Self-Care Resources

What is Self-Care?

Self-care is self-defined. It’s about listening to your body, identifying your needs and taking steps to reach them every day. Self-care isn’t selfish and it's a vital and integral part of maintaining optimal health and well-being.

How Can I Practice Self-Care?

As a college student, sometimes self-care can be hard to practice when you’re balancing academics, work, extracurricular activities, family and a social life. What most of us don’t realize is that self-care can be simple tasks that take only a few minutes. The best part about self-care is that it doesn’t cost us anything, it can be a simple few minutes sitting in silence or a few deep breaths. If self-care is a new concept for you, try incorporating some of the tips below written by Aggies for Aggies.

Domains of Self-Care

The six domains of self-care include: cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, physical, practical and spiritual self-care. We defined these self-care terms using research and student focus groups. By broadening our understanding through the domains of self-care, we can identify self-care practices that fall into each of these six categories.

Cognitive Self-Care
Activities that stimulate your mind, memory and intellect. Examples include listening to a podcast, reading a book, obtaining a certification or developing a career-related skill.
Emotional Self-Care
Activities that enable you to actively examine, process, cope and reflect on your emotions. Examples include individual or group therapy, writing in a journal or creating art.
Interpersonal Self-Care
Activities that allow you to connect and foster personal and professional relationships. Examples include watching Netflix with friends, meeting a professor for coffee, or playing board games with loved ones.
Physical Self-Care
Activities you do to take care of your body, maintain your health and/or enhance your well-being. Examples include taking your medication as prescribed, eating foods that nourish you, getting adequate sleep or getting yourself tested for STIs/HIV if you’re sexually active.
Practical Self-Care
Activities that are routine tasks which can help us achieve balance and prevent future stress. Examples include folding laundry, washing the dishes or creating a budget.
Spiritual Self-Care
Activities that deepen your ability to integrate meaning and purpose in life. Examples include being in nature, daily meditation or going to places of worship.