Self-Care vs Self-Soothing: Understanding the Difference and Why It Matters
Have you ever used shopping, alcohol, or social media to make yourself feel better? If so, you were probably engaging in self-soothing. While it’s not necessarily a bad thing to soothe ourselves, it’s not a substitute for real self-care.
Self-care and self-soothing are two different concepts, yet often confused with each other. It’s important to understand the difference between them so that you can lead a healthy and balanced life.
What is Self-Soothing?
Self-soothing refers to the things we do to make ourselves feel better temporarily. It involves using external factors such as shopping, eating, drinking, watching TV, or spending time on social media to reduce stress, anxiety, and discomfort.
While self-soothing can provide temporary relief, it doesn’t address the underlying issues that cause our distress. It’s like putting a band-aid on a wound instead of treating it fundamentally. Over time, self-soothing can become a maladaptive coping mechanism, leading to addiction or other psychological problems.
What is Self-Care?
Self-care is a set of practices that help us maintain or improve our physical, mental, and emotional health regularly. It’s about nurturing our bodies, minds, and souls, leading to long-term health and wellbeing. Self-care involves a vast range of activities such as exercise, meditation, healthy eating, journaling, spending time in nature, reading, getting enough sleep, and so on.
While self-care may not have immediate effects, it supports our well-being in the long run. It helps us build resilience to stress, boosts our mood, and reduces the risk of developing health problems.
Why is Understanding the Difference Important?
Understanding the difference between self-care and self-soothing is crucial because it affects the quality of our lives. If we rely only on self-soothing, we may neglect our needs in the long term, leading to a vicious cycle of stress and temporary relief. On the other hand, if we prioritize self-care, we can develop a healthy and sustainable lifestyle that supports our overall well-being.
Moreover, differentiating between self-care and self-soothing helps us identify when we’re using maladaptive coping mechanisms. It allows us to become more mindful of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, leading to better self-awareness and self-regulation.
Examples of Self-Care and Self-Soothing
Here are some examples of self-care and self-soothing activities:
Self-care:
– Going for a walk in nature
– Practicing yoga or meditation
– Eating healthy food
– Getting enough sleep
– Spending time with loved ones
– Engaging in a hobby
– Taking a break from work
– Reading a book
Self-soothing:
– Binge-watching TV shows
– Drinking alcohol
– Eating junk food
– Shopping
– Spending time on social media
– Gaming
– Procrastination
Conclusion
Self-care and self-soothing are two different concepts that impact our lives differently. While self-soothing can provide temporary relief, it doesn’t address the underlying issues. On the other hand, self-care practices support our physical, mental, and emotional well-being in the long term. By understanding the difference and incorporating self-care practices into our lives, we can lead a healthier, more balanced life.
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