Putting self-care to the test

As a society, we talk a lot about self-care. In fact, the concept of ‘self-care’ came to define the latter part of the 2010s, alongside the rise of ‘influencer’ culture and the ascension of platforms like Instagram. Though intended to capture the importance of mental and physical health, connection with the self, and other general wellbeing principles, the term has often been misappropriated; thrown around dismissively and reduced to something bordering on frivolous. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m an advocate of self-care, and I don’t necessarily think it needs to fit within a singular definition in order to hold value, but when a loaded concept becomes muddied, so does its effect on people. That is to say, how are we meant to practice something that we don’t truly understand? 

Now, more than ever, the self-care rhetoric and what we actually mean when we say that is being put to the test. In the ‘before’ times, self-care was something concrete. It could be demonstrated to us on our Instagram feeds, typically in the form of meditation, journaling, exercise, skincare. You know, tangible things that better you in body, mind, and spirit. 

But now, in the wake of COVID-19, I suspect the meaning we ascribe to self-care will change. It has to, in order for us to stay afloat during this period of uncertainty. It’s time to strip the notion of self-care back to what it was perhaps always intended to be: the literal act of caring for yourself, however that might look on a given day. It might mean lying on the couch, eating leftovers, and watching Seinfeld. It might mean crying or getting angry, or it might mean fighting the urge to do either, and instead calling a friend or going for a run. 

The important thing to remember is this: self-care is about freedom of choice. You’re ‘free’ from the exercise apps, the meditation guides, the juice cleanses, and the clay masks if you choose to be. The only mandate is that you show up for yourself, in whatever way you can.