Since I am a person who works in the mental health field alongside other licensed professionals, it is normal for us all to neglect ourselves and forget to practice self-care because we are so wrapped up in trying to help others that we forget about our own needs. It's not just those I work with, but I believe every human being tends to do this and we all just think we can keep pushing ourselves until we are just completely depleted of all our energy, which is not healthy at all.

For the most part, the importance of taking time for ourselves is thrown out the window and disregarded because we see everyone else living life and we don't acknowledge how we are truly feeling and process it. Life can be crazy for us all, at times, and if we are being honest here, shit happens. That is how life goes for everyone, so no one has a perfect life 24/7 and that's totally okay. However, what is not okay is the fact that society paints this picture that we are not allowed to have those days where we just let all our emotions out. It's pretty much like you have five minutes to be upset then it is straight back to reality, which doesn't benefit anyone.

I personally struggled with self-care when I was still in college taking 5 or 6 classes a semester, working part-time, and trying to maintain a social life all at once. It is definitely not easy sometimes, but we shouldn't have to overwhelm ourselves with so much stress to the point that it negatively affects both our physical and mental health as a result. Stress affects us all differently and this is why making self-care your number one priority is so crucial for your overall well-being.

So what exactly is involved in self-care? Well, self-care can be found in many varieties, such as working out, drawing, writing, meditating, getting your nails done, taking a nice bath, and the list can go on and on. You may be thinking to yourself that those all seem like very normal tasks that one could do every day, but some people fail to set out time for themselves to do simple tasks such as these because they are so overwhelmed. I know there are days when taking a shower for me is so relaxing and that is something you should be doing daily anyway and it can make a tremendous difference in your mood.

Some of you reading this may think that this is all a joke, but I know from personal experience that partaking in self-care and promoting it definitely makes a dramatic difference in both your mental and physical well-being. As a crisis counselor, it is important that me and my fellow volunteers are taking care of ourselves because how can we be expected to help those in crisis when we have not fulfilled ourselves and are mentally stable? We can't and are not expected to, which is why participating in a proper self-care regime is crucial. Try it yourself and see what a drastic difference it could make.

"Self-care is so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel." - Eleanor Brown