Welcome to my first blog.
Over the next few months I would love to share with you some content on ways to improve our overall sense of wellbeing. Well-being is our sense of being comfortable, healthy, and happy, both physically and mentally. It encompasses various aspects offer lives, including physical health, mental and emotional well-being, social relationships, and the ability to cope with stress and adversity. Well-being is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy.” The Mental Health Foundation say “it is important to realise that well-being is a much broader concept than moment-to-moment happiness. While it does includes happiness, it also includes other things, such as how satisfied people are with their life as a whole, their sense of purpose, and how in control they feel.”
(I have included two links at the bottom of the page as source for this blog)
In this blog I have written a few thoughts to get us thinking about how to
What is Self-Care?
Self-care is taking deliberate steps to do things and think things that give ourselves the chance grow/improve in our mental health by taking care of our needs physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Several organisations and researchers take a health-oriented approach when defining self-care. The World Health Organization defines self-care as: “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker.”
According to this definition, self-care includes everything related to staying physically healthy — including hygiene, nutrition, and seeking medical care when needed. It’s all the steps an individual can take to manage stressors in his or her life and take care of his or her own health and well-being.
What are the Benefits of Self-Care?
Self-care improves our therapeutic journey
Self-care also helps us focus better in many situations.
Self-care can improve blood pressure, reduce anxiety, improve physical and mental energy also improves coping skills.
Why Should I Work on Self-Care?
Self care helps us cope during the difficult times and recognises the idea of wholeness. We are social, relational, physical, spiritual and emotional human beings. It improves our ability to be present “in the moment” of our lives. I believe self care increases our gratitude and overall sense of peace. If we experience any form of anxiety it is also essential, not in providing a cure, but definitely being part of the solution.
Types of Self-Care
1) Physical Self-Care
Benefits of exercise & movement: Helps to strengthen our heart, lungs & muscles, reduces blood pressure, improves sleep, assists in regulating digestion, improves cardiovascular health and reduces heart disease and infection. It also releases hormones that help to repair cells and control the body’s use of energy.
Exercise & movement ideas: Go for a run, dance, stretch, go for a bike ride, swim, play sports, or other fun physical activities. Lift weights and exercise or go to the gym. Practice martial arts. Walk a dog.
Pleasure
A great way to take care of yourself when you’re coping with stress is to engage in a pleasurable activity. Take yourself out to eat or be a tourist in your own city. Garden, watch a movie, make art or do a craft project. Journal. Go for a photo walk. Wear clothes you enjoy and like. Take a break from technology, laugh, practice sleep hygiene, healthy eating and create a new playlist.
Nutrition
It is helpful if we can to see a physician, dietician or nutritionist to determine the best eating plan possible based on our particular health needs.
2) Emotional Self-Care
Emotional self-care is taking time to understand what is going on internally. It’s validating there are different aspects of you and the emotions that you have – there are arguably no good or bad feelings.
There are many things we can do to help improve our emotional self-care.
Accept our feelings. They’re all valid.
Write feelings down.
Cry when you need to.
Laugh when you can.
Practice self-compassion.
Be honest with yourself, limitations and your needs.
Decrease stress in your life.
Feel proud of yourself and verbalise that aloud.
Identify and seek out comforting activities, objects, people, relationships and places.
Practice mindfulness.
Give yourself permission to “be”.
Practice self-compassion.
Affirmations
It’s easy to beat yourself up over many things. To take care of you, it’s
important to give yourself some kindness. That can be in the form of
affirmations for example, “I am okay” or “I can do this."
3) Relational Self-Care
Connecting with others is an important part of self-care. This is connection that is addition to the computer and texting. The purpose of taking good care of our relationships is that not doing so, can greatly increase isolation and depression. Some self-care activities that can be beneficial or help in this process are:
Go on a lunch date with a good friend. Calling a friend on the phone. Participating in a book club.
Joining a support group.
Set healthy boundaries.
Smile more.
Meet new people.
Nurturing your relationships.
Compliment others more (and yourself).
Admit your wrongs with someone.
4) Spiritual Self-Care
Spiritual self-care isn’t about theology, but about finding quiet time to connect with your higher power, if you have one, or nature, something outside of ourselves.
Examples:
Mindfulness activities
Meditation
Allowing yourself time to be in nature through walking or hiking. It helps to disconnect from the business of the day that can be stressful and tensing. This also allows us to heal and be in connect with all of our senses. Being in nature for a good amount of time can have a positive impact on us as human beings. Getting in touch with your values—what really matters—is a sure way to cope with stress and foster a calm mind. Activities that people define as spiritual are very personal.
Here are a few more ideas:-
Read poetry or inspiring quotes. Light a candle.
Meditate. Write in a journal.
Spend time in nature.
Pray.
Creativity.
List five things you’re grateful for.
Be open to the non-material aspects of your life.
Celebrate milestones with rituals and steps that are meaningful to you.
Go to a place of worship.
Identify what is meaningful in your life and notice it’s place in your life.
Cherish your optimism and hope. Express gratitude.
Spiritual Affirmations
5) Mental Self-Care
Mental self-care is paying attention to the thoughts you have, and trying to evaluate what is really going on inside. You are able to manage the thoughts, but the feelings that run within the mind ebb and flow and may not be based on fact.
Examples of mental self-care are focusing your attention on this moment – not the past or future
Doing things that stimulate your mind such as research, audio or visual activities or visual activities. Practicing patience
Learning about something that increases brain power, such as reading something you are interested in or passionate about.
Become personally aware of the self-care activities in your life right now and what you can do to improve them.
You can also give yourself a boost by doing a task that you’ve been avoiding or challenging your brain in a novel way. This can also boost self-confidence.
Clean out a junk drawer or a cupboard.
Take action (one small step) on something you’ve been avoiding.
Try a new activity.
Drive to a new place.
Make a list.
Immerse yourself in a crossword puzzle.
Do a word search.
Read something on a topic you wouldn’t normally.
Be curious.
Be okay about leaving work at home.
Do something at which you are not an expert at, or try something new.
Engage your intelligence in a new area (art, history, theatre, science, etc.)
Say “no” to extra responsibilities.
Stay present-focused.
Write in a journal.
Minimise life stresses.
Practice receiving from others.
Make time for self-reflection.
Notice your inner experience – listen to your thoughts, judgments, beliefs, attitudes & feelings.
When you feel stressed and need a calm mind, try focusing on the sensations around you; sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. This will help you focus on the present moment, giving you a break from worry.
Breathe in fresh air.
Snuggle under a cozy blanket.
Listen to running water.
Sit outdoors by a fire pit, watching the flames and listening to the night sounds.
Take a hot shower or a warm bath.
Take a cold shower or a cold bath.
Have a massage.
Cuddle with a pet.
Pay attention to your breathing. Burn a scented candle.
Wiggle your bare feet in overgrown grass.
Stare up at the sky.
Grounding
Visualise a stop sign.
Dance.
Draw, paint, work with clay or other physical touch experiences.
Find a physical activity to participate in.
Focus on your breathing – repeat a favourite word on your inhale. Grab your chair, couch, bed or table as tight as you can.
Hold on to something cold like a bag of vegetables or an ice cube.
Push or grind your feet into the floor until you can feel them.
Keep a small container of Play-Doh available to smell and manipulate.
Run cool or warm water over your hands.
Stretch.
Walk slowly, paying attention to how you are taking your steps.
Wash your face with cool or warm water.
NHS links to Improving our mental health
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