Self-care is on its way to becoming a cringy term because everyone throws it around, but let's talk about it while we are here.  

The reason why I started thinking about this is because I have been feeling insecure and bad about my body and mind so I decided that I need to take care of myself.

It's absolutely important for everyone to take care of their mind and body, but I have a feeling that self-care became a very superficial practice where we only take care of our body. I am the first to blame for this since my self-care involves a lot more body scrubs and face masks than meditation and reflection.  

We've succumbed to this ideal of "look great, feel great" which couldn't be further from the truth. While appearance is important, let's not forget that "look great, feel great" comes with a lot of "buy this and buy that" so it's safe to say that this self-care that focuses specifically on our body has been largely influenced by marketing campaigns and less by what people really need. 

Why not talk about meditation, working out, self-reflection, writing diaries, reading etc., as important forms of self-care which might even come before taking care of our skin, face, hair etc.? 

Prioritizing our mental health and taking care of our soul as much as we prioritize our looks would solve a lot of our individual and collective problems.  

Doing self-care in terms of only taking care of what you see in the mirror is maybe more appealing because it can give instant results while you have to work for a very long time to take care of everything that's on the inside. We became a society that wants everything and we want it now and we live in a world that allows a lot of our cravings to be met immediately but good mental health is not something that a food delivery app can bring to our door.  

There is also the issue people have with comparing themselves to everyone else, even when it comes to taking care of ourselves. Self-care doesn't have to be taking time off, going on a trip, spending a bunch of money on products or expensive therapists. Self-care can be cooking, writing a diary, spending time in nature, working out, cleaning, having great sex and so on. It's about listening to your body, being aligned with yourself and giving yourself what you need.

How do you do your self-care? 

Love, 
Luna 

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