Self Care

For academic, personal, and career goal achievement, college students must prioritize self-care.

The popular idea of self-care has been trending across social media platforms promoting self-indulgent activities that involve spending money on lavish spa days, vacations, and beauty products. Spending money on these things initially can seem like a quick fix, but it can become costly down the line. It doesn’t take long until you are saddled with enormous debt and stressed out. Consequently, what was once a temporary relief from stress has become a source of worry and stress in your life. Let’s instead view financial wellness and self-care as complementary. Taking care of your personal finances and living within your means is a form of self-care. Furthermore, self-care is a much more substantive, holistic undertaking, that requires devoting time and energy to do things that promote optimal health and wellness. Self-care is about taking purposeful proactive steps to improve your resilience and overall well-being (Butler et al., 2019).

The concept of self-care is similar to the mechanics of a car. For example, a car must undergo preventative maintenance, such as scheduling regular tune-ups, involving oil changes, brake inspection, monitoring of fluid levels, tire pressure, lights, and signals, to keep functioning efficiently and safely under all driving conditions. The same applies to your physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and relational vehicle as a college student that will either keep you on course to your academic, personal, and career goals, or if not properly tended to, could leave you stranded on the highway of life.

Self-care Reduces Negative Outcomes

There is substantial evidence that self-care practice reduces negative outcomes such as burnout. Burnout includes emotional exhaustion, a sense of detachment, diminished self-efficacy, and reduced personal accomplishment (Posluns & Gall, 2020).

The good news is, daily self-care helps individuals develop resilience, live longer, and manage stress more effectively. A core aspect of self-care involves self-reflection and awareness of one’s needs, as well as a deliberate effort to seek out resources that foster health and well-being (Barnett et al., 2007). In brief, self-care is the ability to replenish and refuel oneself in healthy ways (Gentry, 2002).

Four Areas of Purposeful Self Care

Maintaining physical health and reducing stress are two essential aspects of self-care, but they are not the only two. Self-care also involves your inner experience, such as your need for activities that engage the mind as well as emotional reflection (Butler et al., 2019).

Next, let’s review the four main themes of self-care that involve “being purposeful”.

Being purposeful includes intentional acts that allow you to fulfill meaningful objectives. In these examples, meaningful objectives are consistently and generally defined: wellness, growth, and fulfillment. It should be noted that while these “areas of purposeful” are categorized in three main themes, each theme serves its own purpose but is also interdependent upon the other themes.

• Purposeful Mind
  Purposeful practices and self-care promotes psychological wellness, growth, and fulfillment. Similar to your body needing exercise so does your mind. Practices include self-awareness, mindful reflection, a growth mindset, and learning.
• Purposeful Body
  Purposeful practices and self-care promotes physical wellness, growth, and fulfillment. To function optimally, your body needs proper physical activity, nourishment, and sleep.
• Purposeful Emotions
  Purposeful practices and self-care promotes emotional wellness, growth, and fulfillment. Emotional self-care requires self-awareness and expression.
• Purposeful Connectedness
  Purposeful connections and self-care that promote wellness, growth, and fulfillment. Practices may involve spiritual, creative, relational, and vocational connections.