'Our Body Keeps Score', Bessel van der Kolk says, "For real change to take place, the body needs to learn that the danger has passed and to live in the reality of the present.” Living in survival mode (chronic stress) so long over produces cortisol overtime this natural chemical disrupts your body's ability to function in a healthy manner.

Finding ways to natural reset systems in your body is a key element in self-care.

Sassy Holistics

I came across Sassy Holistics when I was suffering from chronic hives and the military doctors couldn't do anything besides give me more drugs. Kristin makes it so simple to address things like nervous system healing and gut healing with natural, easy steps. Their mantra is to not overdo it and have a wholistic approach.

I have used many of the tinctures and suggestions from Sassy Hollistics with wonderful success.

Somatic Exercises

Somatic exercise are gentle movements that reconnect the body to the psychological, emotional, and mental states. Under trauma and extreme stress our body's chemicals react and cause physical reactions to the mental and emotional events we are experiencing. Reconnecting them helps to rebalance normal system functions.

If you want to find out more about the effects of trauma and stress on your nervous system, follow the The Workout Witch (no affiliation with witches - it is just a name) on Instagram. She has very educational posts on the effects of cortisol production and an affordable somatic program.

Nutrition

Proper nutrition provides the essential nutrients—the rich soil—that allows our bodies to grow, heal, and flourish. Sometimes its hard to know what to choose or hard to find the energy to cook.

Supplements act as the extra care filling in gaps where our diets might fall short.

Together, good nutrition and supplements ensure that our bodies have everything they need to bloom, cultivating resilience, balance, and overall well-being.

Nutrition

I am using nutrition instead of diet very intentionally. Under chronic stress our bodies lacked the right vitamins and minerals and let's be honest, sometimes we didn't have the energy to feed ourselves or we binge ate for comfort. Give yourself grace in this area. It is very hard to do in survival mode. I have used several methods for nutritious food:

One of my favorites is Hello Fresh. I have to cook the food, but the meals are tasty and the recipes simple.

The Food Medic by Dr Hazel Wallace does the research for you and provides meal prep options that you can make within an hour.

Search for food prep services in your area. There are national ones that ship frozen food, but local ones often have fresh ingredients.

Supplements

These are necessary for giving your body what it needs to heal. Always make sure they are Third Party Tested and align with your health priorities (like non-GMO or vegan). My favorite brand:

Thorne set the standard for quality. Their products go through four rounds of quality testing, are third party tested, and don't use extra fillers. The ones I use: B-Complex #12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D + K12, and their Creatine.

Movement & Practices

Through movement, we cultivate a body that is strong, flexible, and resilient, much like how a well-maintained garden weathers the seasons.

Regular activity boosts energy, clears the mind, and lays the groundwork for growth and vitality. It's the rhythm of action that keeps life flourishing.

Just as a tree needs rest to regenerate, so too do we. Learning to be still is the art of letting the soil settle and allowing growth to happen beneath the surface.

Down Dog

Down Dog is my favorite yoga app. You can choose the type of practice, target area, length, and instructor. They also have Pilates, Barre, Meditation, HIIT, and Pre-Natal programs for a reasonable price that you can do at home.

Ladder

This is my absolute favorite for weighted workouts. The program is easy to follow, intentional, and creates a community for your workouts. The Define program is Pilates you can do from home - I will let you know how it goes after I complete 6 weeks!

YouTube

Don't have the extra money? YouTube offers so many great programs for free! From yoga to HIIT. You can change it up whenever you like.

Massage & Dry Needling

Dry needling relieves muscle knots and improves function, while massage boosts circulation and eases tension. Together, they promote healing and relaxation.

At-Home Items

Some of the items that I use at home to promote healing are a foam roller, Theragun, heating pad, and Tenz unit.

Sleep

Ahh the illusive sleep. I have struggled with sleep for several years now. Not something I used to have issues with.

As you rest, your body repairs itself, replenishing energy and strengthening its foundation, Sleep nurtures mental clarity, emotional balance, and physical resilience, allowing you to wake refreshed and ready to bloom.

By honoring this essential rhythm, you cultivate a life of vitality and well-being, rooted in the restorative power of rest.

Sleep Hygiene

I didn't know what this was until several years ago. Things like a keeping your room dark and cool (around 67 degrees), and no screens a couple hours before bed create a healthy sleep environment.

