Self-Care & Wellness
Evidence-based self-care strategies to support your mental health and overall well-being.
Self-care isn't selfish—it's essential for mental health. True self-care goes beyond bubble baths and face masks (though those can help!). It's about intentionally caring for your physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual well-being in ways that are sustainable and meaningful to you.
This resource hub brings together comprehensive self-care strategies across five dimensions of wellness, helping you build a personalized self-care practice that actually works for your life.
Essential Resources
Complete Self-Care Guide
Comprehensive guide to self-care across five dimensions: physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual.
Stress Management Techniques
Breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, grounding techniques, and mindfulness practices.
Mood Tracking Worksheet
Track your mood and identify patterns to understand what activities and practices support your well-being.
Professional Support
Self-care works best alongside professional support. Find therapy platforms that can help.
Setting Boundaries
Learn to set healthy boundaries—an essential self-care skill for protecting your mental health.
Mindfulness Resources
Mindfulness practices are powerful self-care tools for reducing stress and increasing present-moment awareness.
The Five Dimensions of Self-Care
Physical Self-Care
Caring for your body's basic needs
- • Adequate sleep (7-9 hours)
- • Regular movement/exercise
- • Balanced, nourishing meals
- • Staying hydrated
- • Medical care when needed
- • Limiting alcohol/substances
Emotional Self-Care
Processing and expressing feelings
- • Journaling or creative expression
- • Allowing yourself to cry/feel
- • Therapy or counseling
- • Healthy emotional outlets
- • Self-compassion practices
- • Setting boundaries
Mental Self-Care
Engaging and resting your mind
- • Learning new things
- • Reading, puzzles, hobbies
- • Limiting news/social media
- • Mental breaks during work
- • Challenging negative thoughts
- • Intellectual stimulation
Social Self-Care
Nurturing meaningful connections
- • Quality time with loved ones
- • Saying no to draining relationships
- • Building community/belonging
- • Asking for support when needed
- • Meaningful conversations
- • Balance alone time and togetherness
Spiritual Self-Care
Connecting with meaning and purpose
- • Time in nature
- • Meditation or prayer
- • Values reflection
- • Creative expression
- • Gratitude practices
- • Contributing to causes you care about
Note: Effective self-care is individualized. What works for others may not work for you. Experiment to find practices that genuinely help you feel restored and resilient.
Common Self-Care Mistakes to Avoid
- Only practicing self-care when in crisis: Self-care works best as prevention, not just damage control. Build regular practices before you're overwhelmed.
- Treating self-care as optional or indulgent: Self-care is necessary maintenance for your mental health, not a luxury. It's as important as charging your phone.
- One-size-fits-all approaches: What restores one person may drain another. Customize your self-care to what actually helps YOU, not what looks good on Instagram.
- Using "self-care" to avoid problems: Retail therapy or excessive screen time might feel good temporarily but don't address underlying issues. True self-care supports coping, not just escape.
- Neglecting one dimension: Balanced self-care addresses physical, emotional, mental, social, AND spiritual needs. Don't focus on one to the exclusion of others.
Self-Care Blog Articles
We're building a comprehensive library of self-care articles. Future posts will cover topics like:
- • Creating a sustainable self-care routine
- • Self-care on a budget: free and low-cost practices
- • Self-care for busy people: realistic strategies
- • The difference between self-care and self-indulgence
- • Self-care when you have no time or energy
- • How to know if your self-care is actually working
In the meantime, explore our existing self-care resources above, or browse related tags below.