Your Mental Health Self-Care Checklist

“Self-care” is a buzz word these days, and we all know we need it. But what does it actually mean? And how do you know if you’re doing it right? There are 6 components your self-care needs to have. Here’s your checklist to make sure your self-care effort is actually working for you.

Why Self-Care is Important for Mental Health

Taking care of yourself is fundamental to your health overall. Your physical health depends on your taking care of yourself, and so does your mental health. Stress builds up from being anxious about things we can’t control and from generally being overwhelmed with life. The result is that we can’t relax and we stay stuck in a stressed-out, burnt out state. Self-care is a critical piece of being able to undo the stress that builds up.

But just doing “self-care” doesn’t necessarily meet all your needs. There’s a strategy to it. Here are the 6 components your self-care needs to have. Use these 6 components as your self-care checklist.

Mental Health Self-Care Checklist

1. Physical Self-Care

The physical self-care component involves taking care of your physical body. Your physical health is intertwined with your mental health — that’s why so many mental health conditions have physical symptoms. Check off this part of your mental health self-care checklist by exercising, eating nutritious food, taking a multivitamin, getting regular medical checkups, staying up-to-date on vaccines, or indulging in physical touch (e.g., hugs, weighted blankets, holding hands, etc.).

2. Emotional Self-Care

The emotional self-care component involves taking care of your emotional health. This might mean recovering from a mental health condition that affects you emotionally or it might mean nurturing yourself emotionally to preserve your wellness. Check off this part of your mental health self-care checklist by going to therapy or counseling, meditating, journaling, taking time for self-reflection and personal growth, engaging in activities that promote emotional expression (think: things that will encourage you to laugh or cry), or completing my 30-day mental health challenge.

3. Behavioral Self-Care

The behavioral self-care component involves establishing healthy habits and letting go of unhealthy habits. Check off this part of your mental health self-care checklist by learning a new skill, working toward new goals, exploring a hobby, engaging in creative expression, or putting into practice the behaviors that support your emotional health.

4. Spiritual Self-Care

The spiritual self-care component involves connecting to your soul or with a greater purpose. It doesn’t necessarily require that you subscribe to an organized religion or even that you identify as a spiritual person. Instead, it’s about finding time and space in your life for contemplation and connection with yourself. Check off this part of your mental health self-care checklist by spending time in nature, singing or dancing, practicing yoga, praying, volunteering for a cause you care about, or connecting with a spiritual community.

5. Social Self-Care

The social self-care component involves nurturing your relationships. When we’re not doing well psychologically and haven’t been taking care of ourselves, our gut instinct is usually to isolate and avoid our relationships. But relationships are a key piece of mental wellness, so it’s important that we address them in our self-care routine. Check off this part of your mental health self-care checklist by calling a friend, spending time with family, joining a support group, or engaging in your community.

6. Professional Self-Care

Finally, the professional self-care component involves ensuring that work doesn’t take over the rest of our lives. Our culture supports bad habits of working late into the night and not taking vacation days, but that just contributes to burnout. Prevent this by deliberately engaging in professional self-care. Check off this part of your mental health self-care checklist by leaving work at work (even if — especially if — you work from home), using your vacation days, taking mental health breaks, taking your full lunch break and other breaks you’re offered during the day, and setting boundaries around your time and responsibilities.

How to Make a Self-Care Routine

Now that you’ve got your self-care checklist, it’s time to make sure you can implement those activities into your normal routine. Here’s a 1-hour step-by-step night self-care routine to get you started. Modify for the amount of time you have and the activities that are valuable for you.

For more ideas about self-care activities, check out these 8 non-cliche ways to practice self-care. And remember, a big piece of self-care is stress management, so make sure you’re a pro at knowing how to manage stress and using all your very best stress relief strategies.

How to Stop Negative Self-Talk

Part of addressing your emotional and behavioral self-care is learning what to do with negative self-talk. Negative self-talk is all those nasty things you say to yourself about yourself…”I’m not good enough,” “People don’t like me,” “I can’t do it,” etc. You already have access to my toxic self-criticism workbook to help overcome this, but next week I’ll teach you yet another strategy for stopping negative self-talk. Don’t miss it.

Talk to you soon,

Dr. Finch

P.S.    Remember, this is education, not treatment.  Always consult with a psychologist or therapist about your mental health to determine what information and interventions are best for you.  See the disclaimer for more details.