Self care is growing in popularity, and for good reason. More people than ever are realising that self care isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. How exactly do you manage to create a self care practice if your life is already busy and hectic? This article explores how to use self care affirmations to help increase feelings of calm, peace, and self love.
What is self care?
Self care will look different for every single person, but essentially, it is any activity that helps improve your mental, physical, or emotional health. It can include any activity that helps you feel good, and ultimately destress.
Popular examples of self care include journaling, meditation, walking in nature, eating more fruits and vegetables, or drinking more water. For some people, self care might look like a long candlelit bath, and for others it might look like a sweaty gym class.
It is important that the form of self care you choose is actually helping you feel calm and balanced rather than causing more stress. You might ask yourself “does this feel right or am I using this activity/practice to numb out or avoid my feelings?”
What are the benefits of self care?
Research shows that there are many benefits of practicing self care. They include:
- An improvement in physical health
- A reduction in stress and anxiety
- Harmonious and satisfying relationships
- Increased confidence and self esteem
- A development in self awareness
- Increased feelings of self compassion
- A reduction in overthinking and critical thoughts
It is clear that self care improves many aspects of life and has a positive impact on others around you.
How can self care affirmations help?
Positive affirmations are an excellent tool for helping you prioritise self care and work through any blocks you might have around putting your needs first. Positive affirmations work by helping rewire conscious and subconscious parts of the brain whilst shifting your mindset and keeping you focused on what matters.
Self care is closely linked to self love. If you struggle to accept all aspects of yourself or find yourself having critical thoughts, you can check out these self love affirmations or consider working through the exercises in the Self Love eWorkbook.
Affirmations aren’t the full solution to increasing confidence or working through limiting beliefs, however they are an extremely powerful tool when you use words and phrases that resonate with you. They are also very powerful when combined with journaling or meditation.
Self care affirmations
Choose the affirmations that resonate with you or feel free to edit the ones that don’t to make them more personal to you. Make sure you repeat the affirmations regularly. You can also set reminders on your phone to refer to them throughout the day, or consider writing them on your mirror or on your phone wallpaper.
- I deserve to relax and rest.
- I take care of my needs.
- Self care is an important part of my life.
- I release any tension from my body.
- I honour the power of slowing down.
- It is safe for me to put my needs first.
- I make time for activities that light me up.
- I let go of anything that no longer serves me.
- My body, mind, and spirit are balanced and peaceful.
- I nurture my needs with love.
- I honour my feelings and make space for them.
- My self care is worth making time for.
- I am worthy of love, care, and attention.
- I am healthy, balanced, and whole.
- As I take care of myself, I am able to offer more to others.
- I love eating healthy and nourishing foods.
- I love moving my body in ways that feel good.
- Self care is a beautiful and cherished aspect of my life.
- I make space for my needs and desires.
- I am my top priority.
- Every day I lean more towards love and acceptance.
- I am deserving of all the good things in life.
- I treat critical thoughts and feelings with compassion.
- My mind is balanced and at ease.
- I love and accept all aspects of myself.
Final thoughts
Use these self care affirmations to help you integrate healthy self care practices into your life and release any guilt or fear you might feel around putting your needs first. As the famous saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Even if you lead an extremely busy life, try taking 5-10 minutes each day to do something that makes you feel balanced and grounded. You absolutely deserve to take care of yourself and look after your needs.