Self-Care and Hierarchy of Needs

Many times we confuse what self-care is. Yes, we need to brush our hair. That is not self-care.  That is included in basic care that we engage in. Most of us generally get up, get dressed, brush our teeth and hair, eat breakfast and do those things that constitute basic care of ourselves. 

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs lists five level of needs that people have: Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem and Self-Actualization.  When these needs are not met they create anxiety, stress and feelings of inferiority.  When our basic needs are not met it is difficult for us to reach self-actualization.

If you look at the list of needs below on Maslow's Pyramid  you see that the most basic needs are at the base of the triangle.  If these needs are not met we can become ill or possibly die.  When needs for safety are not met we can develop PTSD from relational trauma. If we cannot get our need for love and belonging met we can develop depression or anxiety. These needs are important and can be utilized to help us engage in focused self-care.

If we look at the Medical self-care definition we see that it is any action we take to restore and improve our physical health.  Logically this leads us to see that psychological self-care is any action that we take to restore or improve our mental health.  This could be a number of activities or actions.  If we look at the hierarchy of needs we can think of many things that we can engage in that will help meet those needs which in turn would be improving and restoring our mental health.

Looking at the  hierarchy of needs can help us see where we are deficit in meeting our needs. Take this quiz to see if you are meeting your own  needs. 

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