The Demon of Self Care

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Self Care.

It sounds like such a lovely thing. Self care. Taking time for yourself. Caring for yourself. What could possibly be wrong with self care?

First of all, who gets to self care? It requires leisure timeand money, at least as it is presented in popular culture. Who has the time, the money, or the energy to arrive at a spa with already perfectly pulled back hair and lovely skin, in order to get hours of treatments designed to further perfect the skin, relax the body, and empty the wallet?

I am a massage therapist saying this. The popular perception of massage, the orchids and stones and twinkly Enya ripoff music does not approach my practice of massage. The popular perception leaves no room for the tears and heaviness and roiling, messy humanity that shows up in my treatment room.

That is self care.

Recognize the Demon of Self Care

Photo by Charles C. Collingwood on Unsplash

The demon of self care wants you to feel like you need this latest thing or gadget or treatment in order to be your best self.

The demon of self care points to all your broken places and says that you are wrong for having and…