Parent or Not: How To Know When You Need Self-Care

Have you tried adding self-care activities to your daily routine? Do you feel like you're not doing enough for yourself or seeing the benefits?

This is a very common problem, but it's easy to remedy. Here are some signs that you might need to add a bit more self-care to your life.

Your Basic Needs are Not Being Met

Are you neglecting basic personal needs? This can be anything from not sleeping well (maybe you don't have a relaxing nighttime routine) to neglecting your mental health. If you feel like that, then this is a big sign that you need to start focusing more on self-care. 

I know: your work, your family and other commitments are consuming all of your time. Or you tried before and ended up feeling more frustrated than anything else because you .

But hear me out - over the next week, try the following: Pay attention to your daily routine, not just with your regular job and other responsibilities, but how you spend your free time. Everyone has blocks of time during the day between tasks. What are you doing with this time? Are you paying attention to your needs?

You Feel More Stress and Not Sure Why

Many times, we experience emotional stress and anxiety, but don't actually know why or where it's coming from. If you can't pinpoint a reason why you would be more stressed lately, then you might have been internalizing or suppressing your feelings for a while now. And as a result you need to be doing more for yourself in the form of self-care.

At the very least, it's worth you giving it a try. When you feel high amounts of stress, try to add more to your self-care routine. This is going to look different for everyone, but it might include going for a walk around the neighborhood, reading a book or writing in your journal, listening to your favorite music and dancing around in the living room, scheduling an appointment with your therapist, trying yoga in the morning, taking a bath, taking a fun class on the weekend, or going for coffee with friends. The list is endless.

When was the Last Time You Did Anything for Yourself?

Is your plate so full that you feel like everything you do is for your job, your family, or your friends, and never for yourself?

This is perhaps one of the biggest reasons you need to practice more self-care.

If you can't remember the last thing you did just for you, or have trouble thinking of more than a handful of things you did for yourself, then you definitely need more self-care.

Self-Care is Not Part of Your Regular Schedule

For anyone who does't add self-care to their regular schedule, it is essential that you start focusing on this more often.

Self-Care should not be something you do when you're stressed or having a bad day. When it's part of your routine, it becomes a part of your daily life - and something you look forward to each and every day.