Self care is community care

The Principles of Radical Self-Care as Resistance

Audre Lorde taught us that caring for ourselves is not self-indulgence—it is self-preservation. And in systems that rely on our exhaustion, self-preservation becomes an act of resistance.

We often speak about self-care as something soft. Optional. A reward after burnout. But radical self-care asks something different of us. It asks us to see care not as indulgence, but as discipline. As devotion. As a necessary practice for survival in a world that benefits from our depletion.

Self-care is resistance—but it is not resistance in isolation.

It ripples outward.

The way we tend to ourselves shapes how we show up for others. How we listen, how we give, how we remain present in the work we say we care about. When we are depleted, our capacity to hold others shrinks. When we are resourced, we expand.

Self-care, in this sense, becomes community care.

In Living to Live: The Principles of Radical Self-Care, a Ted Talk by Taslim Alani-Vergee, she reframes self-care as a practice of love—one that holds both rest and responsibility. Not withdrawal from the world, but a sustainable way of engaging with it. A way of continuing to give without abandoning the self.

This tension—between giving and preserving—is not new.

We saw it during the civil rights movements of the 1960s, where access to basic human rights and care was systematically denied to marginalized communities. In the absence of institutional support, people turned toward one another. They built networks of care rooted in mutual aid, shared responsibility, and collective survival.

Care was never individual. It was communal.

To show up for others, self-preservation was not optional—it was essential.

As Audre Lorde writes, “By saving my life, by using my life in the service of what must be done.” There is no contradiction here. The work and the self are not in opposition. They sustain one another.

So, the question becomes: how do we continue to give, while also taking care of ourselves?

Radical self-care has three main components:

We begin by connecting to what matters. Our values become a compass, guiding how and where we direct our energy. When we are clear on what makes us feel alive, our choices become more intentional.

We practice flexibility and self-compassion. Not every season will look the same. There are moments of expansion and moments of rest—and both are necessary. Extending grace to ourselves allows us to remain in the work without collapsing under it.

And we focus on our strengths. Not from a place of ego, but from alignment. When we honor our gifts—through skill, passion, and purpose—we become more effective, more grounded, and more able to contribute in meaningful ways.

This is what sustains impact.

Self-care is not separate from the collective. It is what allows the collective to exist, to grow, and to endure.

To care for yourself is to care for the world around you.