‘Self care’ is a term thrown around a lot these days, to the point where the original meaning has been lost. 

Some social media influencers might have you believe that the only acceptable form of ‘self-care’ is spending big on spa retreats and facials, but this is definitely not the case! 

Let’s get back to basics — what really is self care?

Self care simply refers to any activities and actions taken to enhance your energy, boost your overall health, and reduce stress levels. 

It’s about looking after our mental health and taking steps to ensure we can live our lives to the fullest. By nourishing our bodies and minds, we’re able to show up for ourselves and others, as well as the causes that we care about. 

Self-care could involve: 

• taking a long bath
• Journaling
• Going to a cafe with your bestie 
• Going for a solitary walk in nature
• Dancing around to your favourite song in your room
• … basically anything that uplifts your spirits and allows you to recharge. 

Self care looks different for everybody. It’s all about finding what works best for you. 

Why is self care important? 

We know what you’re thinking — how is blasting Taylor Swift in my room or indulging in a bubble bath going to save the world? Or help me ace my history exam? 

It can seem like there are many more important things to do than practise self care, and don’t get us wrong, those things are important too! But it’s all about finding balance. 

If we’re constantly working hard and don’t take any time to rest and look after ourselves, it can lead to burnout. 

What’s burnout? 

Burnout is a state of total mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion, where we’re so stressed that our bodies and minds simply shut down. 

If you’re feeling exhausted, unfocused, unmotivated, and unable to perform basic tasks in your daily life, it could be a sign that you’re experiencing burnout. 

Symptoms of burnout include: 

• Feeling stressed all the time
• Exhaustion
• Easily irritated or angered
• Conflict with friends or family
• Feeling low

Check out this page on ReachOut to read more about common symptoms of burnout.

Practising self-care is important, as it allows us to avoid stress, burnout, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. By integrating self-care activities into our busy schedules, we can keep our bodies and minds intact so we’re able to put in 100% to the things we care about.

Watch this video to learn more about how to deal with burnout.

Where did the idea of ‘self care’ come from?

Self-care first came about through radical feminism and the Black Power Movement of the 1960s and 70s, where activists perceived looking after one’s physical and mental health as a revolutionary practice. Former Black Panther leaders Angela Davis and Ericka Huggins used their time incarcerated to practise mindfulness techniques such as yoga, and champion looking after our physical and mental health as a means of better navigating an inequitable sociopolitical system. 

Some privileged influencers today have appropriated the concept of ‘self care’ and use it for financial profit, without acknowledging its radical historical roots. This new wave of self care dominated by “Instagram posts, candles, bubble baths and yoga pants” is very far removed from original ideas of ‘self-care’. 

As revolutionary Black feminist Audre Lorde wrote, “caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” In this sense, looking after ourselves means we can show up for feminist causes and is a form of activism in itself. Self care isn’t just about taking that long bath. It’s about what you’re able to contribute more broadly as a result of that act of self-care. Rest enables you to rejoin the fight for equality. 

While self-care has become a “capitalist buzzword”, we can challenge this by bringing it back to the community. In our individualistic, capitalist world, we need to remember to practise self-care as a means of better practising community care. As Lorde writes, “without community, there is no liberation”.

How can we honour the history of self-care? 

While Black women and Black queer women have historically been at the forefront of self-care, today’s version lacks diversity, its Black history has been erased, and the focus has dramatically shifted community to profits. 

So, how can we challenge this appropriation of self-care? By reading up on the origins of self-care, and learning about what it meant to its original founders (which you’ve already started doing, so great job!). 

We can think about how this radical history can inform our self-care practices. And we can work towards ensuring our self-care doesn’t end with the individual, instead making sure it extends out into the community. By taking these steps, we can begin to move away from money making schemes and the whitewashing of self care.

Where to learn more

• Check out our pages on what self-care means to our fab guest contributors Madison Griffiths and Rosie Clynes, as well as how to practise self-care!
• You can also check out these awesome videos about what self-care means to revolutionary activists Angela Davis and Alicia Garza.