Are you of the mindset that self love vs self care are the same thing? You’re not alone. A lot of us might have this misunderstanding about self-care and self-love, but this is simply not true. They’re interconnected but both of these ideas have different meanings.
Self care is often talked about as a luxury, but it’s actually an essential part of any healthy lifestyle. And, it doesn’t mean that you have to have plenty of time on your hands to practice acts of self care.
Here’s the thing, if you want to live your best life, self care is something that you must include in your routine.
On the other hand, if you have self love then you’re better able to deal with the stresses of everyday life. And, not only that but you’re also more confident in yourself and your abilities to cope with challenges.
You’re also more likely to engage in behaviors that benefit your personal growth.
What Is Self Care?
So what is self care you might ask? Self-care is any behavior that you use to take care of yourself. It can be defined as taking some time to deliberately attend to your own needs so that you can function at your best.
It’s all about looking after your own needs like food, water, shelter, warmth, exercise or safety, you get the idea.
Taking care of yourself is an important part of managing, and doing what’s best for your mental and physical wellness.
Self care isn’t just about treating yourself to a massage or buying fancy bath bombs although those can be nice too.
It’s making sure that these needs are met so that you can go on living your life to its fullest potential.
When you take care of your own mental and emotional health, it allows you to be more present in your relationships with others.
You’re better able to listen, understand, and empathize with them. This, in turn, allows you to be better caregivers and friends to others and also serves to help you form a stronger bond with your family members and friends.
When you’re taking care of yourself, you’ll have more energy and you’re better able to handle stress. The fact is you’ll also more likely to be in a good mood, which makes you more pleasant to be around.
There are many different ways to practice it and everyone has different needs when it comes to self care and what this means for them. The thing is, it doesn’t need to be complicated, expensive, or difficult.
And, the great thing is that there are no rules; if something makes you feel balanced then go ahead and do it!
What Is Self Love?
When someone says “self-love” what do you think of it? It’s a form of love that you direct towards yourself.
It can be described as an emotion of self-acceptance and self-appreciation.
Self-love is about your mindset, seeing yourself and unconditionally accepting you for who you truly are.
In essence, it’s accepting your strengths and weaknesses, forgiving yourself for mistakes made in the past, as well as celebrating what makes you unique.
When you love yourself, it means that your happiness starts with your mental state rather than external factors and loving yourself
doesn’t translate into self-centeredness or selfishness.
But rather, it means putting your own needs first in order to take care of your mental health.
Self love is extremely important. In that, it helps you to empathize with yourself and to feel more confident talking about your emotional needs, instead of feeling like you need to conform to the demands of other people.
Loving yourself with help you to learn to understand yourself better and also what would make you happy.
What’s The Difference?
So, what is the difference between self-love and self-care? Sometimes it can be difficult to understand where one ends and the other begins, here are some tips to help you with that.
Self Love
- Self-love is more of a mindset,t accepting yourself for who you are.
- It is a way to practice radical self-acceptance which is the first step on the road to self-love.
- It focuses on how you feel about yourself.
- Loving yourself is about valuing yourself, respecting, and having compassion for who you are.
- Self love is the act of loving yourself without making any comparison with anyone else.
Self Care
- You have to make a conscious decision to take care of yourself.
- Self-care is simply what you do to take care of yourself
- It’s more about taking care of your physical needs.
- Caring for yourself focuses on what you do for yourself
- Self care is the act of caring for yourself. This includes doing simple practices such as eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, going to the doctor when you need to, and not overworking yourself.
- It also involves surrounding yourself with people you love.
Why Is Self Love and Self Care Important
Self-love and self-care are important for your overall health and well-being and are the foundation of a healthy lifestyle.
When you love and care for yourself, you are more likely to make healthier choices for you.
This includes things like eating healthy foods, exercising, and getting enough sleep.
Self-love and self-care also help you to manage stress and anxiety, which can be damaging to your health.
Love Yourself And Take Care Of Yourself: Some Signs That You Need Both
- People who suffer from depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and other mental illnesses may not be very good at self-care or self-love.
