Self-care is something most of us believe in, but we often put it off to pay attention to everything and everyone else first.
You notice when the groceries are running low. You take up the slack at work when it’s needed, take your friend to lunch when she needs a shoulder, and stay up late to tend to your child’s needs.
But when was the last time you noticed what was running low in you?
Sometimes the signs are obvious. You’re exhausted or overwhelmed, and you can feel it. Other times, it’s more subtle. Maybe you are getting seven-to-eight hours of sleep per night, but you still don’t feel rested. Or your skin looks dull and dry no matter how much moisturizer you apply.
These little changes can be your body’s version of a dashboard warning light.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which makes this a good time to think about taking better care of yourself. That includes supporting your mind and body, paying attention to your skin, and giving yourself a break when you need it.
Let’s check in with you and see how things are really going—and what you need to get back to feeling your best.
Self-Care Check #1: How Is Your Energy?
Think about how you’ve felt over the past week. Are you waking up with enough energy to get through your day? Or are you dragging yourself out of bed, chugging down coffee, and desperately wanting a nap by mid-afternoon?
Low energy can have many causes, including stress, poor sleep, illness, lack of proper nutrition, and an overloaded schedule. If you’re feeling run down regularly, it may be time to talk to your doctor.
Or it could be that your life has just become too busy and your body is telling you that you need more recovery time.
If Your Energy is Low, Ask Yourself Why
Before you decide you simply need more sleep, try to figure out what kind of tired you are.
Ask yourself: When during the day does my energy drop? What am I usually doing before that happens? Do I feel physically tired, mentally foggy, emotionally drained, or simply uninterested in what I’m doing? (Or all of the above?) When do I feel even a little energetic?
Your answers may point you in different directions. If you’re physically exhausted all day despite getting enough sleep, that’s worth talking about with your doctor. If certain tasks or people leave you depleted, you may need better boundaries or a change in your schedule. If you have plenty of physical energy but can’t seem to make yourself care about anything, you may need something fun to look forward to rather than another nap.
Your action: Identify the biggest drain on your energy right now. Then ask, “What is one thing I could change about this drain this week?”
Self-Care Check #2: Are You Giving Your Body What It Needs?
When life gets busy, basic things like eating well and moving your body can slide down the priority list.
Maybe you’re skipping meals, then grabbing whatever is easiest when you’re starving. Or maybe you’re getting enough to eat, but your meals don’t contain a variety of nutritious foods. Or you’ve been sitting for long stretches of the day and rarely getting a chance to move.
Over time, those patterns can have a huge effect on how you feel. Your body needs a regular supply of nutrients for energy, immune function, muscle health, and normal skin function. Your skin also relies on nutrients like protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to build and repair itself.
Water is also essential for maintaining energy levels. It helps transport nutrients to cells, remove waste, and regulate body temperature. Even mild hydration can lead to fatigue, reduced concentration, possible headaches, and mood disturbances, making you feel sluggish and less alert. A good habit is keeping your water bottle with you and sipping throughout the day.
Regular physical activity is also extremely important. Research shows that exercise can support cardiovascular health, sleep, mood, and overall well-being. Evidence shows that higher levels of physical activity are linked to lower risk of several types of cancer. It also improves circulation, which helps deliver oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, including to the skin.
If Your Body Feels Run Down, Look at What You’re Giving It
Ask yourself: Have I been eating regular meals, or am I skipping them for fast snacks or fast-food items? Do my meals include foods that nourish me? Am I drinking enough water? When was the last time I ate a good variety of fruits, vegetables, protein, and healthy fats?
Then think about your movement. How much of my day am I spending sitting? When I do move, how does my body feel afterward? Is there a kind of movement I enjoy, or have I been thinking that exercise only “counts” if it’s a formal workout?
Your action: Find the biggest gap between what your body seems to need and what it has been getting lately. Then choose one specific way to close that gap this week.
Self-Care Check #3: Is Your Body Carrying More Stress?
Take a moment and notice your body right now. Is your jaw tight? Your shoulders tense? Does your stomach feel knotted? Have headaches become more common?
Stress shows up in subtle ways like this. The body responds to it, and your skin may respond as well with irritation, redness, hives, or more frequent breakouts.
An evidence-based review of 21 studies found that psychological stress can interfere with normal epidermal barrier function in the skin. Researchers have also linked stress with reduced skin hydration and increased water loss, while human studies have found slower skin-barrier recovery during periods of increased psychological stress.
