We're tired of being told that self-care is the solution to all our problems. We have all participated in self-care in our lives but are we practicing it too much? What once was a healthy habit to reduce stress is now a trending lifestyle that is doing a lot more than relaxing us. This article will explain the difference between self-care vs self-awareness, the pros/ cons of self-care, and how different generations are effected by self-care.
Self-care vs Self-awareness
There is a thin line between self-care and being hyper-self-aware. Self-care is practicing or participating in an activity to preserve or improve one's health. It is a process of taking care of one's behavior which promotes health, as a result. Self-aware/ self-awareness is the ability to focus on oneself and realize how your actions, emotions, and thoughts align with your internal standards. Anyone can participate in self-care, but not everyone has self-awareness as it is about fully knowing yourself and your values.
Pros and cons of self-care
As previously mentioned, anyone can participate in self-care. It is known to improve your emotional, mental, and physical health - yes, all three! Examples of self-care include exercising, journaling, reading, doing a facemask, and so much more. There are many pros to doing self-care activities, such as becoming less stressed and creating a boost in your immune system. When we get overstimulated with stress, our bodies associate our stress as an illness which causes us to be sick. By learning to limit our stress our bodies can take time to heal, and our insides get stronger. It allows you to take a mental break from your busy lives and focus on yourself. Alone time is the perfect way to end any day as you learn more about yourself and use your energy to do something that makes you happy. Self-care is great, but it does have its downsides. Too much self-care time can result in isolation and becoming anti-social, as well as the pressure to have good mental health and coping skills.
How self-care affects different generations
Self-care has become one of the most popular trends in the past few years since the pandemic. Everyone had so much time on their hands that they didn't know what to do with it all. Social media influencers took to various platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to teach people how to take care of their mental health from home. Self-care became so popular that everyone started doing it daily. From indoor workouts to creating a mini spa in your bathroom, everyone has to try to relieve the stress from the problems of the work around them. Self-care has affected two generations in completely different ways.
Gen Z
Generation Z (Gen Z) are people born between the years 1997-2012. This is the first generation that grew up with the internet and social media. Gen Z is very open minded and more self-aware than any other generation. However, their self-awareness oftentimes leads to narcissism and becoming self-centered. For them self-care is not a trend but a lifestyle. Tik Tok is the best platform to see how this generation showcases their entire lives on social media. From get ready with me to a day in my life video, this generation is showing how productive their lives are. It is very entertaining, and we all say that we could do that when in reality, we enjoy watching others do it while we observe. Gen Z has a habit of creating different ways of creating an identity for themselves; they know what they want and how they are going to get it. Self-care amplifies this for them, which is great to an extent. Doing self-care every single day takes the fun out of it! Self-care at least since a week is a great start to allow yourself some me-time without isolating yourself from your responsibilities and duties.
Millennials
Millennials are the people born between the years 1981 and 1996. The internet was invented, but not everyone had access to it which meant people had to live in the moment and find entertainment elsewhere. Millennials were affected by the idea of self-care but not to make it a lifestyle as gen-z. It was not important for millennials to actively participate in self-care because there wasn't a trending word for it. People would play outside all day until it got dark, read and write for fun, or take some alone time for themselves. There was no one online to tell them the best ways to relax after a long day, they did what made them feel good. Now millennials have more important things to do than take the time to participate in self-care. Millennials do take some time to do self-care for themselves, but also because society looks down upon those who do not take care of their mental states.
Anyone can actively participate in self-care, but it should not become a lifestyle. Taking care of our emotions, mental, and physical health is extremely important, but you should be taking care of your body for yourself and not because of a trend you see on social media. We are tired of being told here is how to be healthy, you need to do this and that, when what you need to do is know yourself and do what makes YOU happy. Becoming self-aware is one of the best things you can do for yourself because you are listening to what you need and can create a fulfilling life for yourself.
Be self-aware and not rely on self-care.