Why is Self-Care Vital?
Some might think of self-care as doing something for yourself after a long day of work. Most individuals think self-care is something they should make time for after work, but self-care is much more than that. Especially when working in a relationship-intense profession, it is imperative that you take time for self-care before becoming burned out. On Simmons University's website, they discuss the importance of self-care before reaching the burnout state. One common thought that occurs when thinking of self-care is a sensation of guilt for taking a break. This website shares the importance of taking breaks and saying no, especially when working in a socially demanding field (like social work) (Juda, Why self-care is vital for Social Service Professionals 2022). On Active Minds website, we see that self-care is vital and needed to maintain the ability to function, we should not feel guilty when setting aside time for ourselves. This website shares many suggestions for self-care activities to help grow resiliency. One example that was helpful for me is mindfulness exercises; I often use this strategy while working out and working on my positive/mindful thoughts during the workout (Self-care 2023).
Beginning Your Self-Care Journey
Take a deep breath! When starting out your self-care journey you may feel sensations of guilt and obligation to others; don’t give in to those feelings, reaffirm yourself that self-care is needed before you can help others. When a plane is crashing or low on oxygen, a person must put on their own mask before they can help anyone else; the same is true of self-care. When starting a self-care journey, it is important to be intentional; if you do not make time for self-care, it will not happen. Another important factor to remember is that your self-care may look very different from someone else, so don’t compare yourself to what others need. Your self-care journey is your own and you need to find what works for you. In chapter 12 of The Resilient Practitioner, we see that the author gives examples participants who are in stressful situations in which the individual must apply their resiliency skills. This book (The Resilient Practitioner), is full of helpful information for those in relationship intense professions and would be beneficial to invest in. One important part of the resiliency process for these participants (mentioned in the book), was creating positive work structures. The book discusses how many of the participants in the examples had a positive peer relationship that supported and guided the individual through stressors at work and home (The Resilient Practitioner: Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Prevention and self-care strategies for the helping professions 2024).
References
Self-care. Active Minds. (2023, May 31). https://www.activeminds.org/ab...al-health/self-care/
Skovholt, T. M., & Trotter-Mathison, M. (2024). The resilient practitioner: Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Prevention and self-care strategies for the helping professions. Routledge.
Juda, E. (2022, November 30). Why self-care is vital for Social Service Professionals. SC-UMT. https://online.simmons.edu/blo...rvice-professionals/
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