Self-Care and Valentine’s Day: 7 Ways to Love Yourself
- Education, Health and Wellness, Mindfulness and Meditation, Power of Healing
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For some, Valentine’s Day is a triggering holiday. With all the talk of romance and relationships, it can be easy to write off the day completely. Whether you are single or in a relationship, this holiday can be a day of self-love and self-care.
How often are we given a day focused entirely on love? Rather than centering Valentine’s Day solely on romantic relationships, we can focus the day on showing love for ourselves.
Dr. Matthew Glowiak, a clinical faculty member in Southern New Hampshire University’s master’s in clinical mental health counseling program, explains the importance of self-care:
“Self-care is an important activity to do every day. Doing so will lead toward a better balance among your dimensions of wellness and lead toward improved overall health and wellness. Life is precious, and it is meant to be enjoyed.”
Studies have shown that our relationships are deeper and healthier when we first love ourselves. Therefore, it is crucial that we work self-love practices into our day-to-day lives, and especially on the day of love itself.
As you plan your day-of-love festivities with your partner, pals, or pet, remember to include the 7 areas of self-care in your holiday.
One way to love yourself this Valentine’s Day is through emotional self-care. Emotional self-care is focused on allowing yourself a space space to feel and experience your emotions without fear. Some ways that you can practice this is the following:
As you give yourself space to express and feel your emotions freely, you will be better able to experience self-love.
A Harvard study found that “interacting with natural spaces offers other therapeutic benefits. For instance, calming nature sounds and even outdoor silence can lower blood pressure and levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which calms the body’s fight-or-flight response.” Here are ways you can use nature as a self-love tool:
Spend time in nature pondering life and the stars.
Human beings are social creatures. We survive and thrive in communities and social settings. Social self-care is focused on creating and maintaining healthy relationships. Here are various ways you can practice this self-love:
As Tom Havaford and Donna Meagle coined, “Treat yo’self.” However, part of treating yourself is also living within your means. Living with financial responsibility gives you greater peace of mind and freedom. The following are suggestions for practicing financial self-love:
Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, practicing spiritual self-care is crucial for overall health. Spiritual self-care is simply “having a sense of perspective beyond the day-to-day life.” This allows us to live beyond the mundane, everyday tasks and look forward to something greater than ourselves. Here are some ways to experience spiritual self-love:
The importance of practicing physical self-care is to help you stay healthy, active, and rested in life. It also provides you with the energy you need to accomplish your daily responsibilities. Here are some key points to maintain physical self-love:
Mental, or intellectual, self-care is key to maintaining clear-headed and engaged in life. Having mental stamina helps you in every aspect of your wellbeing, giving you the strength and clarity to overcome challenges. The following are ways to practice mental self-love:
Self-care is as unique as each individual; everyone’s approach to how they love themselves will be different. However, focusing on these 7 areas of self-care will help you not only have a better Valentine’s Day, they will also help you in your everyday life.
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