There are six types of self-care that you should try to balance in your life. Determine which area of your life needs the most attention and do something good for yourself today.

Your definition of self-care likely differs from your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. After all, it’s a deeply personal thing that is largely determined by your needs, preferences, and lifestyle choices. When it comes to picking and choosing which self-care activities to focus your energy on, it’s important to understand what it is exactly that you need as a human. After all, there isn’t just one type of self-care available.

The six types of self-care are listed below with suggestions on ways to practice caring for yourself regularly.

Physical Self-Care

Tending to your basic needs isn’t always enough. You often need more than what you’re currently providing to yourself. When you think of physically taking good care of yourself, what does that look like? Meal prepping nourishing meals, doing yoga daily, drinking lots of water, and making time to rest are all ways to care for your body.

Emotional Self-Care

Even if you’re taking good care of your body, your mind needs some extra attention from time to time. Rather than let yourself become overcome with worry, why not try journaling, meditating or talking to a trusted friend. Doing things that help you connect with your emotional self is essential because the feelings that you have dictate the actions that you take.

Spiritual Self-Care

Your spiritual needs are likely different from other people’s needs. You don’t need to be religious to be spiritual. Your self-care practice could be spending time in nature, committing random acts of kindness and charitable acts of giving, and even keeping a gratitude journal. Whatever gives you a greater sense of purpose can be considered an act of spiritual self-care.

Social Self-Care

This is where you get to relate and conversate with others. There may be times where you feel very introverted and want to spend time alone. On other days, you’ll want to meet with family and friends and be social. Make it a point to get out of the house on days where you feel like a good cup of tea and conversation fills your well.

Intellectual Self-Care

Stimulating your mind by engaging in activities that help grow your wealth of knowledge is ideal. It could be as simple as following a tutorial online or as complicated as taking a weekly class at the community college. Regularly engaging in mind-building activities allows you to stretch your boundaries and experience different things you never even knew existed.

Sensory Self-Care

Giving your senses some love is easy. After all, the world is meant to be interacted with. From savoring the delicious homecooked meal you prepared to cuddling up under the softest blanket you own, there are many ways to practice sensory self-care. In fact, you’ll likely discover even more possibilities the more you engage your sense of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

Rinse and Repeat Whenever You Need Some Extra TLC

There will be times in your life where one area feels very right and another area needs some TLC. There is no shame in giving your mind, body, and soul what it desires most at any given time. If you feel like you’ve got things covered physically because you’re eating healthy, drinking water, exercising, and getting ample rest but haven’t had much time to connect with other people due to schedule constraints, it’s time to plan a lunch date with a close friend. If you feel like you’re being intellectually stimulated because of a class that you’re taking or a hobby you’re engaged in but miss being in touch with your senses, introducing a new essential oil into your daily practice helps you connect with your sense of smell and soothe your mind during stressful times.