Why doesn't taking care of myself come naturally to me?

Taking care of ourselves - emotionally, physically, mentally - is something that many of us struggle with. At times, it may be connected to a phase in our lives where we may be under stress and don't feel we have the time, or energy, to take care of ourselves. Other times, it can be a learned behaviour (or lack thereof). Either we don't have an example of self-care in our close circle - family, friends, or, perhaps, at times we may have been raised or influenced by those around us that perhaps we don't deserve to be cared for. This can lead to quite a negative impact if we don't make the effort to correct this. It isn't self centred, or selfish, to take care of ourselves, although at times in society it can be cast as such. It is highly important to our quality of life, to take care of ourselves. If this doesn't come naturally to you, you can take steps to learn positive self care behaviour and practice it daily to set a habit that you can work to ingrain in your life.

I find that taking care of yourself is one of those lessons that come with adulthood. Growing up, most people usually have a support system that care of them. So most people don't have to worry about taking care of themselves until they move out. I remember when I moved out that I had to meal prep, which is a lot of work. I realized that I have so much more respect for my parents for feeding me because coming up with different meal options is a lot. So it makes sense that taking care of yourself doesn't come naturally, because it is something we all have to learn.

There can be so many reasons behind this you must be seeing taking care of yourself as something which is an act of selfishness when it's actually not. You must be feeling as if the things that the other person is going through are more tragic than what you are going through when in reality everything you feel is valid and it's always a good idea to reach out for help❤️ So try to think of reasons as to why you personally don't feel like considering taking care of yourself. You can maybe write them down and also consider talking to someone about it this might help you to analyse things in a better way🙃

Taking care of myself never comes naturally to me because i’ve never been my first priority. due to pressure, my first priority was always my education. however, i am working on taking care of myself and fixing my sleep schedule. i am also working on eating healthy. i always find myself lacking time due to my busy schedule. fixing a schedule helps me sort out my day and have things to do on an hourly basis. in this way, i find myself less distracted by my phone and i also work in a productive manner. i hope i can keep doing this and be mentally healthy.

Sometimes we think more about others than ourselves. Sometimes to help others we have to make sure we are able to help ourselves. What helped me was realizing that by taking care of myself I would be better equipped to help others!! For instance I cannot financially help someone unless I am financially stable. Its like reaching out to someone in the water and being properly anchored to rescue them. There are many analogies that could be used. The most common one that I think can apply right now is the one about cups. Until your cup is full you can not pour into another person cup. Thank you all sincerely Josh

Taking care of yourself is a part of your own personal relationship with yourself. The more you develop that relationship, the more you will have the need to take care of yourself. Also, there could be some self-sabotaging patterns in your mind if you have some un-processed emotions or trauma. Dealing with those is also a way to improve the whole picture of your relationship with yourself. Everyday try to make yourself do one caring thing for yourself. Try to remind yourself and you might, if persistent enough, create a good habit and it will be at least a little more natural.

Self-care often has the reputation of being relatively easy. I'm here to tell you that that is nothing but a stereotype! Many people struggle with activities of daily living but it is something that is not often talked about in society. It is okay that you have to push yourself sometimes to take care of yourself, especially when you have so much to deal with in your life already! Remember to be kind to yourself and your body. Someone else's standards should not be yours, we are all different and unique. Take self-care one step at a time, sometimes it can be rather overwhelming.

Often times, we have been trained to not take care of ourselves. Other things often come first such as school, family, friends, job, and other life responsibilities. We do whatever we can to survive and sometimes that undermines the very thing we need to survive which is our own health. Taking care of yourself is just like any new habit you are trying to form: it takes time, consistency and patience. Even knowing that you have to take care of yourself or wanting to take care of yourself is not enough. Start off small and then increase little by little. Do what makes YOU feel good and what works for you. Everyone'e self-care and self-love look very different.

We are our own worst critics. We tend to blame ourselves for everything, even things not under our control. (Such as our looks, or anxiety, depression etc) so we tend to neglect ourselves as if we don’t feel we deserve self care. Or, things like anxiety and depression make it very difficult to even complete basic every day tasks. And that’s okay, if all you’ve done is survive and exist today, you’re still doing great. Sometimes it helps to make a list of self care habits we want to complete every day. Seeing it in a list can make it easier for your mind to manage, and can even serve as a reminder for extremely forgetful people such as myself. Sometimes self care has to be learned, and that’s okay. We’re all different with all different needs.

Taking care of myself doesn't come naturally to me either because I've always had so much self hatred inside. Also, sometimes I feel guilty for spending time on myself when my family rely on me a lot for help. However, I realised that there's no point in taking care of others if I can't even take care of myself and now I've started making my own self care a priority. You can start small: at first the thoughts of exercising, and eating healthy, and taking out time just for me seemed quite daunting. But you should remember to start small, perhaps just a walk outside everyday. I started trying to take care of myself simply by listening to my favourite kind of music for 15 mins a day, and very slowly, I started incorporating daily showers and I tried to eat at least 2 fruit/ veg a day. It takes time. But once it becomes a habit and you get used to it, you'll start to love yourself for it.