He Said She Said: Is self-care actually self-indulgent?

Life has become so busy for us that personal care has become a commodity. But at what point does it become a self-indulgent luxury?

Ben Fordham and Shelly Horton discuss the complexities of the practice on this week’s episode of 9 honey he said she said Serie

Horton he described self-care as “non-medical ways of taking care of yourself. So it could be eating well, exercising, spending time alone, socializing with your friends, going for a walk.”

“So all the things that have been going on since the beginning of time?” disputed fordham.

Ben Fordham argues that we don’t need to put so much stock in self-care. (Supplied Nine)

He denounced the need for a self-attributed “buzzword” and asked, “Do you have a hashtag too? Is someone going to start selfcare.com?”

“Since the beginning of time we have taken a break. We have taken care of ourselves. We have meditated. We have had acupuncture…”

Fordham revealed that acupuncture is, in fact, the secret to his calm demeanor.

He and his wife Jodie both go to an acupuncturist who they claim has “healing powers.”

“I tell Jodie, ‘You know what? We’re better off with Helen in our lives’…my mom is going to see Helen now too, [and] other family members: we really like this buzzword that you call ‘self-care, which we’ve been doing since the beginning of time.

Horton then asked Fordham what she thought of more indulgent forms of personal care, like facials or massages.

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“Of course it’s fine!” exclaimed Fordham, saying it’s the best gift option for the women in your life when you don’t know what to get them.

Horton agreed, telling them, “All the men, can I tell you that we love that gift? Because it’s also an hour or two alone. Just a quiet moment.”

Fordham then changed the script, asking Horton, “Is it okay for the boys to take six hours out of their Sunday to go play golf?”

Horton sighed and declared, “That’s not self-care. That’s selfishness.”

Watch her explain why in the video above.

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