The same things that made the question so valuable then make the question valuable now, both for him and me. Why "Take Care of Yourself" Isn't Always Helpful“Take care of yourself” is often a song sung to people going through a hard time. Telling someone “You need to take care of yourself” deeply oversimplifies complicated emotions and realities. It does little for someone in a caregiver’s role; rather, it literally tells them to take care of it themselves. The great psychologist Abraham Maslow offered us a hierarchy of needs, which included physiological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, need for achievement (which others have reconceptualized as meaning), and self-actualization.