You may have noticed that this week we began a 30-Day Self-Care Challenge through our Facebook page with the hashtag #selfcarelifecare. So, what is self-care and what makes it important to life care? Webster defines self-care as care for oneself. A personal definition of self-care is care for self that cares for and enhances life. Caring and enhancing one’s life involves many areas.
The wellness wheel tool highlights these areas: emotional, environmental, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual. When one honestly assesses the quality of each area (1 to 7, with 7 being best), the connected dots give an idea of the areas of life that are cared for and areas where perhaps one could enhance care.
As a suggestion, take a moment to complete a wellness wheel assessment. Connect the dots and ask the question “How well would the wheel roll?” Then ask another question “How well would the wheel roll uphill or downhill?”
At times life feels like a rollercoaster. At other time it feels like you’re rolling a boulder uphill. Sometimes you can feel just plain stuck. That is life with its ups and downs. Personally when I feel like I am rolling a boulder uphill or I am just plain stuck, I take a moment to complete a wellness wheel assessment. The results give me a clue as to what might be areas of my life where self-care has been lacking. Focusing a bit on balancing the wellness wheel can help me “roll” through life with a greater sense of ease.
Often times, self-care is seen as something one has to do. One may even feel it is selfish or time-wasting. However, from a lens of opportunity, one could view self-care as activity one gets to do. One may find it ultimately selfless and even time-saving.
If you’ve been on a commercial airplane, you’ve heard the phrase “apply your own mask before helping others.” Place self-care in the realm of this concept. Apply self-care as life care so that others can be better cared for as you better care for your own life. In “rolling” through life, find creative ways to incorporate self-care as life care. Open the door to this concept just as well as opening a door for others. Even try opening the door with smile – someone just might smile back.
~Jean Tschampa, PharmD, LCPC, CADC, C-IAYT, BCC