Self-Care in Detail

CONTINUATION

Sometimes we overdo things, sometimes we underdo things. Regardless of the cause, if it gets too far out of balance, our bodies will let us know about it.

Now that we know it’s the way we live our lives that affects balance, and that balance is how the body maintains our health, we can better understand the role of Self-Care and its importance. The role of Self-Care, in general, is to add balance back into the lifestyle. Each person will need different kinds of Self-Care. Some may need physical Self-Care, mental Self-Care, or even emotional Self-Care. A good thing to keep in mind is that all three are connected and can be affected by each other, as these are three of the ways the body and mind interact with life. From posture to habits, to mindsets, they are all equally related to Self-Care.

misunderstanding self-care

Practicing Self-Care is often seen as taking a break out of your busy day to do something for yourself. A Self-Care list might include meditation, stretching, reading a book, taking some downtime to do nothing, doing art, walking in nature, or taking a yoga or fitness class. These are what our team refers to as short-term Self-Care actions. They require making time to do them, as opposed to having the time, therefore they do not address the lifestyle. The body sees these short breaks as only a few seconds to catch its breath before getting back to being overworked.

When the body is not able to keep up the demands that are placed on it physically, mentally, or emotionally, it will start to compensate by borrowing energy from the least stressed areas of our body. This is why you can feel physically exhausted by being mentally overworked, and as we mentioned earlier, it’s a three-way street. The most destructive outcome that happens as a result of lack of Self-Care (balance) is the reduced effectiveness of the immune system and the dysregulation of feedback systems (hormones, sleeping, appetite, emotions).

the BENEFITS of self-care

The power of practicing Self-Care comes from the empowerment of the person being responsible for regaining and maintaining their health. When we focus on creating a lifestyle that supports health, the long-term success rate increases, unlike the traditional approach to fitness (dieting and working out) where 95% of people never meet their long-term goals. The body has the ability to heal and take care of itself when we don’t work against it. However, most of the time, the lack of balance in our lifestyles do work against our health.

How does Self-Care stack up to the other health professions?

In this context, Self-Care is used to complement other health practices and increase their effectiveness. Many times, specialists do their best for us when we’re in their clinics, offices, or studios, but the challenge happens when we get home. How are we implementing what we have learned, and building on what we have gained in daily life? Most of the time when we get home our brains and bodies go back into work mode and we forget all about the clinic. Furthermore, translating what we have learned from health professionals into everyday life is not as simple as just repeating the action or steps from the clinic.

Knowing that most of the time, the way we move our bodies or the stress we are under in our work/home life is what caused the issue, we need to be able to make specific changes to those two things to get the kind of results we are really hoping for. This is where Self-Care steps up and creates synergy between clinical practice and everyday living, so it becomes easier to restore and manage your health. The insight our team gains from working with your other health professionals as well as working more personally with you allows for greater sustainable improvement.

Is men’s Self-Care different from women’s Self-Care?

The answer is “Yes,” it’s different, as far as the actions taken to improve Self-Care, but not in the morals of practicing. Self-Care is finding balance in your physical, mental, and emotional health, and is important regardless of your gender.

Who is in the most need of Self-Care?

Nurses, doctors, teachers, front-line workers, managers, moms, dads…

As soon as you are a person taking responsibility for someone other than yourself, Self-Care can become a diminishing resource. When we spend a lot of time thinking about or caring for others, we can start to believe that our best value comes from sacrificing for (helping) them. This is true; it is always good to help others, but never at the cost of yourself or the cost of their own ability to take care of themselves. The above occupations or titles tend to lend to the lack of Self-Care. It’s good to keep in mind, as leaders, that it’s always better to be an example of good health than it is to only be a person that helps others with their health.

Why is Self-Care important?

Self-Care is the original reason for all healthcare practices. When a person’s life is lacking in Self-Care, they go to see a medical professional. Another way to look at the nature of Self-Care is that it is the guide to restoring and maintaining the health of all humankind, and can get as specific as the best way to stay healthy for the way [insert your name] feels, thinks and moves.

What Services does Self-Care involve?

Self-Care, let's break it down more

Physical, mental, emotional, let's break it down more

Exercise, stretching, lifestyle coaching, let's break it down more

Exercise prescription, lifestyle intervention, therapeutic techniques, let's break it down more

Injury prevention, special population exercises, muscle activation, fascial stretching, PNF stretching, acupressure, manual therapy techniques, lifestyle prescription (optimizing healthy living), general support

What does Self-Care help with?

Self-Care is very versatile. It is able to assist with and improve, tense elbow, knee pain, back pain, chronic headaches, fitness level, activity, loneliness, mood, communication, stress levels, maintenance of health, motivation, mobility, functionality, organization, and having a healthy lifestyle.