Self-Care: Sane or Selfish
In the past few years, the #selfcare movement has taken off in the States, with sister hashtags like #treatyoself and #loveyourself, all echoing a clarion cry to type-A workaholics across America.
To many Americans, especially frazzled mothers scrambling to manage multiple children, chores, and a career, overworked millennials climbing the corporate ladder, and overachieving teens striving to succeed in academia and athletics, the concept of self-care has been touted as “revolutionary,” “radical,” and even “overindulgent.”
Books have been written slamming the movement for its contribution to the selfishness of modern millennials, while others on the opposite side of the spectrum have encouraged undisciplined and toxic behavior to rebel against responsibilities and community involvement.
Regardless of your personal views about the concept, I’d like to challenge you to consider the reasons why the movement has gone viral here in the U.S.
As an American millennial myself, I would like to preface that I honor and value the fact that much of my nation’s grit and strong work ethic is derived from the roots of our founding. However, after living with families from other cultures and nations, as well as spending time in other countries for periods of time, I’ve learned that not all cultures approach work-life balance from the same background and perspective.
My exposure to other cultures has helped me to broaden my horizon for how I would like to tend to my own relationship with work and rest, and this journey has also led me to learn a bit more about my American culture’s trends in these arenas.
Before we dig any deeper, let’s check out the International Self-Care Foundation’s definition for “self-care”:
‘Self-Care is what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health, and to prevent and deal with illness. It is a broad concept encompassing hygiene (general and personal), nutrition (type and quality of food eaten), lifestyle (sporting activities, leisure etc), environmental factors (living conditions, social habits, etc.) socio-economic factors (income level, cultural beliefs, etc.) and self-medication.’
That was pretty all-encompassing. And for a reason. Maintaining proper physical, emotional and mental health require significant amounts of effort and balance across many facets of one’s life.
To me, this definition doesn’t scream “selfish” or “overindulgent.” Rather, I see the value and importance of maintaining and caring for each of these areas of one’s life as absolutely necessary components to becoming a responsible citizen able to provide valuable contributions to society.
So when, why, and how can such a seemingly basic concept of “self-care” become so highly controversial to Americans? Why have Americans uniquely, in comparison with citizens of other nations, struggled to give themselves permission to pursue habits necessary to maintaining self-care, which can come in the form of rest, quality time with family, eating quality food, sporting activities, leisure, living conditions, etc.?
In case you’re wondering what I’m talking about, here are a few statistics that showcase the current condition of the lives of most working Americans:
From this CNBC report: “The U.S. is the only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee its workers any paid vacation time. And as a result, a quarter of the country’s private-sector workers don’t receive any time off at all, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
From The Guardian: “‘According to a 2019 report by Unicef, which analysed which of the world’s richest countries are most family friendly, Estonia leads the field for new mothers with over 80 weeks of leave at full pay.’ At the bottom of the table was the United States – which, with a grand total of zero weeks, was the only country in the analysis that offered absolutely no national paid leave.”
According to this report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, 26 percent of Americans do not receive a single sick day of paid time off due to no federal mandate requiring employers to do so.
Based on these statistics, the priorities of American work culture are clear: productivity and increasing revenue. Of course self-care seems radical and selfish to members of a country whose work culture clearly does not place value on leisure time, rest, mental and emotional health, etc.
With all of our focus on profits over people, we are reaping the consequences. Mental illness statistics in the States are staggering.
Here is some data originally shared on the USA Mental Health First Aid’s website:
In late June, 40% of U.S. adults reported struggling with mental health or substance use.
One in six U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year.
Half of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24.
Depression alone costs the nation about $210.5 billion annually.
The average delay between onset of mental illness symptoms and treatment is 11 years.
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people aged 10-34 in the U.S. and the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.
The most common mental illnesses in the U.S. are anxiety disorders, which affect 40 million adults (18.1% of the population)
My question is, why does the concept of self-care seem so radical and revolutionary to Americans, who are severely struggling with mental and emotional well-being?
We have become some of the most burnt-out, stressed-out, and overworked people on the planet. And for what? We are one of the world’s wealthiest and privileged nations, yet we struggle to slow down and care for ourselves, which, in turn, inevitably affects our ability to care for others.
So how do we address this conundrum? How do we resist the toxic tide of our culture and pave a new way of living that values the basic elements vital to building a beautiful life?
When the culture you live in refuses to place value on the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of its people, caring for oneself becomes a revolutionary act.
Want to get started caring for you but don’t know where to start? Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing with you several ways to slow down and revolutionize your life to make room for self-care and cultivate a life worth living. Stay tuned!