If Your Body is Carrying Stress, Find Out Where It’s Coming From
Telling yourself to “relax” is usually not very helpful. Instead, let your stress tell you what’s going on.
Ask yourself: Where am I holding tension most often? When does it get worse? Is there a particular task, situation, person, or time of day connected to it? What happens right before I notice myself clenching my jaw, raising my shoulders, or tightening my stomach?
You may discover that your body reacts every time you open your email, rush from one obligation to another, or think about something you’ve been avoiding. Once you see the pattern, you have something you can work with.
Your action: Try to pay more attention to when your stress rises this week. What was happening right before it appeared? What were you thinking about? Then ask, “Is there anything I can change about this situation, or do I need a better way to support myself through it?”
Finding a few moments in your day to practice deep-breathing exercises can calm your nervous system, lower stress hormones, and help you feel more energized and alert.
Self-Care Check #4: Are You Getting What Restores You?
We all have things that take energy away from us. It could be work, caregiving, appointments, household responsibilities, or the constant digital noise that is our world these days.
So you may be tempted to focus mostly on what’s taking energy away from you. But sometimes, the better approach is to think about what is putting energy back in?
Maybe you haven’t talked to someone you love in a while. Or you’ve stopped doing something you enjoy because you’ve been too busy. Maybe you’ve had some time off, but most of it has disappeared into errands or scrolling.
Self-care doesn’t always mean doing less. Sometimes it’s better to notice which activities leave you feeling more energized or rejuvenated afterward.
If You Don’t Feel Restored, Find Out What’s Missing
Ask yourself: Think of the last few times you felt genuinely refreshed, peaceful, connected, interested, or more like yourself. What were you doing? Who were you with? Now think about how you usually spend your free time. Does it give you any of those same feelings?
You may realize that an evening spent scrolling gives you a break without really restoring you. Or maybe you’ve been spending too much time alone when what you really need is connection. Or the opposite—maybe being surrounded by people all day isn’t helping because you really need some time to yourself.
Your action: Identify one thing that reliably leaves you feeling better afterward and make room for that in your life. Let your experience tell you what restores you, and then do more of it.
Self-Care Check #5: What Is Your Skin Telling You?
Your skin deserves a place in this check-in because it can change when the rest of your life changes. It’s actually a really good indicator of how you’re doing in the rest of your life.
Maybe you’re seeing changes in your skin that you haven’t noticed before. You might have tried different products in response, or worried that aging is catching up with you.
If Your Skin is Struggling, Look for What Changed
When your skin suddenly becomes dry, sensitive, dull, or irritated, resist the urge to immediately buy another treatment. Do a little detective work first.
Ask yourself: When did I first notice the change? What else was happening around that time? Did I start a new product or increase an active ingredient? Has the weather become colder or drier? Have I been sleeping poorly or feeling unusually stressed?
Then look at what your skin seems to be asking for. Tightness and dryness may indicate a need for more moisture and protection. Burning or increased sensitivity may be a reason to simplify your routine and temporarily back off potentially irritating products.
Try a simple skincare routine from CV Skinlabs. Our clean ingredient formulas are designed to help moisturize, heal and protect skin, alleviating dryness, redness and increased sensitivity while revealing a dewy, luminous healthy skin. When you feel good, you look good, right? It’s a boost for your confidence and energy.
Your action: Pick the most likely source of the change and adjust that one thing first. Give your skin a little time before changing something else so you can learn what works.
Make Reducing Chemical Exposures Part of Your Self-Care
There’s another side of self-care that deserves attention during Breast Cancer Awareness Month: the products we bring into our homes and put on our bodies.
Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP) works specifically to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals and other environmental factors linked to breast cancer. Scientific reviews have also examined associations between breast cancer risk and certain hormone-disrupting chemicals, including some found in personal-care products.
Reducing exposures can be a good part of your long-term self-care system. Read ingredient labels and choose fragrance-free products whenever possible.
CV Skinlabs was created with this larger view of wellness in mind. Our formulas are designed to nurture sensitive and compromised skin while avoiding ingredients that have links to irritation, allergies, and health issues. For us, caring for your skin has always been connected to caring for the whole person.
Your Self-Care Doesn’t Need a Giant To-Do List
This week, ask yourself just one question: What needs my care most right now?
Then choose one small thing you can do for it this week. Even small changes can do a lot to help bring a feeling of wellness back into your life.
Where did you find that you need more self-care?
Featured image by Ron Lach via Pexels.