Self-care is when we take care of ourselves to be physically healthy and cope better with our daily stressors. Thus, if you don’t take care of yourself and have your emotional needs and physical needs met then it will lead to consequences. Below are 13 consequences which can occur due to poor self-care.
- Feeling low on your energy which leaves you feeling not wanting to do anything.
- Having less patience with everyone around you which will make you feel irritated by them.
- You may reduce your performance at work because you start finding it difficult to focus on your tasks.
- Feeling hopeless about your present situation and life in general.
- Reduce your motivation to participate in social events with others. It starts to require too much effort to meet people and this can lead to feeling isolated and lonely.
- You no longer will feel the need to keep up with your personal appearance, and hence, your hygiene will suffer.
- You may frequently end up feeling sick with stomach aches or migraines because you feel overly stressed and give no time for yourself.
- It may lead you to feel anxious and depressed which will make it even harder for you to keep up with your day to day needs.
- Poor self-care can lead to weight gain because people no longer keep caring or have time to care about the right foods to eat.
- It can cause problems with your sleeping patterns because you may find it difficult to fall asleep or remain asleep enough to give you the energy that you need.
- If you realize that you’re feeling low, you might choose to participate in unhealthy enjoyment as a ‘quick fix’. This could mean that you overeat food high in sugar or turn to alcohol. These quick fixes will lead you to eventually feel even worse about yourself.
- Self-care is something that we give ourselves because we feel we deserve it. Thus, if you never feel that you are good enough then you won’t feel like you deserve it and keep going. At times, even feeling like you are failing when you are already going above and beyond your limits.
- With increasing lack of self-care, it may even lead to a burnout. If you keep pushing yourself and never feeling like what you do is enough, then you will over exhaust yourself which will lead to a burnout.
As can be seen, there are a number of consequences that can happen if you don’t start putting your physical and emotional needs first. It’s essential that you make time for yourself, check in with how your body is feeling, and seek the support that you need.
If you think that you can benefit from professional support on this issue you can reach out here.
Mandy Brincat is a Gestalt psychotherapist who enjoys working therapeutically with adults on various issues. These include general mental health and wellbeing. She also has experience working with anxiety, victims of domestic violence and eating disorders.
References:
- Barclay, M. (2022, September 13). How the lack of self-care can lead to an unhappy life – Redefine Your Edge. Redefine Your Edge. https://www.redefineyouredge.com/how-the-lack-of-self-care-can-lead-to-an-unhappy-life/
- Fishman, S. (2023, August 17). Binaural Beats: Benefits and Tips for Use. Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/health/binaural-beats
- Kircher, J. (2019, April 15). 5 Signs You Aren’t Practicing Self-Care – Jody Kircher. Dr. Jody Kircher Psychologist. https://drjodykircher.com/5-signs-you-arent-practicing-self-care/