A Critical Look at Self-Care Culture and the Importance of Knowing Its Limits

"Self-care can be undoubtedly positive, but we have to be careful not to co-opt self-care as a cure-all solution to our mental health problems. Self-care pursued without awareness of your specific needs, and future repercussions can cause emotional, financial, mental, and physical consequences.

Lurie continues, “Pursuing self-care at any cost can be harmful, as it can prompt us to make choices that may not benefit us in the long term. Taking breaks and caring for yourself is essential, but disregarding responsibilities or making purchases you can’t afford can cause more stress and create additional problems.”

Self Care Won't Solve All Your Problems

This isn’t to say that self-care is an entirely misleading and harmful idea. No, to the contrary, self-care can be undoubtedly beneficial. However, it is critical that it not be treated as the ultimate solution or pursued without consistent evaluation.

According to Dr. Zishan Khan, a psychiatrist with Mindpath Health, self-care can lead to a person becoming overwhelmed or burnout when met with a sea of advice, doled out everywhere from podcasts to self-help books. Another danger can come when self-care actions reach the level of obsession or even addiction, cautions Dr. Melissa Boudin, MA, a psychologist and clinical director of Choosing Therapy. “When you spend a large amount of time thinking about or practicing a certain self-care behavior, to the point where it is negatively impacting your relationships, work, or home life, this may be a sign that self-care has gone from beneficial to harmful,” she says, using the example of self-care through healthy eating or exercise and then constantly fixating on them or going so far as to develop an eating disorder.

Your gut instinct is essential in the above case and when presented with any self-care suggestions. In many cases, you are aware if something will distress you further or cause long-term repercussions. “Don’t allow what others suggest to cloud your internal voice and always lean on those you know personally and feel comfortable with over strangers that don’t understand you as an individual,” says Khan. “Self-care can only benefit a person if it is consistent with their goals and values.” In all cases, self-care is about meeting yourself where you are but also being aware of when it’s time to ask for extra help. Khan, Lurie, and Boudin all emphasized that self-care can alleviate negative symptoms but may not serve as a substitute for clinical help for an ongoing mental health issue."

Read the complete article available at Very Well Mind!

Reflection:

Would you say that there's such thing as 'too much self-care'?

#Self-care #Mentalhealth #Coping