LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The term, self-care can mean different things to different people. The payoff for everyone is tending to your own needs to make sure you’re as mentally, physically, and for many spiritually healthy as possible.

Deborah Grayson-Riegel is a speaker, leadership coach, and the author of a book entitled, “Go To Help.” She says self-care has two parts, the first part of self-care is a mindset, and the second part is behavior.

“The belief that taking care of myself is important. Taking care of myself is healthy. Taking care of myself helps other people. That is already is something you can do that doesn’t take a lot of time,” Riegel adds.

She also encourages taking time for simple pleasures, which she believes are often the easiest escapes.

“I have hand lotion that reminds me of a trip to Paris that I took because I bought it there. And so I could just rub that on and bring myself back to a little bit of a vacation,” Riegel said.

Other simple ways to make time for self-care can include, calling a friend you enjoy laughing with, going for a walk or run with a change of scenery, scheduling an extra play date for the kids, to savoring every sip of a cup of coffee.

Adam Jablin is a life coach and recovery mentor and believes self-care can also mean setting boundaries with others and learning how to say the word no nicely.

“And to be able to say to somebody, No, I apologize. I can’t do that. No, next time there’s strength in that. But we need to take care of ourselves before we take care of others. No is a full sentence,” Jablin adds.

He also encourages writing down self-care appointments in a day planner as many do when setting a meeting appointment and says it’s a commitment worth keeping.

“Anything that overloads our brain is going to interfere with our ability to communicate, collaborate, make decisions, and engage in rational thinking, all of which will make it harder for us to have healthy relationships with other people,” added Riegel.

She also points out that having healthy relationships is one of the hallmarks of having a happy and healthy life.

Riegel and Jablin agree the increased isolation caused by the pandemic has created an enormous amount of people with depression and stress the importance now more than ever to make self-care a top priority.