You’ve been getting self-care all wrong. It’s a political act and always has been.

It’s tough to practice real self-care when the internet’s obsessed with #selfcare. Let Mashable help with our new seriesMe, My Self-Care & I.

What do you think when you hear the words “self-care?” Does it call to mind images of an expensive skincare routine, a spa day, a “treat yourself” spending spree? Perhaps you’ve seen one of the 19.5 million photos on Instagram tagged #selfcare, a melange of lingerie and bubble baths and way-too-cheesy memes. Maybe you dismiss it as indulgence,  privilege,soGwyneth Paltrow. A bourgeois luxury that threatens to distract us from the many urgent crises of 2019.  

One name that doesn’t come up in the self-care context — but absolutely should — is Socrates. Legendary Greek philosopher from the 5th century BC, inventor of the method for discovering truth by asking annoying questions, and star ofBill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,Socrates has one more string to his bow: He’s the founder of the self-care movement. He and his spiritual heirs, all the way up to activist Audre Lorde, are here to tell you you’ve been thinking about self-care all wrong. 

In short: Self-care isn’t performative self-coddling. It’s doing the hard work of examining and improving yourself in order to better serve the world. You can’t love/save humanity if you can’t love/save yourself, and the clock is ticking on both projects. Get to it. 

Self-care isn’t performative self-coddling. It’s doing the hard work of examining and improving yourself in order to better serve the world.

It’s surprising to discover, when you plunge into the ancient historical record, how much talk of self-care there is, and how much of it still resonates today. Change “Athenian” to “American” in the following words Socrates allegedly spoke in the last days of his life, for instance, and you hear the great philosopher’s advice echo down the centuries (emphasis mine): 

“Dear friend, you are an Athenian, citizen of the greatest city, more famous than any other for its knowledge and might. Yet are you not ashamed for devoting all your care to increasing your wealth, reputation, and honors,while not caring for or even considering your reason, truth, and constant improvement of your soul?” 

Further, substitute “wealth, reputation, and honors” with “Bitcoin, Likes,