I HATE THIS about SELF-CARE | Kati Morton

My problems with “self-care” nowadays. Too focused on sheet masks, essential oils, vacations, spending money. I think it’s become a way for brands to make us think we need to buy more things, and I don’t like it. Buying things won’t make us happy, and with all the debt the average person now has, I think it’s better if we focus on things that can actually improve our mood, not just things we have to buy to make us “look” happy. You know?
Her fix is to do things to improve things for her future self and I LOVED this!
Simple, small, and more importantly free (or little cost) things!
For example, we could make that doctor appt today so it’s off our list for tomorrow, or do our laundry tonight so that we don’t have to deal with it tomorrow, setting up automatic deposits into our savings accounts so we have money for a getaway, etc
All of this stuff we are doing to help future us will make more time for the things we want to do tomorrow! Cool idea I thought.
What’s your favorite thing to do for your future self? Mine is to clean my apartment before I go on vacation or go away for work. That way when I come back all tired and with all that dirty laundry, I don’t feel overwhelmed. Everything is put away and I have the space to unpack and get settled back in. Can you think of other ways we can rethink self care? I want to make sure all of this buy buy buy messaging doesn’t poison our thoughts and make self care seem impossible.

I'm Kati Morton, a licensed therapist making Mental Health videos!
#katimorton #therapist #therapy

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[GB-shst]

The less formal video style reflects the insights regarding self-care... love this brilliant channel.

[cojay_]

"Caring for your future self" is a great way to put it, I should think about that more often. Thanks for the video!

[Roll]

My favorite self care task is budgeting and knowing that I'm on track for my goals.

[jeannewynneherring]

A couple of my self cares as a bipolar: I know when I get depressed I don’t clean. So I make sure I keep things organized, I stock up on paper plates and plastic utensils (to have instead of dirtying dishes when depressed, ) and do other things so that when my depression or anxiety hits I’m not in a junky house that increases my misery. On the flip side, anticipating my mania, when I’m paid I take out the cash I allow myself to spend for entertainment and groceries, have bills paid automatically and my best friend keeps my bank card locked up. This is so when I get in that spendy manic mood I only have what’s available to me. For my anxiety, good free or low price self care is music. I have a special album set on my phone, computer and tablet ready to play when I feel weird. Having the radio station set to NPR helps, too. Even if they are just talking, their voices are soothing. YouTube has lots of channels promoting relaxation. Going for a walk, even if it’s just down the block. Breath in the air. If you have pets, pet them. Cartoon marathon is another go to for me. And finally my favorite self care is writing a fictional story. Children have the right idea when they play in their imagination. I escape my reality for a bit by writing fiction. It’s absolutely free and all yours. Hope that helps people.

[raywood]

I like to plant bulbs in the fall so that after the long winter, they reward me with bright colors.

[kaylamay]

I love warm baths and walks outside! Really soothes my frustrations and calms me down.

[fembot]

YES!! Sometimes self care is simply erecting good boundaries :)

[ahuggingsam]

things that are self-care for me that I don't actually like doing:
1. clean my room (clutter stresses me out)
2. update my finances (majorly reduce financial stress)
3. exercise (ugh)
4. have a healthy meal
5. Doing my weekly planning (reduce anxiety abt future)
6. journalling (clears mental space)
all of these actually take quite a bit of energy and I don't like them, but they are the best form of self care that I know (as much as I hate to admit that)

[marathongirl]

Fighting my eating disorder is my gift to my future self, I struggle now so that she can have it a little easier. I hadn't thought of it from this perspective before - thanks Kati 😁

[sebec]

My favorite self care for my future self is reviewing my budget, creating my grocery shopping list AND meal plan for the week. It’s so nice to know that I can just leave, get what I need, and crossing off that grocery list is instant gratification for myself lol.

[anniewang]

Putting little amounts of money into a savings account and watch it grow! Removes stress for my future self if an emergency happens. Plus it makes me feel more capable and in control.

[cunningcorvid]

My daily favorite act of self-care is meditating on the bus home. Destress from the day, catch a brief reprieve from thinking about All the Things, and reset for whatever I want/need to do at home :)

[faiza]

Hey Katie, I absolutely agree with you on buying more stuff doesn't mean self-care. Its actually other way around. Being minimalist is self-care. Less stuff = Less worries

[iamchelsea]

Time management care popped in my head right away. I have learned to say no to social/family things I know I don't want to do right away, instead of trying to come up with excuses later for why I need to cancel. I also plan to arrive early so I dont stress about being late to the things I really do want to do!

[Rosalindxxxxxx]

yoga, meditation, journaling, dance, playing guitar and therapy!!!

[NerdGirlLainey]

My favorite thing that I got my future self-care is journaling. I don’t have to write a novel everyday, but writing consistently each day helps me put things into perspective and get things off my chest. Most of all, it helps me see recurring themes in my thinking, actions, and self-talk that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. Then I can bring it up during therapy or otherwise be more conscious of it.

[minumoto]

I love using past me, present me, future me framing. I should really start writing my thoughts down.

[StephanieDouglassMusic]

For future me, I like to practice my trumpet. Playing my instrument always feels good, it's something I do for myself and the tiny bits of progress and growth I notice make me feel happy and extra aware of the tiny bits of progress and growth I've made in other areas of my life. It's the one thing lately that I can keep consistent.

[ChelsieWrath]

I love your videos, they actually pushed me to finally see a therapist and she’s literally the best! Thanks!

[blondangel]

I was in therapy last fall and my "self-care" got pulled onto the examination table. Self care used to be things like 'go out to lunch' and 'buy something just because I think it's pretty' but that wasn't really making much difference. So we tore it apart and rebuilt. Now it's 'actively listen to something' and 'guilt-free nap' and 'watch a movie' and it has made a huge difference. The way I like to say it is that it's not $elf care.