It always amazes me how we rarely, if ever, consider this category of self-care. It is called ‘spiritual’ for simplicity’s sake, but it isn’t necessarily about spirituality. What this domain of self-care is really about is connection. As humans we need to connect to things, communities, and ideas bigger than just ourselves.

Humans require connection and a sense of belonging for our physical and mental health. We are fundamentally social creatures who aren’t biologically or neurologically designed to survive without each other. No more has this been pushed back at us than in recent times. There has been so much fear and uncertainty in our world, but what hasn’t changed is our ongoing desire for connection to those we love. The current global pandemic has led to us finding some incredible ways to keep our connections alive.

Exploring and engaging in this domain of self-care can seem either too difficult or ‘not your thing’ and that’s okay, but this is an opportunity to think a little outside of the box. What if I told you there are 3 sub-domains?

1.       Religiosity – creating space for faith in your life, if you have religion in your life. Developing practices that fall within your faith and bring you time for reflection and self-healing, and connection to your religion. In this sub-domain you can ask yourself; When was the last time you connected to your faith? What makes you feel connected to your faith?

2.       Spirituality – not all spirituality has religion attached. Spirituality can be about connection to country, higher order thinking, or the environment.

3.       Community – this sub-domain is about directly connecting to the space that you live in or acts of community development. How do you like to give back to society? How do you engage with the people in your community?

I hope that by considering these questions, your view of self-care is broadened. In particular, I hope this has given you a wider lens through which you view the self-care domain of spirituality. Understanding that as human beings, a massive part of who we are and what makes us special is the connections we hold with others, is truly central to being able to thrive in this domain of self-care.