Self-Care: What it looks like
I help a lot of clients who grew up in neglectful environments. There's one consequence of such early childhood experiences that becomes the topic of our sessions: self-care.
Self-care is often a topic that we have to teach and reinforce in therapy. This is because clients are excellent caretakers and not nearly as good about taking care of their needs. While you grew up, perhaps, your needs we not seen. As an adult, you may pride yourself on being tough and resilient. No doubt, you are! My role is to bring attention to you, skilled you already have. Nobody can take them away. The opportunity lies in being able to combine that resiliency with self-care habits.
Self-care has many forms and can look different for everyone. Yet, here are some broad categories beneficial to us all.
Physical Self-Care Tips
In his famous book, "The body keeps the score," Dr. Van der Kolk discusses at length how we manifest trauma and psychological distress through the body. Things worth paying attention are aches and pains that don't go away, and doctors don't find a physical explanation, body weight, tension, sexual disorders, skin conditions, autoimmune disorders, etc. If you noticed any of those issues, please consult a physician and also a mental health professional. You would be surprised how beneficial therapy could be.
In addition, please have regular check-ups. It's alarming to see how many patients I have who work 60+ hours/week and haven't gotten a check-up or followed up on existing conditions in years. Other ways to address physical self-care are exercising, eating a nutritious diet, getting proper sleep, and practicing mindful eating. Listening to our bodies and honoring their needs for rest, movement, detoxing, etc., are also essential. We all know these recommendations, but few practice them consistently (myself included), so the reminder comes in handy.
Emotional Self-Care Tips
There are many ways of addressing our emotional needs, and they also influence how well we manage our physical needs. Think of the frustration and social bandwidth after a sleepless night or the anxiety surrounding an illness. Yet, making time to address them is very important. Here are some ideas on processing our feelings:
talking to a friend or family member that makes us feel safe
journaling
expressive art-making
meditation
Relational Self-Care Tips
We are social animals, and relationships can make or break us. Creating the relationships that matter to us is essential to our well-being. Yet, it's often complex when you've had to be independent and self-reliant growing up to get your needs met. Developing social skills is an area where a therapeutic relationship can be instrumental. Here we are working through nuances and challenges.
Additionally, other mental health self-care tips in Miami, FL for you include:
Improving simple communication skills
Spending quality time (no phones) with your immediate family
Taking the time to engage in deep conversation as well as recreation consistently
Calling and spending time with your friends is super important
As we age, we face many challenges. Having a solid and broad support system could make all the difference in our ability to ride the waves.
Financial Security Self-Care Tips
Financial security is a more practical and often overlooked component of self-care. Our early life experiences also mark our relationship with money, and it's as unique as each of us. The role money's played in your family dynamics and poverty in childhood, shapes our relationship with money. Exploring such issues is essential as they often put us at risk of sabotaging our future.
I hope you found these quick tips helpful and that you commit time and time again to your self-care. In-person and online therapy in Florida can help you rewire some of your biases about self-care and your sense of worth. Give us a call if you'd like to see how we can help.
Therapy can support you if you want to discover self-care tips in Miami, FL!
Self-care is more than baths and exercise, it’s a holistic approach. What one person considers self-care, another may not. If you need help with mental health self-care tips, we can help! At Psych Blossom Counseling, you will work with one of our skilled therapists, either in person at our Miami therapy office or by meeting with one of our therapists online. If you would like to know more about how therapy can help please call 786-244-3520 for your free, 15-minute consultation. Or to get started follow these simple steps:
Learn about our skilled in-person and online therapists.
Begin finding a self-care plan that aligns with your needs!
Other Services at Psych Blossom Counseling
Therapy can help you as a busy professional and high achiever. Sometimes we struggle to pause and see what we need. This can lead to burnout faster than we need. Consider how our services can help you. At our therapy practice in Miami, FL, we can help with many different things including anxiety therapy, depression treatment, marriage counseling and couples therapy, therapy for life transitions, EMDR therapy, PTSD treatment and trauma therapy, and relationship therapy for singles.
If time is an issue for you, all of our counseling services can be offered through online therapy in Florida. While licensure limitations mean we can only offer therapy to people in Florida, many of our clients attend telehealth appointments virtually from other areas of the state such as Brickell, Coral Gables, and Key Biscayne. So, wherever you may be in Florida, we can help, and our therapists can help with all the complex parts of you that interact on a daily basis. When you’re ready, get in touch and begin therapy!
