What is soul-food?

Life can have many ups and down, causing us to go through many emotions. Our day to day lives can easily become stressful and overwhelming. Our mind, body and spirit are fragile and essential parts to our well-being. The same why that you keep up with the maintenance of your car such as getting an oil change or getting a car wash, you should maintain your self-care.  According to Oxford, self-care the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health. Self-care is important because the relationship you have with yourself can affect your relationship with others and how well you work. Neglecting your self-care can cause your self-confidence to decrease, develop mental health issues such as anxiety or depression, and physical health issues such as heart diseases.

In an article by Noma Nazish from Forbes, Nazish states:

“A healthy work-life balance: Contrary to common belief, workaholism is not a virtue. Overwork, and the accompanying stress and exhaustion can make you less productive, disorganized and emotionally depleted. It can also lead to all sorts of health problems, from anxiety and depression to insomnia and heart diseases. Professional self-care habits like taking intermittent breaks (for lunch, calling your mom, or taking a stroll), setting professional boundaries, avoiding overextending, etc. ensures that you stay sharp, motivated and healthy.”  https://www.forbes.com/sites/payout/2017/09/19/practicing-self-care-is-important-10-easy-habits-to-get-you-started/#40e443ed283a

In an article from Perimeter Healthcare, it states:

“ Self-care encourages you to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself so that you can transmit the good feelings to others. You cannot give to others what you don’t have yourself. While some may misconstrue self-care as selfish, it’s far from that. When you pay adequate attention to your well-being, you’re not considering your needs alone. You’re reinvigorating yourself so that you can be the best version of yourself for the people around you. Everyone around you also benefits from the renewed energy and joy you exhibit.” https://www.perimeterhealthcare.com/about/news/the-importance-of-self-care/

Self-care is an important topic to me because I know first hand the toll a lack of self-care can take on your life. During my junior year of college I was under a lot of pressure to succeed and began to develop unhealthy habits to manage the pressure. I was successing academicly and professional but I was exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally. I thought that the habits I had developed were a form of self-care but in reality they only added to my stress and caused me more anxiety. It wasn’t until the summer that I realized I was really neglecting my self-care and decided to change my routine. I now devote at least two hours daily to my own personal self-care. Some days that simply means reading a chapter from a book and drinking a couple of cups of tea. Other days that means turning my phone off and meditating. Join me on a journey to discovering what self-care is for you by following me on Twitter @JecheaKBriggs.

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