September is National Self -Care Awareness month and a good time for students to remember to take a minute to themselves, aside from their studies and work. Many students across campus struggle daily with the stress of class and perhaps a job. At Harding, there is always something to be doing, whether that’s a club function, a class project or one of the many other opportunities to get involved on campus.
Self-care has a different meaning to every person that practices it. The only thing that seems to be agreed upon is that it is indeed critical. But as important as it may be, with the busy schedules students tend to uphold, it feels impossible to fit it all in. So first it must be defined: What is self-care?
Librarian and self-care enthusiast Lisa Fuller describes it as a space intentionally created for the environment that provides you with energy for life. She said it’s important for college-aged adults to start good self-care habits now to avoid getting burned out by their 30s and 40s.
Licensed Therapist Stephanie O’Brian said that self-care does not have to be hard or expensive.
“It’s things that every living human should be doing, like getting adequate sleep, drinking enough water, eating nutritious foods and having some exercise regimen,” O’Brian said.
She said there are some misconceptions to self-care, such as the idea that it is something you do once a month and you’re fixed, when in reality, self-care is a lifestyle that must be incorporated into a daily routine for it to truly be helpful.
“There’s such a thing as toxic self-care in which we do things that may seem great for us but really aren’t,” O’Brian said. “It may feel nice to watch 12 episodes of a TV show, eat an entire pizza and a pint of ice cream but if you do that often as your go-to self-care, you are really just escaping reality.”
Students play a huge role in developing their own self-care routines. Along with asking others what they do, it is important for each person to take the time to figure out what really works for them and to find what makes them calm, energized and ready to take on the world.
“For me, one of the most helpful things I can do is just simply time management,” Fuller said. “Just actually taking the time to look and see okay what has to be done today and what can wait until later.”
Fuller also said the culture around us breeds a feeling of overwhelming anxiety about things that need to be done. A simple way to combat that is to be mindful of what’s happening in the here and now, and try not to get caught up in the future.
There are even groups on campus that focus on positive material and self-care habits. Junior Nautica Ivy started a women’s group called Nurture Thy Self in which participants have a safe space to be themselves.
“It’s all about self-care and learning how to love themselves,” Ivy said. “It’s a safe space for women to express themselves and to be who they truly are and learning how to love themselves and really dig down deep.”
As National Self-Care Awareness Month comes to a close and the school year quickly approaches midterms it is important for students to practice self-care tactics to stay on top of their mental health.
September marks National Self-Care Awareness Month
