Well-being and sustainable health outcomes require a good level of self-awareness. Self-awareness is more than just being in touch with your feelings, it also means being mindful of your thoughts, vulnerabilities and generally understanding your mechanisms for coping and ways of maximizing your strengths. You need to be in tune with your values, goals and behaviours.
Self-care is an integral component of self-awareness. Self-care means taking care of your needs on a daily basis so that you are able to maintain your physical health, psychological and emotional well-being and physiological resilience.
Every person has different needs, but for most people having a good routine of self-care involves fulfilling your values and having a lifestyle that enables you to live a fulfilled life. This includes regular exercise, good sleep patterns and a strong social life as integral parts of your life.
What are the benefits of self-care?
1. Increased productivity
Being able to say no to things that stress you out and making time for the things you love can help you to feel in control of your life, become more productive and generally achieve more goals with a sharper focus.
2. Better health
There is quite a lot of evidence correlating self-care with activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. By looking after yourself you go into a mode where you can rejuvenate, rest and your immune system can function optimally.
3. Physical health
Self-care isn’t just about maintaining emotional health, it’s also about physical health; eating well, sleeping well, having good personal hygiene, exercising, investing in your and your family’s health and generally doing all those things that make you healthier and make you feel better about yourself at the same time.
4. Controlling stress
Stress is an inevitable part of life and helps us to achieve our goals and targets. However, incessant stress and anxiety can really affect your physical and mental health. Having self-care activities built into your life, including meditation and exercise, can alleviate the symptoms of stress and help you to move forward. With a positive outlook like that, you’ll be able to take on challenges in a much more productive way.
5. Improving productivity
Slowing down your life at times can really help you to take stock, think clearly and generally become a better person. With this ability to self-manage, you’ll be able to make better decisions to be more productive and generally make the biggest impact with the time you have available.
Some strategies for self-care
1. Physical strategies
Some of the activities that can help you stay fit and healthy and also provide you with more energy for your life include:
- Developing a routine for sleep
- eating a healthy diet
- forcing yourself to take lunch breaks
- going for a walk during breaks
- Using your sick leave when you need it rather than struggling through
- Getting a regular exercise routine
2. Get help if you need it
Sometimes it may feel easier to say nothing about the problem in your life. But just speaking to a sympathetic ear or getting some professional help can make all the difference. Looking after yourself and self-care involves making good choices about how you live your life and sometimes you need to get some external help in order for that to happen.
If you have financial stress in your life, you would get help from a financial advisor, and similarly, if you have emotional challenges, get help from a counsellor. These professionals can help you feel recharged to be able to deal with new or old challenges and push through to solutions.
Conclusion
Self-care involves getting yourself the healthy habits that enable you to live a productive life in a way that you want to live. Getting control and achieving life-work balance means you can develop some self-care strategies and take time for yourself.[/facebook]
