Self-care

Every year on February 14th, numerous people in various parts of the world celebrate Valentine's Day by showing affection towards their loved ones. However, Valentine’s Day should not only be about expending time, energy and money into making it a special day for that 'special someone'; self-love and treating yourself in the same manner is just as important as giving love to others. Unfortunately, many of us struggle with maintaining the same dedication and commitment towards loving ourselves. We do our best to meet the needs and desires of our children, family and friends; however, we neglect to care for ourselves because we are way too occupied with tasks and responsibilities we deem to be more important. Some of us may even feel guilty for spending time on ourselves when we could be spending quality time with our children or doing housework. However, the reality is that our to-do lists will never end and we must come to terms with this. Racing with time to check off everything on our list will only result in stress and burnout. Neglecting to care for ourselves impacts our mental health in the long-term, which in turn negatively affects our relationships. Regular practice of self-care can help minimize our level of stress and anger, and enhance our psychological well-being. Making time for activities that are pleasurable and nurturing to our health (e.g., going for a walk, self-massage with scented lotion, writing in a journal, or reading) will not only enhance our mental health, but also help strengthen our relationship with ourselves and others. We owe it to ourselves to dedicate time and commitment to self-care and self-love.