Self-Care Wheels

The seven pillars of self-care are mental, emotional, physical, environmental, spiritual, recreational, and social. These work together to create a balanced approach to your wellbeing. You don't need to focus on every pillar every day. The goal is to touch on each one regularly in a way that works for your life.

The 4 C's of self-care are Connection, Compassion, Courage, and Creativity. Connection refers to building strong social bonds with yourself and others, which research links to better mental health and lower rates of depression. Compassion includes both nurturing self-compassion (recognizing you deserve care) and fierce self-compassion (knowing you deserve protection), along with practicing gratitude to shift your focus toward positive aspects of your life. Courage means facing discomfort and challenging harmful self-beliefs, even when it feels scary. Creativity isn't just about art—it's about mental flexibility, seeing problems in new ways, and making time for play, which helps develop emotionally flexible and socially attuned responses.

The four basics of self-care are physical, emotional, psychological (or mental), and spiritual wellbeing. You can think of these four dimensions as different aspects of yourself—mind, body, heart, and spirit—that all need regular attention to help you manage stress and maintain balance.