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Every weekday, I give a shot to carve out 30 minutes or so to jog around my neighborhood.
Monika Jurczyk/Adobe Stock
Between the hours of 9 to 6, I am essentially tied to the desk in my home office.
If a particular practice is causing stress or otherwise eroding your well-being, is it really self-care?
Is the activity internally or externally motivated?
(Nope, never done this.
If your motivation comes from genuine enjoyment of an activity, youre much more likely to feel refreshed afterward.
Are you too focused on what youre achieving?
Another common mistake, according to Dr. Lakshmin, is approaching self-care as a form of achievement.
or how many classes you attended that week.
notification from an app.
If you get sucked into a cycle of achievement, your self-care practice can become more performative than productive.
Has it turned into something that feels suffocating?
This can prevent you from soaking up the wellness benefits of whatever youre doing, she says.
It bears repeating: If its stressing you out, its not really self-care.
Are you trying too hard to optimize your life?
Again, if these things make your life easier, by all means, go for it!
But obsessing over optimizing yourself is another wellness trap Dr. Lakshmin sees many people fall into.
Do you feel guilty about your self-care practice?
Finally, theres no guilt or shame in genuine self-care.
If you dont knock them all out of the park, you mayfeel like youre doing something wrong.
And if you cant live up to these standards, it can become another thing you feel ashamed about.
The thing is,realself-care is highly individual and requires flexibility.
Self-care isnt about any one particular thing, Dr. Lakshmin says.
Its actually thinking about your life holistically and how you spend your time and energy, she explains.
