Self-Care
3 Practicing Self-Care
Learning Outcome
- Explain how best practices in self-care can be applied to your personal well-being journey.
What is Self-Care
Self-Care can be understood as an activity that we do or a mindset we adopt in order to support our health and well-being. This can take form in many ways, including something as intentional as meditation or as simple as taking a short walk or coffee break during your day. Practicing self-care has been shown to decrease levels of stress and anxiety and increase positive mood and productivity. It is important to choose a self-care practice that fits your lifestyle and brings you a sense of joy, pleasure, and/or relief – this way you are most likely to keep it up!
Elder Mary Roberts talks about self-care in the following video.
Watch these videos where James Williams and Neil Thevarge talk about about work-life balance and wellness in the workplace.
Examples of Self-Care Practices
Go for a walk or run, connect with nature
- Research supports positive psychological benefits of being in nature that relate to things like mood, spirituality, and feeling content.
Nurture your relationships with family and friends
- Positive psychology and the study of “happiness” has found that one of the strongest correlations to a person’s happiness and positive well-being is strong social connections and relationships. Strengthening and maintaining the relationships you have in your life builds a community of support and a sense of connection that has sustainable and significant benefits to your physical and mental health.
Journaling
- Writing down your thoughts can have many positive effects on your well-being. These include increase in memory retention, decrease in stress and anxiety, increased self awareness and self esteem, and increase in creativity.
Self-Care Resources
The British Columbia Crisis Centre website has information about Coping and Self-Care.
BC Provincial Health Services Authority has adapted Homewood Health’s Self-Care Starter Kit (pdf) Self-Care Starter Kit
Key Takeaways
- In order to reach your personal and professional goals, it is important to take care of yourself and prioritize your wellness.
- Self-care is the practice of prioritizing your health and wellness on a daily basis.
