Self-Care and the Relationship between Mind, Body, and Food
As this year’s National Self-Care Week focuses on the theme ‘Mind and Body’, it’s a timely reminder that self-care is more than a wellness trend. It is essential for maintaining our physical, emotional, and mental health, especially when it comes to how we nourish ourselves.
Eating is a self-care necessity, but how well we meet our needs for nourishment as individuals can reflect broader aspects of our lives, including how we navigate the demands and rhythms of daily living, and the nature of our relationships with food and our bodies.
What Is Self-Care, and Why Does It Matter?
Self-care is a daily process that encompasses the foundational action we take to support our health, wellbeing or wellness. Whether we recognise it as ‘self-care’ or not, we all need a system to soothe our emotions, bring us joy, excitement, relief, satisfaction and essentially provide for our emotional and physical needs.
Having the self-awareness, knowledge and confidence to mindfully look after ourselves encourages health and energy promoting behaviours that can help protect against the onset of mental health symptoms, job burnout, and improve our productivity.
As well as giving us some sense of control over our own health and wellbeing, research also shows that people who take time to recharge and restore are more creative, content, and more successful in achieving whatever they deem to be important.
However, self-care doesn’t mean complete self-reliance when it comes to your health, and it doesn’t replace other health, wellbeing or wellness strategies or getting external support when you need it. Part of self-care includes knowing when to reach out to others and acting on that, whether it be for practical assistance, emotional support, professional guidance, therapies, or medical help.
Self-care may sound like a fluffy term, and of course it can absolutely encompass things like bubble baths and holidays, but let’s not downplay the fact that ‘real’ self-care is fundamental to our quality of life.
Self-Care and Your Relationship with Food and Body
Providing our bodies with regular nourishment is essential for survival. But how this is approached looks very different for different people, and can reflect the nature of our relationships with food and our bodies.
For those with a complex relationship with eating, focusing on broader self-care can be transformative. This is because eating habits don’t exist in isolation - they are deeply connected to our emotional, mental, and physical health.
Consider this:
Stress and overwhelm: In the face of busy, stressful times, basic needs like proper hydration and sufficient sleep can be neglected. This disrupts appetite regulation and increases cravings, making eating in ways that feel mindful and nourishing even more difficult.
Disconnection from the body: Chronic fatigue, stress, and restrictive eating (i.e. following dieting plans) can all lead to disconnection from internal signals, making it harder to recognise hunger and fullness cues and respond to our bodies in a timely manner.
Emotional coping mechanisms: When emotional needs are unmet, food may become over-used a a source of comfort or control, which can feed cycles of overeating or restriction.
Body image struggles: A poor body image can erode self-care motivation, leading to neglect of basic physical needs. (Even if you aren’t totally comfortable with your body right now, you must remind yourself that self-care is really important and you can still give your body the care and respect it deserves to meet its basic needs.)
The good news? In all these situations, by focusing on self-care, we can address some of the underlying factors that influence how, why, and when we eat. And we help create conditions that allow healthy, intuitive eating habits to take root and flourish, enabling a more balanced and sustainable relationship with food and all the benefits that can bring to our health, wellbeing and life at large.
What Does Eating for Self-Care Mean?
Approaching eating as an act of self-care isn’t about following rigid food plans or striving for dietary perfection. My definition is about embracing a compassionate, sustainable relationship with food that aligns with your unique body’s needs and your life’s demands, thus supporting your energy, health, and overall quality of life.
Rooted in the principles of Intuitive Eating, it involves:
Listening to your body’s hunger and fullness cues.
Choosing foods that both satisfy and energise you.
Recognising that food is not only fuel but also a source of joy, comfort, and connection.
Ultimately, eating for self-care is about fostering a relationship with food that honours your mind and body wellbeing, without guilt or rigidity. However, if you need to follow a therapeutic nutritional plan as an intervention for health purposes, this will of course form part of your self-care.
Reclaiming Balance in Self-Care
This National Self-Care Week, take a moment to reflect on how self-care influences your eating habits. Consider these questions:
Am I shaping my routine to support self-care, or am I letting other priorities take over?
Is my self-care impacting my eating habits? If so, how?
Am I consistently eating in a way that feels nourishing and supports both my mind and body?
I hope you find this insightful.
If your answers feel unsettling, know that support is available. Working with a professional can help you untangle the complexities of self-care, food, and body image to create a healthier, more intuitive path forward.
Remember, engaging with steady, intentional self-care is not a luxury - it is a deliberate and necessary investment in your health, vitality, and quality of life.
Note: National Self-Care Week (18-24th November 2024) is an initiative of the Self-Care Forum, a national charity that aims to further the reach of self-care and embed it into everyday life. You can find out more about this by clicking here.
Take a nourishing step forward today
Are worries about food, weight, or overeating draining your time, energy, and peace of mind? Are you struggling with low mood, food cravings, poor gut health or digestive challenges?
Old mindsets and habits can be hard to shift on your own. If you are looking to reset your eating patterns, make peace with your body, and reclaim your energy, I can help you.
Please check out my private programmes here, or book an exploratory chat to find out more.
