###### 🔑 Maintenance is sometimes mistaken for Care Sometimes [[⭐️ Self-Maintenance]] gets mistaken for [[⭐️ Self-Care]], like when we do things that are good for us because they’re important, but don't necessarily meet our emotional needs. > [!example] > - Eating a healthy meal we don’t care for when we could find healthy recipes we do like. > - Forcing ourselves to go to the gym and when we could go hiking (assuming we enjoy it). > - A [[💡 Proactive Protectors|Proactive Protector]] using [[🛡️ Perfectionism]] to make us adhere to a strict diet and a [[💡 Reactive Protectors|Reactive Protector]] using [[🛡️ Criticizing]] when we don’t do it “right.” Getting overly-focused on or stuck in [[⭐️ Self-Maintenance]] can be tempting, especially if we grew up with caregivers who provided our physical necessities without considering or connecting with our emotional wants and needs. [[⭐️ Self-Care]] sometimes means ignoring [[💡 Should Statements]]. Sometimes it doesn't matter what we "should" do or what the "best" way is — we do what **feels** good, even if it doesn’t make sense, and ~~even~~ especially if it’s a bit silly. [[🔑 Care, Maintenance, and Regulation can overlap and synergize]] [^1]: