Why Self-Care Isn’t for Everyone

You may have heard the two words ‘self-care’ being thrown about a lot lately. Whether it’s a new health and beauty business trying to sell you their new range of supplements or a well-meaning friend trying to give you some tips on your mental health, these buzz words are just about everywhere. However you have hard it, and in whatever form, ‘self-care’ is a very broad topic with various connotations. In some cases, self-care isn’t always enough, and it isn’t always helpful to people suffering from mental health problems. We’re here to discuss what it really means, and why it isn’t for everyone.

On the surface of it, self-care sounds all lovely and soft and warm and happy. A relaxing bath, some light meditation or a brisk walk in the countryside for some fresh air. Ahh, lovely indeed. But, wait a minute, if we dig a little deeper into the experiences of some of the people who are living with certain long-term chronic mental health disorders, self-care can actually be detrimental.

Self-Care Is Just Another Social Media Phenomenon

As those two words have become more and more popular on the social media circuit, they have gained a sort of fetish like culture and picked up with them another way for people to show off. Look how great my self-administered self-care day was in all its shiny instagrammable detail, they say. It has almost turned into just another way to prove that you are achieving that elusive ‘perfect’ life. Perfect job, perfect partner, perfect…self-care routine? Check.

So, What’s the Take-Away?

So if all of this sounds familiar, and you’re not sure that self-care is for you, you may be one of the people for whom this ‘trend’ is not particularly helpful. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t indulge in that bubble bath or write your deepest feelings in a journal every now and then, but it just means that it might mean something different for you.

Some people struggle to ‘indulge’ in self-care in the traditional sense, and various psychologists have noted how it can actually induce feelings of guilt. This can then develop into feelings of pressure and ultimately snowballs into something that isn’t particularly helpful at all. The moral of the story? Do what works for you. Get to know yourself. Don’t force yourself to let everyone know how great that spa day was and just how much it ‘chilled you out’ if you don’t quite feel like it’s you.