Cristina Minotti , developmental psychologist, talks to us about how to take care of yourself at 360°
How often do you look inside yourself?
We are always rushing between commitments and deadlines that intertwine in a continuous flow of duties, fears, reproaches and results .
We live in a climate characterized by performance and competition.
Our gaze is turned outward and towards others. For many people, understanding and monitoring the results of others allows them to understand their own moves and helps define future choices.
But are we really sure that the latter is a healthy and effective process?
Self-care stimulates us to feel our being . It is a set of practices that help us look at our inner world to question it, analyze it and welcome it in total sincerity.
It is a continuous dialogue with ourselves to return to observing the world with trained eyes and a centered mind.
What does it mean to take care of yourself?
This special care means listening to our needs , loving our nuances, even those furthest from perfection.
Taking care of yourself helps you recognize your values to deeply accept yourself.
What happens if I neglect myself?
First of all, I'll tell you that there are many variations of personal care:
- Body care
- The care of the mind
- The care of emotions and feelings
- Taking care of your relationships
Self-care is not a selfish process . It allows you to open up to the world in an authentic and balanced way . So, it's just the opposite. I can only help others if I do work on myself aimed at well-being . Otherwise I risk bringing out frustration, tension, anger, feelings that are inimical to social relationships and serenity.
If I don't take care of the parts of my existence I risk entering a vicious circle made up of:
- Self-criticism
- Negative reviews
- Absence of listening
- Aggressive or passive communication
- Brooding
- Anxiety
My 7 steps to personal care
The time has come to reveal my secret to you so as not to lose your psychophysical center of gravity ! I'll show you my 7 steps for self-care.
- Mentally distinguish the different moments of the day . For each moment, identify the main activities , leaving out actions that are not covered. In this way we avoid the messy flows of things to do and say.
- Take a moment to observe your needs . Write them so that their concreteness emerges.
- Cultivate a moment alone for an activity that is pleasant for you and capable of marking a distance from the previous time you just experienced.
- Cultivate your constructive and value-rich relationships .
- Start selecting what is good for you by reducing or eliminating (in the most critical cases) everything that harms you (toxic relationships, unhealthy food, ineffective frenetic automatisms)
- Promote contact with nature.
- Review your routine: is it all really necessary? Are you leaving something out?
Watch Cristina's Reel 
As always I invite you to get involved!
But if you need me I'm here!!
Best regards
Dr. Cristina Minotti