The Self Nurtured TeacherTM
The Self Nurtured TeacherTM
Self care can be defined in many ways and take many forms. For example, I define 6 areas where self nurturing opportunities arise where the goal is to provide yourself some level of consistent actions in each of the 6.
I would say that the common thread between the different definitions I’ve come across would be that it includes anything that you proactively do to be healthy in mind and body.
There is no 1 way to do self care.
What tends to happen is that people (mostly women) have been marketed to with the idea of “Self Care Sunday” (or the like) as a way to buy more stuff that will magically melt away your stress, guilt, shame, overwhelm, burnout and more.
The problem I have with that is my definition of Self Care includes a 24/7 perspective. I call that sustainable self care. And by sustainable I am talking about the ability to repeat simple habits that create daily self care to manage life and stress.
Let me give you an example. There was a time when I invested time and money to get regular massages. I love massages. They are necessary, imo. However, this alone is a situational type of self care. When my children were young, I was teaching kindergarten while parenting and definitely burned out! I bought into the idea that taking care of my needs meant bi-weekly massages. Don’t get me wrong…they were amazing! Here’s where I’m going with this. I wasn’t putting simple, consistent daily habits in place to sustain anything that the massages gave me. Therefore, about 2 hours after my massage I was already overwhelmed and frustrated with my work, my kids, my house, and more. Can anyone relate to this?
My frustration grew. I was taking 1.5 hours for the massage and spending alot of money to not have the benefit I was seeking. I started thinking there was something wrong with me that I couldn’t figure out how to be a calm, let it go, kind of woman, wife, and mom.
In addition, women didn’t often talk about the struggles of feeling less than in their career, partnerships, or parenthood. We felt the need to be all to everyone else first. That’s why I believe I (and many other women) turned towards those external means of self care. It was accepted and celebrated more than something like saying no to a boundary around your time.
The term self care continues to grow in popularity, with over 64 millon tags on instagram, especially since the 2020 pandemic lockdowns, isolation, and social justice movements.
Self care however is not a new term or movement for that matter. The history of self care started in the medical community in the 1950’s and grew in power and popularity during the civil rights movement.
Most people today know the term self care and its definition of taking care of yourself. It hasn’t always been that way. Here’s a brief look at the self care movement through the decades for you to better understand the significance of it for you today.
1950’s: The term Self Care originated within the medical community. Patient centered medicine became the emphasis in giving autonomy to patients in their health and wellness. Actions like exercising, eating well, and hygiene came for the medical profession.
1960’s: The Black Panther Party used the radical idea of “self-care” to fight against systemic racism. The black Panthers realized that in order to keep their movement going, they needed to take care of the black community and their group to keep the momentum and stay healthy and energized to fight for justice.
1970’s: Medical needs and social justice movement merge as Black Panthers extend the idea of self care to free health care for black and oppossed people. Self Care was a way to avoid burnout as an activist.
This was a pivotal point in the self care movement. It began as part of black history and would soon become a widespread adoption by many and help frame the definition that we know today.
1980’s: LGBTQ+ voices began speaking out for self care from the lens of health and wellness. “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” ~Audre Lourde
Lourde had strong stances on daily practices of self reflectionand health autonomy as a civic duty. Although her work was not widely spread at this time, her idea around self care gained attention in the 2000’s.
2000’s: 9/11 attacks created a sense that trauma can happen to anyone and self care began being discussed in therapy with trauma victims. The recession in 2008 continued to develop the term self care to people struggling with the events of the decade.
2010’s: 2016 saw a huge spike in self care searches, posts, and articles following the election of Trump. In fact, google self care and 2016 election and you’ll see the top results say something like, The Critical Role of Self-Care for Handling Post-Election Stress, Election Self Care Kit, Post-Election Self-Care, Election Day stress is real. People are creating self care plans, 7 Self-Care Tips I’m Actually Using on Election Night , and so on.
I believe we can continue to see the term self care evolve and deepen as we continue to navigate our lives and manage stress. Self Care isn’t going anywhere. The question is how do you want it to grow? Understanding how this term came to be can deepen your own understanding as we decide how to define self care for yourself and the greater community you are part of.
Start now with my FREE 7-Day Self Care Challenge that will empower taking care of yourself in simple, practical ways using the schedule you already have. This challenge is for real women tired of feeling shame, guilt, and overwhelm in how to put themselves first with the support of other women and a certified life coach.
