36 Self Care Quotes That Will Inspire You to Prioritize Your Mental Health

Last Updated on June 2, 2022

Self care is not just about taking time for yourself, it is also about how you treat your mind. When you are at the end of your rope and feel like there is no one to talk to, self care can be an outlet that will help keep you sane.

Even better, caring for yourself and your mental health should be a top priority. As these 36 quotes prove, self care is essential for your mental health.

But it’s not easy to set aside time for yourself. If you need some inspiration to care a little more for your mind, these 36 quotes will inspire you to treat yourself with the love you deserve.

1. Caring For Each other and Ourselves

“Every one of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.”

Princess Diana

2. Love Yourself First

“Love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”

Lucille Ball

3. The Importance of Solitude

“Women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves.”

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

4. When You Need to Relax Most

“Just when you feel you have no time to relax, know that this is the moment you most need to make time to relax.”

Matt Haig

5. Self Care and Going Slow

“The ego wants to go fast. The soul needs to go slow.”

Maxime Lagacé

6. A Mental Health Reset

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

Anne Lamott

7. Busy Caring for Yourself

“I lied and said I was busy.
I was busy;
but not in a way most people understand.

I was busy taking deeper breaths.
I was busy silencing irrational thoughts.
I was busy calming a racing heart.
I was busy telling myself I am okay.

Sometimes, this is my busy –
and I will not apologize for it.”

Brittin Oakman

8. Self-growth is tender

“Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.”

Stephen Covey

9. Self Care is Not Fluffy

“Honestly, self-care is not fluffy. It’s something we should take seriously.”

Kris Carr

10. Self Care and Setting Boundaries

“Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how you use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept.”

Anna Taylor

11. Self Care is a Non-Negotiable

“Self-care is the non-negotiable. That’s the thing that you have to do. And beauty is the thing that can be the benefit of the self-care. Beauty is not the point. Beauty is just a cute side-effect from self-care.”

Jonathan Van Ness

12. You Have Two Hands…

“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”

Maya Angelou

13. Take Special Care of Yourself

“It’s common to reject or punish yourself when you’ve been rejected by others. When you experience disappointment from the way your family or others treat you, that’s the time to take special care of yourself. What are you doing to nurture yourself? What are you doing to protect yourself? Find a healthy way to express your pain.”

Christina Enevoldsen

14. Stillness is Selfless

“While some question whether Stillness is selfish, it’s the opposite. It gives you greater capacity to embrace others, like putting your own oxygen mask on first in an airplane. As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup.”

Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

15. Me, Too

“Taking care of myself doesn’t mean ‘me first.’ It means ‘me, too.”

L.R. Knost

16. Include Yourself in Your Compassion

“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.”

Jack Kornfield

17. The Energy To Care For Others

“To be a good parent, you need to take care of yourself so that you can have the physical and emotional energy to take care of your family.”

Michelle Obama

18. It’s The Mind That Matters

“The body can endure practically anything—pain, fatigue, you name it— but its the mind that matters.”

Dave Pelzer, Help Yourself: Finding Hope, Courage, and Happiness

19. The Meaning of Self Care

“Self-care means considering yourself a worthwhile person and presenting yourself as valuable, capable, and deserving. In other words, self-care seeks to redress an imbalance that develops when you don’t take proper care of yourself, whether by inattention or by choice.”

Arin Murphy-Hiscock

20. Self Care isn’t Selfish

“It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.”

Mandy Hale

21. Focus on Your Well-being

“Self-Love Requires Self-Care; caring for ourselves focuses on our well-being in mind. We are giving ourselves the same forgiveness, kindness, and compassion we give to others.”

Jesus Apolinaris

22. How To Talk To Yourself In a Loving Way

“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.”

Brené Brown

23. With Self Love…

“We can climb mountains with self-love.”

Samira Wiley

24. Silence is Self Care

“Closing your eyes and listening to silence is self-care.”

Maxime Lagacé

25. Is There Space for You?

“What do you truly want?
What does your heart whisper?
Are you listening?
Is there enough space for you
in your own life?”

Molly Remer, Walking with Persephone

26. If you Don’t Have Time For Yourself…

“If you don’t have time for yourself, everything you might be doing is a waste of time.”

Hiral Nagda

27. Loving Yourself and Loving Others

“If you aren’t good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you’ll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren’t even giving to yourself.”

Barbara De Angelis

28. Your Relationship with Yourself

“It is so important to take time for yourself and find clarity. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.”

Diane Von Furstenberg

29. The Wisdom of Self Care

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

Rumi

30. Healing Yourself With Self Care

“This revolutionary act of treating ourselves tenderly can begin to undo the aversive messages of a lifetime.”

Tara Brach

31. Mind, Body, and Soul

“Mind. Body. Soul. These are the three things self-care is all about.”

Kathy Sledge

32. Making Yourself a Priority

“Making yourself a priority is like sprinkling golden dust of richest blessings on your life.”

Hiral Nagda

33. Wounded Healers Need Bandages

“Wounded healers need bandages themselves. You can’t save anyone if you bleed to death.”

Tanya Huff

34. Self Care and Leadership

“Self care is the most underrated leadership skill.”

Joy Donnell, Beyond Brand: Master Your Power, Joy, and Media To Live Your Legacy

35. A Quiet Mind and Self Care

“Dedicating some time to meditation is a meaningful expression of caring for yourself that can help you move through the mire of feeling unworthy of recovery. As your mind grows quieter and more spacious, you can begin to see self-defeating thought patterns for what they are, and open up to other, more positive options.”

Sharon Salzberg

36. Replenishing Your Spirit

“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”

Eleanor Brown

Once you realize the secret of self care, it’s hard to deny the importance. Self care can improve your mental health as well as relationships with others. So, what are you waiting for? Why not set aside some time for your soul right now. ❤️