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Monthly Spotlight: Self-Care

National Self-Care Day

Moira Rose from Schitt's Creek quoting

What is Self-Care?

Self-care is the practice of individuals looking after their own health using the knowledge and information available to them. It is a decision-making process that empowers individuals to look after their own health efficiently and conveniently, in collaboration with health and social care professionals as needed.

Self-care involves:

  • Making healthy lifestyle choices -  being physically active and eating healthily

  • Avoiding unhealthy lifestyle habits – avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption

  • Making responsible use of prescription and non-prescription medicines

  • Self-recognition of symptoms - assessing and addressing symptoms, in partnership with a healthcare professional where necessary

  • Self-monitoring -  checking for signs of deterioration or improvement

  • Self-management - managing symptoms of disease, either alone, in partnership with healthcare professionals, or alongside other people with the same health condition

Information from the Global Self-Care Federation

A miniature collage of boxes: a brain meditation, a heart giving itself a hug, a box of tissues, an apple, some one in therapy, and a few quoting

How to take Care of your Mind

  • Get regular exercise. 
    • Just 30 minutes of walking every day can boost your mood and improve your health. Small amounts of exercise add up, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t do 30 minutes at one time.
  • Eat healthy, regular meals, and stay hydrated. 
    • A balanced diet and plenty of water can improve your energy and focus throughout the day.
  • Make sleep a priority.
    • Stick to a schedule, and make sure you’re getting enough sleep.
    • Blue light from devices and screens can make it harder to fall asleep, so reduce blue light exposure from your phone or computer before bedtime.
  • Try a relaxing activity. 
    • Explore relaxation or wellness programs or apps, which may incorporate meditation, muscle relaxation, or breathing exercises.
    • Schedule regular times for these and other healthy activities you enjoy, such as listening to music, reading, spending time in nature, and engaging in low-stress hobbies.
  • Set goals and priorities. 
    • Decide what must get done now and what can wait.
    • Learn to say “no” to new tasks if you start to feel like you’re taking on too much.
    • Try to appreciate what you have accomplished at the end of the day.
  • Practice gratitude. 
    • Remind yourself daily of the things you are grateful for.
      • Be specific.
  • Focus on positivity.
    • Identify and challenge your negative and unhelpful thoughts.
  • Stay connected. 
    • Reach out to friends or family members who can provide emotional support and practical help.

Information from the National Institue of Mental Health

An avocado in a sweat band jumping rope for its workout

How to take Care of your Body

  • Eat a healthy meal
    • Although it can seem that your diet only benefits your physical body, diet can also impact your mental and emotional health.
  • Engage in exercise
    • Taking care of your body affects your overall well-being and it is important for reducing the risk of burn-out.
    • Regular exercise leads to improved overall well-being and quality of life, it can increase your energy and mood, improve concentration, sleep and decrease stress and depression symptoms
  • Go for a walk
    • Walking is the easiest physical activity that never goes out of style.
    • It will allow you to unwind and spend some time outdoors.
  • Drink water
    • While it may seem like a trivial act, drinking an adequate amount of water throughout the day can help your mind and body function at their best. 
    • When we become dehydrated, we can experience dizziness, headaches, sleepiness, low blood pressure, and more.
  • Practice good sleep hygiene
    • Sleep deprivation will impact your mood, energy, memory, grades, ability to focus, and your ability to concentrate in class and on homework. 
    • Research shows that you need 7 to 8 hours of sleep consistently EVERY night to be well-rested and perform optimally.
    • The light from the electronic device activates neurons that make people more alert.
      • Therefore, it is harder to fall asleep.
      • Sleep experts suggest an "electronics curfew" which means refraining from using electronics 60 minutes before going to sleep.
      • (click here for more information)
  • Power Nap
    • A nap can indeed boost your productivity, which is why it's called a power nap.
    • As it can re-energize you and improve your mental focus
  • Sit in the sunlight
    • The sun’s UV rays help your body make vitamin D, which is important for your bones, blood cells, and immune system.
      • It also helps you take in and use certain minerals, like calcium and phosphorus.
  • Take a shower or bath
    • Good hygiene is important for social, medical, and psychological reasons in that it not only reduces the risk of illness, but it also improves the way others view you and how you view yourself.

A cartoon brain check marking a check list: Self-Care can be forgiving yourself, setting boundaries, spending alone time, asking for help, putting yourself first, saying no, taking a step back, staying home, asking for what you need.

