by Hilda R. Garcia, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
What is Self-Care?
Some of us may think we know or at least have an idea of
what it means, but for others it could conceivably be a brand new concept. For those of us who have been or are
clinicians and in the business of helping people recognize how to care for
themselves, we may fall short of doing it for ourselves.
As a social work novice, I found early on in my career that
taking care of you is an important social work and life skill. In writing this, I couldn’t help but remember my
first flight to visit my colleague and her family in Manhattan. The flight attendant’s safety instruction began
with “in case of loss in cabin pressure, masks will drop from the ceiling; don your
mask first before your child or others”. I thought: WOW, what a brilliant idea…and so
“social workie” to boot. That idea
morphed into something I diligently practice...making sure I do self- care and
model that for others, whether clients, family or friends.
For some self-care can feel
innate, yet for others it can be very a difficult challenge. Suffice it to say that there has been a
perception that when taking care of yourself, that is simply “selfish”, but
it’s not. After a few decades, we are
now getting to the point of realizing that self-care is a very important part
of staying healthy…emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.
So now that self-care has proven to be a positive aspect of
health, you want to know all about it and read up on it. As reflected by a client’s world, she recognized
that she had been too focused on her life goals, achievements, expectations, hers
and others, and decided to make a drastic change. She quit her 50-60 hour job and started a consulting
business that promised to be exciting and fun.
She began traveling quite a bit
all over all the country and still managed to schedule some time alone,
exercise, and train for a marathon just for fun.
After a few months into that and during the Christmas
holidays, she found herself home in bed, completely exhausted and wondering
what in the world happened as she’d focused on practicing how to be good to
herself. She simply forgot to take care
of herself once again and now had a terrific flu, was tired and unable to do
the work she thought was going to be awesome.
So, “SWITCHING THE CULPRITS DID NOT FIX IT”. As much thought as she put into the
changes, the small things were pushed aside.
She did make an attempt to take more time alone and to herself but maybe not enough. The training for the marathon was not so easy
but she did it. Getting the flu is a
reminder: it’s the message that
self-care is not a one-time thing but instead, it’s an ongoing awareness of how
small things can soothe your body, mind and soul.
A few small self-care ideas for the mind:
- Watch sunsets or lie on the grass and watch clouds float by.
- Document great things people say about you and review them often.
- Play around for a bit or just goof off.
- Be “selfish”. Do one thing that makes you happy; only you know what that one thing is.
- Fix a small annoyance that’s getting on your nerves. Change a light bulb that’s out.
- Take a quick nap for ten or twenty minutes.
- Have a good laugh by reading comic strips that you enjoy
- Get down and boogie. Listen to a favorite record and shake your body.
- Take three deep breaths and exhale slowly.
- Be still and just be.
A few self-care ideas for the soul:
- Imagine you’re your own best friend.
- Help someone; carry a bag; open a door; wheel someone to an entrance of a store.
- Stroke a pet.
- Plan a get-away for the next weekend. Tell people you will be away and turn off your phone.
- Check in with your emotions. Name without judgment what you are feeling.
It’s taking small yet consistent steps to attend to our own
self-care that will connect us to ourselves and our worlds. Changing
a few pathways in our brains will make for big changes in our everyday lives.
Doing self-care …………………“It is an idea whose time has
come”………Pierre T. de Chardin
