December 2000

 

Practice Self-Care -- You Deserve It!
Vera Massey Nichols, nicholsv@missouri.edu

I think it’s safe to say most of us are interested in our health. However, we often take our health for granted until "troublesome" symptoms "prove" to us that we are "sick." Then, when we’re forced to notice, we usually pay attention and react to "fix" the problem. The most effective self-care, however, results from a conscious decision to take care of your health before you notice problems or get sick.

So, how do you go about taking care of yourself? There are four guiding principles that form the foundation for effective self-care:

• Health is wholeness. Health is actually more than having a body that works and isn’t sick. Health includes the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of life. And when all of these are working in harmony, they can lead to a sense of well-being and satisfaction. Although we usually think about health in physical terms, it actually involves all of you—your mind, your connection with people, your emotions, your sense of hope, your satisfaction with work—as well as your body.

Even though there are many facets of health, our body is really one single system, a "whole." Sickness, in whatever form it occurs—physical, emotional, social, intellectual, or spiritual, is a disruption of our "wholeness."

• Health requires personal responsibility. Self-care is critical in order to promote health/ wholeness. What you do to and for yourself can make a big difference in your life. For your "whole" person to remain vital, you’ll have to take responsibility for nourishing all aspects of your health—your body, your mind, your relationships and your spirit. Ignore them, or even worse, engage in self-destructive habits, and you will eventually pay the price.

• Health represents a return on your investment. To maximize your long-term health, invest your energies in a health-enhancing lifestyle. Remember, it’s the small habits, the daily decisions (just one more cigarette, one more short night’s sleep, one more day without physical activity) that accumulate in your future-health account. Health and sickness are to a large extent the result of daily choices, repeated over the years.

How is your health investment plan going? What choices have you been making? Have you been saving for your future health? What have you done for yourself today that will add up to positive self-care habits and long-range investments in your health? Eating a leisurely balanced breakfast, taking your daily walk, calling a special friend, taking a few deep breaths during a stressful situation—these are the kinds of activities that will help contribute to your health investment plan.

• Health requires self-nurture. To foster positive self-care habits you must take time to nurture yourself.

You need to adopt an "I’m worth it" attitude. Many people are so busy "taking care" of others that they fail to take care of themselves.

Self-care is a must for optimal health and you must find ways to nurture yourself each day. You can begin by listening to yourself and figuring out what "fills" you. Ask yourself, "Given all that’s going on in my life right now, what do I need in order to take better care of myself?" It could be that you are needing time to read from a favorite book, take a bubble bath, walk on your favorite path, play with your children/grandchildren, or give yourself that well deserved pat on the back. Whatever you discover you need, take steps to care for yourself. You must set aside some "nurture" time everyday, even if you start with only five minutes. You have the right to take care of yourself. Give yourself permission to do so!

Don’t take your health for granted. Practice positive self-care each and every day—you deserve it!

 

Return to 2000 archive index page