There are two definitions of self care. The first one relates to matters of health and well-being. In short, anything you do for yourself to help promote better health, both bodily and mentally. For example, regularly doing sports and physical activity is a popular method of self care. The other definition of relates to self-esteem. In this sense, it means doing things which will help to raise the perception of oneself. Self-affirming thought processes are just one example of this. Overall, caring for oneself means taking the same sorts of measures one would to care for another person but applying them to yourself.
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The concept of the quantified self relates to how people make quantifiable records of themselves in a wide range of activities and emotional reactions. Instead of making a qualitative judgement of oneself, this concept relies on scoring and recording data. So, if you were to judge yourself as feeling healthy and alive after a run or a swim, then this would be a qualitative judgement. However, if you had quantifiable data to back this up, such as counting the number of steps you took or your average heart rate as well as data relating to your release of serotonin, for instance, then this would count as forming part of the quantified self. Since technology has become increasingly miniaturised and able to communicate its data via the internet, the concept of the quantified self has grown in popularity.
First published in 1992, The Five Love Languages is a book that is entirely focussed on the most intimate relationships held between adults. It looks at five different paths whereby love, affection and even romance are followed, which are referred to in the book as 'languages', hence the meaning of its title. The five so-called languages are spending quality time with one another, exchanging gifts, physical touching, words of affirmation, and acts of devotion. The last one is sometimes also referred to as acts of service. The idea of the book is that it is a guide to self-counselling that individuals and couples can follow in order to re-establish higher levels of affection and love in their relationship. In it, the advocated approach is that a person will look at the way their partner expresses his or her love with others, and an attempt is made to use the same 'language' subsequently. The original version of the book had the sub-title “How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate” although this was dropped from later editions.
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