There are a variety of ways in which self-care can be broken down, one of which is into 8 categories: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environment, social, and financial. Self-care is an essential survival skill in the daily lives of students. Self-care refers to activities and practices that we can use regularly to manage stress and improve our short-term and long-term health and well-being. Self-care promotes efficiency and success in fulfilling personal commitments and career goals. Self-care encourages you to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself so that you can transmit these positive feelings to others. As a student balancing coursework, other jobs, extracurriculars, and relationships, it is important to protect your own well-being and happiness, even when life is stressful and overwhelming. Here are some tips to help you practice the 8 manners of self-care:

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1. Physical

To stay in top physical health, try to maintain a healthy diet and exercise routine. This might mean eating more fruits and veggies to fuel your body or drinking more water to help you stay hydrated. It is also important to make sure you are getting enough sleep! 7 to 9 hours each night is ideal. 

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2. Mental

Being mentally healthy is more than just the absence of illness, rather it is a state of overall well-being. You can improve your feelings by talking to others about how you feel. This can help you deal with feelings of stress. Building connections with people around you, boosting your energy and mood by doing something active, and lastly doing something nice for someone else are just a few other ways you can try to improve your mental health. 

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3. Emotional

To take care of your emotional health, journaling can be a helpful tool for releasing and processing how you are feeling. If journaling isn’t for you, maybe spending time with loved ones would be beneficial. 

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4. Spiritual

For those who follow a particular religion, perhaps prayer or worship music can help you maintain your spiritual health. Meditation and spending time in nature can improve spiritual health regardless of your religious background.

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5. Intellectual

As we are all busy with schoolwork, taking care of your intellectual health may mean taking a break from all mentally taxing tasks. Or perhaps it means reading for enjoyment or picking up a new creative or active hobby.

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6. Environment

To maintain a healthy environment, you may want to clean your workspace, bedroom, or apartment. Perhaps removing distractions from your workspace and keeping separation between spaces for work and relaxation would be beneficial.

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7. Social

For some, maintaining social health involves seeing friends and family often, while for others, this may mean taking more time for themselves. It may also be helpful to pursue sincere relationships in which there is mutual love, trust, and support.

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8. Financial

To practice financial self-care, consider setting aside money for your savings, creating a budget, and following a debt management plan. You can also try to keep tabs on your daily income and expenses. Be realistic about how you spend and save and how this can help you obtain your short-term and long-term financial goals. 

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