What is Self Care: BACE Method
Self care is a term that has been thrown around a lot. But what actually is it? When I talk about self care with clients, I like to use the BACE method (Wong, 2020). BACE stands for Body Care, Achievement, Connection, and Enjoyment. Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at each of these areas. Today, we’re starting with body care!
Body care relates to the care of our physical body. The major categories: sleep, moving our bodies, eating and hygiene. Are you getting enough sleep and quality sleep? Bad sleep can affect our moods, ability to focus, decision making skills, and memory (Suni, 2022). Moving our bodies (aka exercise) can look like going for a walk or bike ride, it can be a dance class, crossfit or pilates. It’s about finding a way to move our bodies that makes you feel good. This can also mean taking a rest day. Same with eating, it’s about finding foods that make us feel good and making sure we’re eating throughout the day. If you’re someone who experiences high rates of anxiety, that might mean checking in with the amount of caffeine you’re consuming. Hygiene encompasses brushing our teeth and washing our bodies. Maybe you have a 7 step skin routine, or you’re like me, and just trying to make sure your makeup is washed off at the end of the night.
Body care also encompasses the things that make our body feel good. Maybe that’s going to get a haircut or brushing your hair. Maybe it means getting a massage, facial, or manicure. It also includes the clothes we wear. Do you have that one outfit that you put on and know it’s going to be a good day? When I was in college, my softball coach often told us, “Look good, feel good, play good.” While I can’t put on my eye black to go to work, I can wear clothes and present myself in a way that makes me feel good. With transitioning to working from home, this meant changing out of my pajamas each morning and into an outfit that made me feel more put together (big fan of matching athleisure sets).
Prioritizing this area can be difficult. It’s easy to say, “Okay I’ll go to bed by 11:30p,” it can be harder to follow through and get off TikTok (guilty as charged). So what can we do? Start small! Making a number of changes at once can become overwhelming and lead to us feeling discouraged if we aren’t meeting our own expectations. We can start with going to bed earlier once a week or switch out social media for reading a book. If showering is hard, let’s get some disposable wipes to use between showers. If brushing your teeth is hard, let’s try to brush them for 30 seconds or use prepasted toothbrushes. If you’re struggling with taking care of your body, I suggest reading How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis.
So I’ve got some homework for you! I want you to take inventory of how you take care of your body. List it out. With what you have listed, are there any specific ones you want to prioritize or increase the frequency? Or are there any other things you would like to add to this list? Let’s set a goal to try something new or increase how often you’re doing one of the things. Create a plan, I mean it, write it down. What are you doing? How are you going to do it? When are you going to do it? Some examples:
I want to cook meals for the week. I’m going to go grocery shopping Saturday and prep some veggies on Sunday.
I want to move my body more. I’m going to go for a walk once this week during my lunch break.
Resources:
Suni, E. (2022, November 3). Sleep Deprivation: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-deprivation
Wong, J. (2020, April 12). An illustrated guide to the basics of self-care. ABC Everyday. https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/an-illustrated-guide-to-bace-self-care/12136186
