International Self-Care Day is celebrated on July 24th, an occasion that promotes self-care as a component of healthy daily living. More recently, I’ve observed how self-care is often confused with “little treat culture.” I like to encourage clients to think of self-care as a holistic means of wellness, something more robust than purchasing their favorite iced coffee.
Rather, it is more helpful to think of self-care as small things, done consistently over time, that have the most lasting impact on our mental health and well-being. When practiced consistently, self-care sustains us in meeting the various demands of life. I appreciate Jackie Viramontez’s quote:
The Olga Phoenix Project developed a commonly used assessment tool based upon the work of Saakvitne, Pearlman, & Staff (1996) within Transforming the Pain: A Workbook on Vicarious Traumatization, in which they created various components of well-being to serve as a useful guide when considering self-care strategies.
Key Components of Well-Being
Physical: The most common examples of physical well-being include being mindful of healthy eating habits, routine exercise, and adequate sleep. Additionally, it is essential to maintain regular medical care.
Psychological: Strategies for psychological well-being include attending therapy, joining a support group, reading self-help books, and journaling.
Emotional: We can care for ourselves emotionally through practices such as personal affirmations, practicing self-compassion, engaging in favorite hobbies, and laughter.
Spiritual: Connecting to our spiritual well-being can be achieved through activities such as attending religious services as part of a faith community, prayer, meditation, time spent in nature, yoga, and volunteering.
Personal/Relational: Personal/relational self-care can be achieved through activities such as spending quality time with family, investing in friendships, or creating a vision board to reflect upon personal values and goals.
Professional: Caring for oneself professionally includes leaving work at the office, taking a lunch break, utilizing vacation time, and accessing the support of colleagues and mentors.
However you choose to practice self-care, I encourage you to incorporate multiple aspects of well-being and to build these activities into regular parts of daily life.
Sources:
- https://olgaphoenix.com/self-care-wheel/