Importance of Self-Care pt 1

It Helps Your Physical Health
Most college students don’t feel like they have a lot of downtime. Between classes, meetings, and study sessions, they’re always on the move. As a result, many students don’t get enough sleep, don’t eat as well as they could, and don’t ever truly decompress. Your body needs these things in order to perform well. Self-care could mean getting more sleep or taking a power nap during the day. It could mean going to yoga with a friend or scheduling time to eat. By practicing self-care around your physical needs, you will ensure that your body remains healthy. When you’re healthy, you are able to perform at your best every day and have the energy you need to tackle that to-do list.

It Helps Your Mental Health
According to NPR, there is a mental health epidemic on college campuses. If you are in a constant state of stress and anxiety, you will have a hard time enjoying your college experience. You’ll also find it hard to concentrate and get your work done. College can easily exacerbate existing mental health issues, and even create new ones if you’re not careful. Practicing self-care can help preserve and improve your mental health and keep you on the path to success.

It Helps You Stay Connected to Yourself
With so much going on, it’s easy to forget to check in with yourself. Are you hungry? Tired? Do you need a break from the chaos? Do you need to unplug for a bit? Taking just a few minutes each day to check in and see how you’re feeling can be a great way to stay connected to yourself. Are you stressed or anxious? If so, what can you do to change that? By regularly checking in with yourself, you’ll have a better sense of where you stand physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Scene from Sunnyside:

Things to know about Self-Care

Engaging in a self-care routine has been clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, increase happiness, and more. It can help you adapt to changes, build strong relationships, and recover from setbacks. In a national survey, Americans cited benefits of self-care as: enhanced self-confidence (64%), increased productivity (67%), and happiness (71%). From a physical health perspective, self-care also reduces heart disease, stroke, and cancer.  -Mental Health First Aid

The concept of self-care has been receiving some backlash lately, but that's largely based on a misunderstanding of what self-care is. Let's dispel some negative stereotypes about self-care. If you think of self-care as indulgent or selfish, you’re thinking about it wrong. (Psychology Today)

  • Self-care isn't typically about treats or pampering
    • Most of the time self-care is exactly what's on the label, it's going to the dentist, replacing the running shoes that have worn out and are causing your feet to hurt, or taking yourself to bed early rather than staying up all hours watching Netflix.
  • Self-care isn't about putting your own needs ahead of others
    • Try thinking about self-care that benefits you and other people, such as spending more time in nature with your children or getting back into bedtime routines involving reading stories. If your self-care urge is that you need to slow down, then other people can easily be a part of that.
  • Self-care isn't a list of behaviors; what constitutes self-care depends on the situation.
    •  Self-care is often about having the self-knowledge and psychological flexibility to make what's the best choice for you overall, which may be different at different times.
  • Self-care is as much about your thinking as your behaviors.
    • Someone with good self-care skills will be able to acknowledge when they’re feeling anxious in the process of pursuing a meaningful goal and be able to talk themselves through how to move forward with those feelings of anxiety rather than giving up.
    • Likewise, having good self-care skills involves knowing how to detect when you’re ruminating and employ some skills for breaking free of that as well as having the capacity to notice if your perfectionism has tipped over into being self-sabotaging and being able to gently steer yourself towards an alternate path.
  • Self-care isn't just about doing solitary activities, it's often social.
    • One of the most nurturing things people can do for themselves is to seek human connection in response to stress rather than isolating themselves. This applies even to introverts.
    • Self-care often involves letting others into your inner world a little bit, touching base with important people you haven't seen recently enough, or actually seeing or speaking to any close friends whom you tend to communicate with primarily through the Internet.

A person cuddling a pillow while laying on their stomach reading a book and kicking their legs in the air.

Self-Care Book Recs

 

The same phrase repeated six times and changing colors:

Importance of Self-Care pt 2

It Helps You Stay Connected to Others
Part of your self-care may include seeing a counselor, joining different organizations or groups, or spending more time with your friends. These are all wonderful ways to ensure that you stay connected to others who can support your self-care journey. Being able to lean on friends, family, and even licensed medical professionals, can advance your self-care so that you are healthy in mind and body.

It Can Create Lifelong Habits
Self-care is not just important in college. It is critical once you graduate and join the working world. Deadlines, difficult colleagues, families, and more responsibilities all create stress and anxiety once you leave the college bubble. The self-care practices you create in college can be incredibly beneficial later as you navigate life after college.

Self-care is not one size fits all, and it’s not something you do once and then forget about. In order for self-care to be truly effective, you need to incorporate it into your daily life. What that looks like is entirely up to you. The benefits are many and can help you create a positive college experience that you will look back on fondly.