5 Ways to Practice Self-Care with Friends

three women laughing

Who says self-care has to be done alone? Let's do it together!

While there are many self-care practices that we encourage doing with you and only you, there are a number of practices, activities and ways to interact with our loved ones that directly aligns with self-care.

Don't be fooled by the wording, self-care doesn't always mean being just with "self". Instead, review our definition of self-care which is: the intentional practice of taking care of yourself and your needs. Let's take a look at five ways you can intentionally take care for your individual needs with a group of your favorite people:

Send each other gifts of encouragement.

We all can benefit from positive support and encouragement from one another. Whether it be physical gifts or verbal praise, randomly compliment, support and celebrate the big and small accomplishments you and your friends achieve.

A way to do this is by taking a look on their Amazon wishlist and purchasing something special for your friend. Offer your appreciation to your friend that supported you while studying for an exam or for was an emergency babysitter for your children. Find ways to show gratitude to your buddies to increase their feelings of appreciation, self-worth and self-confidence.

Begin a self-discovery book club.

There are a plethora of books aimed to help us become the best versions of ourselves. Decide to pick one and start reading as a group.

Choose to read a book that connects to the goals and aspirations that you and your friends have in common and meet together to discuss what you've read. Feel free to bring your journals and take notes in the book to share what you found meaningful. It can be self-educational to process and learn from one another in a self-discovery book club.

Start an accountability group text.

While your group may already have a text conversation to stay in touch and make plans, think about creating a text group solely dedicated to keeping each other accountable.

Whether it be for keeping up with your new year's resolutions or for support with your ongoing goal of making it to spin class every Tuesday, create a digital-support space where you all can check-in with one another on the progress of your goals.

Plan a pampering spa day.

There's a good chance that you all have done this already, but plan a day of pampering with your friends! This type of self-care is still helpful to our physical and emotional well-being.

Make a full day of it or spend an hour or two getting a massage or a facial together. For folks in the Atlanta, Georgia area, my friends and I love taking a trip to the Jeju Sauna in Gwinnett County! From the sauna to the services, you will leave this Korean spa feeling ah. maze. zing.

Take a new class together.

You may be itching to start kickboxing or super curious to jump into a hip-hop dance class, but feel nervous about going at it alone. Take a friend or two with you!Take care of your need to be courageous, adventurous or exploratory by inviting your friends to try something new with you too. Sign up for that cooking class or research that new hiking trail together. In practicing self-care as a group, you not only take care of your needs, but you also create opportunities to strengthen friendships along the way.

What self-care practices do you like to do with your friends?