Is Selfcare a hobby? (2023)

Can self-care be a hobby?

If you're not the hands-on type, a self-care hobby could be as simple as picking up a book every day and reading a chapter or two. Disappear regularly into a fictional world, or devour non-fiction books such as biographies, interesting facts or how-tos.

Spending time on an activity that you enjoy can improve your mental health and wellbeing. Research shows that people with hobbies are less likely to suffer from stress, low mood, and depression. Activities that get you out and about can make you feel happier and more relaxed.

Engaging in a self-care routine has been clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, improve concentration, minimize frustration and anger, increase happiness, improve energy, and more.

Generally, self-care practices are pleasant and enjoyable – not something we feel we should do, but rather something we want to do. With that being said, self-care is something we need to make time for, otherwise, it may get put off or pushed aside for other priorities.

Creative self-care is not just about regular exercise, eating right, and making time to relax. Creative self-care is about feeding your soul. It's making sure that you have something to be excited about when you get up in the morning. For me, that's family, art, and running.

Exercise, online reading groups, puzzles, adult coloring books, cooking or a scenic drive all count as a hobby if it's something you enjoy and restores your sense of well‑being. Set aside a little time every day and consider it an important way to take care of your health.

Having hobbies can lower anxiety, lower your stress level, and help cope with depression. Hobbies help you form a life outside of work. You are just relaxing and doing something you enjoy without any of the pressures of the outside world. You don't have to do something as structured as you would at work or school.

Hobbies bring a sense of fun and freedom to life that can help to minimize the impact of chronic stress. Those who feel overwhelmed at a job, for example, can benefit from hobbies because they provide an outlet for stress and something to look forward to after a hard day (or week) at a stressful job.

Self-care is not:

It's about recognizing what you need. It's essential to place your needs as valuable in your mind. You can't look after the well-being of others if you don't first do so for yourself. Only when you look after your own physical and emotional health can you properly care for others.

How can we make self-care a habit?

Self-care is especially hard for those who grew up in dysfunctional families and/or developed codependent traits. Codependents struggle with self-care because they tend to focus on other people's feelings, needs, and problems, and take care of others, often at their own expense.

Even if you implement just a few of these suggestions, your level of self-care will increase. That will take the pressure off your anger, anxiety and stress. It will make you a happier person and that will flow on to the people around you — those you love and care for will notice a difference.

Common examples of self-care include: maintaining a regular sleeping routine, eating healthy, spending time in nature, doing a hobby you enjoy, and expressing gratitude. Self-care can look different for everyone, but to count as self-care, the behavior should promote health and happiness for you.

You know the signs that you need to take better care of yourself when: You feel mentally or physically exhausted, overwhelmed or stretched too thin. Friends and family tell you you're working too hard, or have to remind you to take a break. You've worked 70- or 80-hour weeks.

Using art as a means of self-care doesn't have to be complicated. It can be as simple as doodling on a piece of paper or taking a pencil and drawing what's in front of you for five minutes each day. The main goal is to free your mind and allow yourself the space for self-expression.

Maslow's hierarchy places creativity in the highest category of self actualization. In other words, Maslow essentially believed that physiological, safety, love/belonging and esteem needs had to be met and prioritized before creativity could be addressed and achieved.

Creativity (or, as Maslow says, “creativeness”) is a facet of self-actualization, as described in his 1968 essay. Here, Maslow breaks with the tradition of defining creativity in terms of its products. Most scholars (still) assume that creativity is the process that results in something novel and useful.

What are the 5 hobbies you should have?

To recap: find five hobbies that you love: one to make you money, one to keep you in shape, one to be creative, one to build knowledge, and one to evolve your mindset.

Self-care includes all the things you do to take care of your well-being in four key dimensions – your emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual health.

In general, self-love centres around the thoughts and feelings we have about ourselves whereas self-care focuses on our actions. That's not to say that we can't carry out acts of self-love or think about self-care.