Self-care has become a popular concept as people learn more about the importance of their relationship with themselves. There are often many ways we cut corners on taking care of ourselves and even sometimes mistreating ourselves that we wouldn’t think of doing to another person. Self-care is a way to make sure we’re prioritizing the way we treat ourselves just as much as we prioritize the way we treat others we care about.
While self-care is undoubtedly a valuable concept for keeping ourselves healthy emotionally, physically, and mentally, self-care also plays a significant role in keeping our friendships healthy. It might seem surprising, but once you consider the way better caring for ourselves allows us to better care for others, the importance of self-care for improving your friendships is clear. Could your self-care standards be raised a bit? Here are some great self-care methods that will also strengthen your friendships.
- Keep a journal. This method for self-care addresses our need to organize our thoughts and get them out of our heads. This is the reason why venting to our friends is so therapeutic. However, you don’t want to overburden your friends with unnecessary venting that a journal could help address. Our friends have their own minds full of their own thoughts to deal with. A journal will help you sift through your thoughts, so your friendships don’t become rant-receptacles.
- Meditate. An ancient self-care method that will benefit not only you and your friendships but everyone you encounter. Meditating helps to keep you focused on the present and enables you to act and speak more mindfully. All of these benefits translate into healthier and more rewarding friendships.
- Therapy. Going to therapy is a significant way to invest in self-care, just as with any healthcare. Therapy will also do wonders to improve your friendships by helping you work out any issues you might have with relationships and enable you to be a better friend. Just like keeping a journal, therapy is also a great place to unload the troubles you might not want to burden your friends with.
Self-care is vital for living a healthy and satisfying life, but it’s also an excellent method for improving your friendships. Give some of these methods a try for more satisfying friendships.