Weighted Blanket

I use a weighted blanket. It provides gentle, evenly distributed pressure, similar to a comforting hug which improves sleep quality by calming the nervous system.

Noise Machine

When its dead silent my tinnitus sings as loud as it can! A noise machine creates soothing background sounds, which helps mask distractions for better sleep. I also use a free White Noise apps when I travel.

Sleep Aids

Not everyone needs sleep aids, and I am cautious to recommend them. I have been on natural sleep aids and prescribed. Consult with your health care provider and find what you are comfortable with and what works, but don't shy away from using them to help you get quality sleep.

- Magnesium (pill or lotion)

- Melatonin

- Chamomile

- Lavendar

- Oat Seed

- California Poppy

- Blue Vervain

- Skullcap

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Taking care of your body is essential for fostering overall health, energy, and resilience. By embracing balanced nutrition, you provide your body with the fuel it needs to perform at its best—nourishing it with whole foods, vitamins, and minerals that promote vitality. Regular exercise further supports physical well-being, strengthening muscles, improving cardiovascular health, and boosting mood through the release of endorphins. Supplements can also play a supportive role, helping to fill nutritional gaps and ensure your body receives vital nutrients it may lack. When you prioritize your body's needs with thoughtful choices, you create a strong foundation for a vibrant and active life, while also enhancing your mental and emotional well-being.

HELPFUL ITEMS

Soul

The soul is the essence of self-care, as spiritual well-being infuses life with purpose, connection, and inner peace. A nourished soul fosters a sense of resilience, gratitude, and meaning, guiding us through life's challenges with grace and hope. Neglecting our spiritual needs can leave us feeling disconnected and adrift, impacting both emotional and physical health. By embracing practices like reflection, prayer, or time in nature, we tend to the soul's needs and create a foundation for balance and harmony. When we honor our spirituality, we cultivate a deeper sense of fulfillment and the strength to navigate life's journey with authenticity and grace.

Spirituality

Spirituality is a personal journey of connecting to something greater. Religion often involves organized beliefs and practices shared by a community. Both can offer guidance, but spirituality is deeply individual, allowing for unique expressions of meaning and self-discovery.

Embracing either (or both) can cultivate self-love by encouraging inner reflection, self-acceptance, and a sense of belonging and greater purpose.

This is a deeply personal practice that requires asking deeper questions and developing a relationship with a Higher Power. Gem and Alan Fadling in their book "What Does Your Soul Love" point out three elements needed for true transformation, be:

Open

Are you truly open to receiving what life brings to you during your self-care process?

Aware

Are you self-aware (including your strengths & weaknesses)? Are you noticing what is going on around you?

Willing

Are you willing to do the necessary hard work to change mindsets, habits, and make choices that are healthy for you, but might be difficult?

Nature & Inherent Tendencies

Spending time in nature does wonders for the soul. It reconnects us to elements in life that are healthy for us - fresh air, sunlight, and beauty. It also gives us room to listen away from so many distractions.

Being creative is another way to connect to emotions and your deeper self. People are innately creative. Creating something can help you find something that you connect with.

Music can provide a spiritual connection. Finding the right music to calm your soul and give you time to listen for direction from your Higher Power. I have had several times when a song came on that spoke directly to what my soul was needing.

Spend Time Outside

Even if it's just sitting on your patio, enjoying a cup of coffee, and listening to the birds sing!

Find a Creative Outlet

The options are endless! This can be watercolor, pottery, dancing, fixing cars, playing an instrument, cooking, gardening, etc.

Spotify

Spotify or any other music application is a good place to start. You can curate your own playlists of music that makes your soul sing!

Community

When we have been in survival for so long, we can tend to isolate. Community plays a vital role in nurturing spirituality by creating spaces for connection, support, and shared purpose.

Whether it's joining a 12-step program, participating in an art class, or volunteering for a meaningful cause, these groups provide opportunities to grow alongside others who share similar values or goals.

Through collective experiences, individuals can find encouragement, fresh perspectives, and a sense of belonging that deepens their inner journey. Community fosters accountability and compassion, reminding us that spirituality

is also a shared journey of learning, growth, and connection with the world around us.

Find a Group

What interests you? There generally are so many local options from 12-step groups, churches, local workshops & classes, and volunteering are a great way to start. Many places have walking and running groups or coffee groups. Find something that fits your needs.

Retreats & Programs

Retreats & Programs not only help build a support system but does so through sharing experiences in a professional forum and for a focused cause.