Therapist shares harsh truths about common self-care trends and why they could be harming us
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Since the New Year rolled in, many of us have been looking at ways to enhance our self-care, whether that's blocking out time for a bath or starting a journal for goals and gratification. While self-care seems like a harmless tool to enhance our lifestyle, a therapist has revealed some harsh truths behind the practice for physical, mental, and emotional health.
Divya Robin, a therapist, educator and wellness advocate from New York, took to Instagram to reveal that some of the "popular self-care trends" could be harming you and your relationships. In the caption, Divya explained, "Being only focused on yourself doesn't support connected and healthy relationships with other people. I believe a crucial foundation to self-care is BALANCE.".
She continued: "Self-care is about taking accountability, doing what is good for your long and short-term wellbeing, and challenging yourself. To take care of ourselves we have to do hard things - have tough conversations, look over our budgets, say "no", manage our social calendars/FOMO, and be active participants in creating a life that's aligned with our values.".
The therapist also noted that self-care comes in "many forms" and that the first step is "challenging unhelpful ideas around self-care & finding other ways of thinking." Here are some of the popular self-care practices that she believes could be harming us and why...
Divya says that only doing things that feel 'good' sets "a false expectation" in our emotional system that only these feelings "are allowed". She explains that it is healthy to "feel and learn to tolerate all emotions". Helen Wells, a Clinical Director and Psychotherapist at The Dawn Wellness Centre and Rehab Thailand, also shared her thoughts on this and told the Mirror, "Self-care is not just about indulging in things that feel comforting in the moment.".
