Self-care has been a topic of much discussion in my various circles these days. Whether at work, with friends and family, or on social media, many of us - mostly women - are in the process of prioritizing ourselves in order to preserve ourselves.
Just yesterday, I commented on a Facebook posting on the topic with the following:
I have to be very mindful about my own needs and really have to train myself to stop, say no, relax, and rejuvenate. The two biggest things I've realized are: 1) for me, self-care doesn't have to be a huge action - it can be as small as going inside a bathroom stall and doing some deep breathing, or going for a 10 min walk - and 2) getting over the guilt of practicing self-care is crucial - we need to take care of us so we can take care of everything else.
As soon as I hit send, I had an epiphany and quickly added the following:
Actually - though women have tons to take care of, the validity of our self-care still doesn't need to be contingent on being able to take care of others. We have to take care of ourselves because we owe it to ourselves. That just popped into my head, so I wanted to add on :)
When we tell people - especially women who carry a multitude of concurrent roles and responsibilities - that their need for self-care is valid because it helps them care for others, is that truly self-care?
At the root of it all is the understanding that we need to create space in our lives to rejuvenate and replenish ourselves. It may look like booking a spa treatment. Or taking a walk on a beautiful day. Or buying ourselves something nice. Or saying no to every hot Friday night plan in favor of Netflix & wine after a tough work week. We can honour ourselves and our immediate needs in a way that no one else can, but we often feel guilt around the practice.
If we need to take a day off from work, we feel like we're letting our team down. If we tell our families that we're taking an hour to ourselves to unwind with a bubble bath, we feel bad about not being there for their needs. If we disclose our self-care practices to people who mock us for our "indulgence," we feel like maybe we're truly being selfish. A method that's been used to curb this guilt and second-guessing (and to encourage us to continue along the path of self-care) is the phrase "Take care of yourself so that you can take care of others" - and while that's undoubtedly a valuable asset to making ourselves priorities, it shouldn't be the only reason we do.
We juggle so many different hats. Parent. Lover. Friend. Coworker. Caregiver. Financial Advisor. Student. Homemaker. We could be wearing any combination of hats at any given time, and self-care is crucial if we're going to be any good to the people who depend on us. I definitely believe that in order to be there for others, we first have to be there for ourselves. They say you can't give from an empty cup, so self-care helps us give to others from a place of abundance, not a place of martyrdom.
HOWEVER.
It still isn't enough to value self-care solely for the ability it lends us to take care of others.
Isn't the reverence we have for ourselves enough of a validation for self-care? Isn't it OK to just say, "I'm doing this for myself" without further explanation? I'll admit, when I thought about this while writing the aforementioned Facebook comment, I was hit with a nervous flutter in my stomach that signaled the guilt I thought I had swept away. It takes effort as a woman with multiple people depending on her to say "This is for me" instead of "This is for me so that I can be for you." For those of us who fall prey to the fallacy of the Strong Black Woman trope, it takes effort to separate ourselves from the value we earn by keeping things going. We are prided on our ability to take everything the world throws at us without missing a beat, and we often aren't afforded the opportunity to drop bits and pieces or the whole load to focus on ourselves, even for a short while. We give ourselves permission for self-care by equating it back to the asset we'll be to those that need us, and that helps to make it OK. The benefit to others is the easiest defense against cries of indulgence of selfishness, so we grab at it quickly. Forcing myself to move beyond that, and allowing myself to care for myself because I care for myself is a revolutionary act.
As I said on Twitter:
Can a sista just take care of herself b/c she likes herself and wants to be her best self and wants to live a dope ass life? Yes.
— Bee (@BeeSince83) June 3, 2015
Now, I just need to remember that.