Julia Dellitt - 30 July

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First Adams Media hardcover edition July 2019

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Interior design by Julia Jacintho

Interior images 123RF/hchjjl, sudowoodo, puruan, huhulin, Agnieszka Murphy, skarintut, Dmitry Rogatnev, slothastronaut, Ghenadie Pascari, pensiri saekoung, Vitalii Krasnoselskyi

Cover design by Julia Jacintho

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ISBN 978-1-5072-1115-1

ISBN 978-1-5072-1116-8 (ebook)

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To my parents, Debbie and Troy, who gave me a foundation from which to fly.

Take a shower. Meditate. Go for a walk. It seems like self-care is everywhere: in celeb posts while scrolling through social media, online when skimming a favorite website before class. But self-care is more than just a face mask, an early bedtime, and a #treatyoself moment. It is the intentional care for your personal health. Ever heard the saying, You cant pour from an empty cup? Sure, its a bit of a clich, but its trueand its a great way to think about self-care. Between all of the exams, fights with roommates over who drank the last of the milk (it definitely wasnt you), and pressure to figure out what you want in life, its easy to end up trying to pour just one last drop from that cup half the time (okay, more than half the timelets be real). But whenever you do something for yourselflike taking a power nap before that long chem labyou are refilling that cup (a.k.a. your physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and professional reserves). Once restored, you can take on everything from that upcoming philosophy paper, to working up the courage to sit with someone new in the dining hall. In short, self-care is your ticket to being your best self!

But how exactly are you supposed to take care of yourself when there is so much to do?! From choosing between majors and passing exams, to hanging out with friends and fitting five campus events into one week, youve got a lot going on! But self-care actually helps you make the most of it all. Instead of simply adding another to-do item to your list, self-care gives you the tools to tackle anything that comes your way.

Another great thing about self-care is that the more you do it, the more youre able to make it your own. As you try out different acts of self-care, you figure out which ones are helpful, and which ones just arent for you; maybe breathing exercises just dont do it for you, but engaging in something creative, like sketching, does. Or maybe working out in the fitness center isnt your thing, but you really enjoy jogging around campus. You will also start to notice what parts of your life are in need of more care at any given time. For example, maybe you feel replenished physically after sleeping in before an afternoon class, but need more emotional self-care following a fight with a friend the night before. Paying attention to the type (or types) of self-care you need from one day to the next will allow you to restore and balance these different aspects of your health.

The five main types of self-care are physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and professional. Each type can stand on its own, but they can also work together. For example, going to the gym is obviously physical self-care, but it can also help you clear your mind (mental self-care) and let go of something thats been bugging you (emotional self-care). Ideally, youll find activities in each category helpful, but at different points during your college career, you may find yourself needing more personal care in one or more specific types at a time. Maybe youre going through a bad breakup or the loss of a loved one and you need to give extra attention to your emotional health. Or maybe youre drowning in midterm exams, have caught that cold that your roommate brought home last week, and just really need to focus on getting yourself back in line with some mental self-care. The more you explore and try out different types of self-care, the easier it will be to figure out what your needs are at a given time and what acts work best for you!

Physical self-care focuses on how you take care of your body. And its not just about working out and eating right (though thats important too). Its also about your long-term health, and how regular physical care impacts how you feel overall. Think about what happens when youre slammed by a nasty flu bugeverything else stops, right? Youre sidelined until you get healthy, and you cant get healthy without rest, nourishment, and hydration. Regular physical self-care helps prevent these kind of illnesses, as well as burnout and fatigue; its the foundation that keeps your engine runningso you can do all the things you want and need to do!

So when you feel like crawling under the covers and sleeping for a month, a little physical self-care can save the day! Maybe you set a regular bedtime routine so you can fall asleep at a reasonable time every night (or at least every weekday night). Or maybe you talk to an academic advisor about ways to better manage your workload so you arent staying up until 1 a.m. finishing reports every other day. Or perhaps you take a multi-vitamin every day so your diet stays on track in light of that all-access ice cream bar in the dining hall. Caring for your body lets you perform at your best in everything that comes your way!