If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living now.” - The Alchemist (Paulo Coehlo)
As teenagers we live in a weird stage of life. Where we are either deeply living in the present and seem almost careless about our futures. Or completely consumed by how if we don’t succeed now, we’ve doomed all of our chances of ever doing well in life. I often find myself torn between these things because I wish to be present, but I sometimes don’t allow myself because of my own ambitions. It’s like I’m at the starting line of a race and I can see the finish line and what awaits me, but I just don’t know how to get there.
This whole state of overthinking has been somewhat detrimental to my wellbeing and it’s made me obsessed with making myself feel better. Which leads me to the elusive term of “Self-Care”. So what does caring for yourself really look like? Does taking walks, yoga, and skin care as a coping mechanism actually work? I feel like this phrase can be taken into two directions: one being that we must better ourselves to become more “productive” in fear of failure. Or a way that’s gentle, strategies that promote us to become more comfortable with ourselves. However to even begin either of these two plans, we have to admit to ourselves something is wrong in the first place, which is probably the hardest step, but why?
Through social media we are often exposed to a very specific view of self care. Maybe it’s a colorful bubble filled baths or green drinks that boasts numerous health benefits. Personally, I’ve found solace in things like talk therapy and keeping my mind busy when I’m in the throws of anxiety; that being said, all of these things are expensive and almost considered a luxury. According to the Oxford dictionary the official definition of “Self Care” is “the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health.” So why do we often view taking care of ourselves as self-indulgence?
Frankly, it’s a very clear example on how society views mental health. When it comes down to anything else happening to our bodies we jump right on it. Your chest hurts? You book a doctor’s appointment the first thing in the morning. Experience some joint pain while running? You toss out your old shoes and start looking into your local orthopedic doctor. So why do we always put things like grief and depression on the back burner until it bubbles up and blows over? Mental and physical health go hand in hand, there’s not a quick fix, it’s constant maintenance.
As teenagers we live in a weird stage of life. Where we are either deeply living in the present and seem almost careless about our futures. Or completely consumed by how if we don’t succeed now, we’ve doomed all of our chances of ever doing well in life. I often find myself torn between these things because I wish to be present, but I sometimes don’t allow myself because of my own ambitions. It’s like I’m at the starting line of a race and I can see the finish line and what awaits me, but I just don’t know how to get there.
This whole state of overthinking has been somewhat detrimental to my wellbeing and it’s made me obsessed with making myself feel better. Which leads me to the elusive term of “Self-Care”. So what does caring for yourself really look like? Does taking walks, yoga, and skin care as a coping mechanism actually work? I feel like this phrase can be taken into two directions: one being that we must better ourselves to become more “productive” in fear of failure. Or a way that’s gentle, strategies that promote us to become more comfortable with ourselves. However to even begin either of these two plans, we have to admit to ourselves something is wrong in the first place, which is probably the hardest step, but why?
Through social media we are often exposed to a very specific view of self care. Maybe it’s a colorful bubble filled baths or green drinks that boasts numerous health benefits. Personally, I’ve found solace in things like talk therapy and keeping my mind busy when I’m in the throws of anxiety; that being said, all of these things are expensive and almost considered a luxury. According to the Oxford dictionary the official definition of “Self Care” is “the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health.” So why do we often view taking care of ourselves as self-indulgence?
Frankly, it’s a very clear example on how society views mental health. When it comes down to anything else happening to our bodies we jump right on it. Your chest hurts? You book a doctor’s appointment the first thing in the morning. Experience some joint pain while running? You toss out your old shoes and start looking into your local orthopedic doctor. So why do we always put things like grief and depression on the back burner until it bubbles up and blows over? Mental and physical health go hand in hand, there’s not a quick fix, it’s constant maintenance.