The way the state of the world, politics, education and anything else you can think of going on right now is burning everyone out. Institutions emphasize self-care in the form of taking a rest day or having a night out with your friends. Although I think those forms of care are important and crucial to bringing you out of “the burnout zone,” I like to question — is it really working for us anymore?
In those moments where you are not only working on getting yourself out of the burnout zone, there should be something in taking care of yourself that can protect you from burning out in the first place.
I saw a post on X by user @ManeeshaSem that said, “Get in girl, we’re going to increase our brain’s neuroplasticity by meditating, sleeping well, exercising, learning new things and doing things that are challenging.” I really thought about that because it reaffirmed what I was originally trying to do with this restructuring of how I view self care. After looking into it a little bit I found that learning and development in the brain works in continuum, almost parallel to each other.
When you are learning and developing at the same time you are contributing to your brain’s neuroplasticity as a result. It’s important because in a world of brain rotting, AI and doom scrolling, we aren’t challenging our comprehension and thoughts enough. When you learn more, you develop more as a person and you are helping yourself in multiple ways. By increasing your brain’s neuroplasticity you can help your brain heal better after an injury and also mentally age better.
For a long time, I relied on known routines or familiar coping strategies because they were comfortable. They were predictable, and in moments of burnout, predictability felt safe. But trying new things is forcing me to listen inward to trust my own curiosity, preferences and observations. I’m beginning to figure out what care actually feels like rather than defaulting to what I’ve always known.
Ultimately, this approach to self-care is becoming less about fixing what’s missing and more about discovering what’s possible. I’m not just maintaining my well-being anymore; I’m expanding it. And for the first time in a long time, “self-care” feels less like a task and more like a relationship I’m building with myself, one that includes patience, curiosity and a willingness to grow.
Consider changing up your workout routine by taking a fitness class you’ve never taken, begin learning a new language from that one show you saw, take a pottery class to make plates, join your friends at their random activities, drive somewhere without a GPS, make ugly art, write terrible articles, start new habits/rituals to look forward to and change it up.
