How to create a self-care routine
Self-care is a buzzword that seems to have taken over our social media, magazines and the news. Historical uses have ranged from mental health to colonialism to activism to the hippie movement and now to an industry worth more than £8 billion. What exactly does self- care mean and where on earth did it come from? Did people in previous generations practice self care? Well, yes they did, howbeit for different reasons.
Records show that self-care was used as far back as ancient Greece. The concept was very much associated with the wealthy, upper and middle class people who viewed themselves as superior to others without the means or the opportunity to so.
What does this mean for you?
In as much as self-care has been monetized and is now a massive industry, and its true meaning is at risk of being lost in all the hype, it's still a positive concept to implement. However, it does not just mean spa days, using expensive products on your face or going on expensive vacations.
My definition of self-care is recognising what you need, physically, spiritually and mentally and meeting those needs. This is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs or hierarchy of motivation. It is a theory proposed by Abraham Maslow and it depicts human needs arranged as a hierarchy from the most basic needs which form the foundation to be able to think about psychological and self-fulfilment needs. Looking at this then, it's important to start from your basic physical needs.
