Mental Health Awareness Week | Day 5

Image listing ways individuals can try self-care

Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: Redefining It for Neurodivergent Minds

Welcome to Day 5 of our Mental Health Awareness Week series here at NeuroEmpowered. Today’s topic might look soft and fluffy on the surface — but in reality, it’s one of the most misunderstood and difficult to apply when you’re neurodivergent:

Let’s talk about self-care. What it is, what it’s not, and why it’s more than just a buzzword.

🧠 Self-Care Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

You’ve probably heard the classic advice:

“Take a bath. Light a candle. Journal it out.”

And for some people, that works beautifully.

But for many neurodivergent individuals, traditional self-care advice can feel completely out of sync with how our brains and bodies actually work. When your nervous system is overstimulated, your energy levels unpredictable, and executive functioning is a daily hurdle, the idea of adding more tasks to your plate — even relaxing ones — can feel overwhelming.

True self-care isn’t always soothing. Sometimes, it’s strategic.

✨ What Self-Care Really Looks Like for Neurodivergent People

Self-care, for us, often means creating environments and systems that make life more manageable. It might look like:

• Saying no — even to things you “should” do

• Wearing the same outfit every day because it’s sensory-safe

• Watching the same show over and over because it calms your brain

• Creating routines that reduce mental load

• Allowing yourself to go nonverbal when words are too much

• Having a “low demand” day on purpose

• Letting the washing up wait because rest is more important

Sometimes self-care looks like a tidy workspace and hydration. Other times, it looks like lying under a blanket ignoring your phone — and that’s okay.

You don’t have to look “wellness-influencer perfect” to be practising self-care. You don’t have to earn it by being productive. You don’t even have to be good at it — you just have to give yourself permission to rest in the ways that help you.

🧰 Our Self-Care Toolkit

To make self-care a little more manageable, we’ve created a free resource guide that includes:

• Neurodivergent-friendly self-care ideas

• Low-effort regulation strategies

• Space to reflect on what actually helps you

• Alternatives to conventional wellbeing advice

👉 You can find our Self-Care Guides for free at neuroempowered.org/resource-guides

Whether you use it daily or just on tough days, it’s there to remind you: you’re allowed to prioritise yourself.

💬 A Gentle Reminder

Self-care isn’t selfish. It isn’t self-indulgent. And it isn’t reserved for when you’ve done enough to “deserve” it.

It's part of survival. It's part of healing.And for many of us, it's how we begin to feel safe in our own minds and bodies again.

You’re doing your best — and that’s more than enough.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with Day 6, where we’ll talk about asking for help and building supportive independence — without shame.

With care— The NeuroEmpowered Team