Show Some Love

Showing ourselves a little love on a regular basis is more important for our health than you might think, reports Lucy E. Cousins

- Lucy E. Cousins

If our lives were a Hollywood movie, the makeover montage scene would be made up of the rare moments that we spend pampering ourselves. From massages and manicures to haircuts and hangouts with friends, the premise is that we should indulge in self-care only when we’re out to impress (a man, a boss, a mean girl …).

However, if you ask University of Technology Sydney lecturer and resilience expert at The School of Life Sophi Bruce, self-care should be part of everyone’s normal day-to-day.

“We often see self-care as a bit of a luxury … a treat … but actually, it’s not about ‘treating’ yourself. It’s about building [it] into your existence, as you would sleeping or eating,” she explains.

LIFE SKILLS

Sophi believes that looking after oneself is a vital life skill we all need in order to navigate the 24/7 connectivity of the modern world. It’s the ability to show up and tune out external noise – the pinging of messages, emails and missed phone calls; the demands of our work, families and friends. She says that once you set those distractions aside, you give your mind not only the permission but the ability to better connect to your own internal life and sort through it.

“One of the things we’re becoming increasingly bad at is tuning into ourselves. We’re being constantly distracted by the never-ending barrage of information and interruptions that come our way via our technologically dependent environment,” she says. “And we forget to spend time doing things that make us feel better about being in the world and things that help us deal with the ‘noise’.”

Self-care can come in various forms, whether it’s a yoga class, coastal walk, a facial or just a moment of stillness with a cup of tea; the key to its benefits is consistency.