- You constantly tell yourself that you’re not good enough, that you can’t do it, or that you’re not worth it, then you likely have some work to do when it comes to self-love.
- Stress from being overworked is often a sign of poor self care. Get this, it’s okay to ask for help.
- If you feel too tired at the end of a long day to take care of yourself, it may be a sign that your self-care game needs to change.
- If you don’t seem to have enough time to look after your own needs, then your self care is totally absent.
- The bottom line is this: if your happiness and well-being hinge on something outside of yourself, then you don’t really love yourself.
How Do You Practice Self Care?
If you are looking for ideas on how to take care of yourself, here are some that you can try:
- Try your best to eat well-balanced meals. If you are not sure what that means, check out an app like MyFitnessPal or ask your doctor for nutrition advice.
2. Start exercising! Even if it is just a couple of days a week, getting active will make you feel better about yourself and give you more energy.
3. Spend time with loved ones. Not only does this help strengthen relationships, but it also gives you some downtime that you deserve!
How Do You Practice Self Love?
Here are some examples of how to pour some love on yourself:
- Make a list of all the things you like about yourself. You can even try asking your friends for their opinions. Remember that nobody is perfect and everyone has flaws!
2. Some ways to show your love towards others can be done through self love as well. For example, if you plan to make apple pie for your family, write yourself a note telling yourself how good of a job you’ll do and that you’re the boss at this, you make the best pies!
3. If you don’t like some things about your appearance, try changing the way you think about them. For example, if you feel insecure about your weight, tell yourself why you’re awesome! Maybe you have healthy cholesterol levels or you are able to run 3 miles without getting short of breath. Or, you can put measures in place to lose the weight for you.
4. If something doesn’t go your way, take deep breaths and realize that it is okay if things don’t work out. You can always try again, but there is no need to stress yourself out about it.
5. It may sound cheesy, but give yourself a hug! Physical touch releases oxytocin, which is known as the “cuddle hormone.” This will make you feel good and feel loved.
How Does Self Care Lead To Self Love?
Self care is an important part of maintaining your mental health and well-being. When you practice self care, you’re taking a step towards self love.
When you stop putting other things and people first then you’ll have a more balanced life and be more fulfilled.
If you’re affected by a lack of loving yourself most likely you’ll find it difficult to care for yourself in your everyday life.
This can leave you feeling unhappy and depressed. If you neglect your mental and physical wellness then you’ll be empty of self-confidence and your own value and self-appreciation.
It’s critical that you develop and keep a nourishing, wholesome connection with the people you surround yourself with as well as yourself.
This will give you an attitude of optimism as well as confidence which in turn shapes the framework for loving yourself.
If you’re challenged with finding the time, you can start off with 5 minutes self care acts just to get your feet wet and then you can progress from there.
In fact, it will make you a better person because once you start loving yourself, you will realize how much love is inside of you for others. Loving yourself is not about being self-centred, but it’s actually the opposite when done right.
When you make taking care of yourself a priority in your life means that you’re setting the example that you’re worth taking care of. You’re telling yourself and others that you love yourself.
Here’s the thing, family and friends looking on will know that you’re worth investing in and that you’re worth making time for. This can be incredibly beneficial to your mental health and well-being.
A healthy relationship is one that adds to both people’s overall well-being, fueled by communication, respect, and boundaries.
Conclusion
If your job, everybody else, and your long list of tasks are the order of the day, then you’ll surely be overwhelmed and unhappy. You need to make yourself a priority by taking care of yourself.
Self love and self care are important because they are the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. When you love and care for yourself, you’re more likely to make healthy choices for yourself.
Self care requires effort. For example, selfcare would mean getting enough sleep to be able to function properly at work the next day.
You cannot truly love somebody else without loving yourself first, so why would you ever think that you can love others before loving yourself?
When you love yourself enough to take care of your body and mind, you’re better able to manage stress and anxiety and on the right track to a healthy and happy life.
On the other hand, if you can be content and happy regardless of circumstance, then you’re on your way to loving yourself.
How do you deal with self love vs self care? Comment below!
