Nowadays we often hear about expressing gratitude - how it’s so great for our mental well-being. But hardly anyone talks about being the recipient of gratitude. While we might find it easy to give a compliment, we don’t quite know what to do with ourselves when we get one.

Self-care can be a wonderful thing. And it’s become an increasingly popular trend, especially as the conversation about mental health awareness and wellness has spread. Maybe you gave it a try, and it did help reduce your worry and stress. But maybe it didn’t really seem to do much. Or maybe it seemed to make things worse. Is that even possible, you might wonder - can self-care actually increase your anxiety in certain cases? If this has been your experience, there are a few reasons why you might be having this reaction. And yes, there are some changes you can make in order to have self-care be more effective for you.