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So, the website and blog are launched, do you like it, we just LOVE it? We are busily connecting with the #selfcaresquad globally, who really are a generous bunch, perfect ambassadors for spreading the Self Care word, encouraging us all to start to care for ourselves a little bit more.
We live in an increasingly chaotic world, constantly bombarded by 24-hour news. We have phones virtually surgically attached to us. We may also have friends and family placing reasonable and positive, but still many demands on us, and as women, we are juggling an awful lot of the time. These demands maybe added to work pressures, and it can very often feel that there is nowhere for you to hide.
‘This world is not one that we were designed to live within’
It is evident that if we can do anything to provide a buffer between living in the world we do, and keeping ourselves as physically and emotionally safe as we can, Self-Care must be a serious consideration.
We have been blown away by the support and interest in what we have had to say since our launch, however we also became suddenly very aware that we need to start from the beginning, explain our self-care mission, we want to get all the information out there, specifically to be able to encourage the self-care sceptics and newbies to join in.
Over the next few weeks my blogs are really going to focus on the basics.
What is self-care?
Why might we benefit from self care?
Followed by the ultra-tricky, HOW the hell am I going to do this self-care?
What we are hearing from you on social media is, ‘I know it’s important, I know what it is, but it’s so hard putting it in to practice’, so there is where we need to focus. Kate has written a great piece especially about how women might find it so hard, check it out here, and will continue to explore these barriers.
What is SelfCare?
As Roz Kate and I started to build our aims, and construct our dreams for SelfCare Psychology, it was so important for us to come up with a simple definition. Those of you out there already committed to practicing self-care, albeit it at times challenging are aware of the benefits, but we asked ourselves who might also gain a reward from learning more about self-care. We asked ourselves ‘how do we communicate quickly what it is’, because the whole aim of SelfCare Psychology is to get the word out there, and encourage others to do so.
We know that there are millions of fabulously busy, multi-tasking, exhausted and overwhelmed women who need to find a way of reducing stress and feelings of anxiety. We want to find a way to help you take the hamster wheel of life at your pace, as opposed to keeping up with the multitude of other hands who are constantly spinning it for you.
SelfCare is suddenly all over the wellbeing press, but this doesn’t mean it’s a fad, we’re here to stay, and we define SelfCare as:
‘Achieving your full potential by choosing actions to balance your physical and emotional health’.
The key elements are:
You have chosen to be the best you can be, not perfect, but good enough, in this moment.
You know that your mind and body are inextricably linked, and you need to look after yourself as a whole.
Everyone is different, the way that you self-care only needs to be right for you.
We are pressing ahead with the message that practising or ‘doing’ SelfCare is a lifestyle, not a crisis intervention, it has to be proactive and it needs to be your choice.
If we don’t find ways of looking after ourselves, we can break, physically and emotionally. SelfCare by its very definition cultivates the idea of caring for yourself.
‘This is not something many of us appear to be able to do very naturally or easily.’
Just like physical health, we all have mental health, and there is a disparity at times between the message that its ok to go to the gym, eat and sleep well to keep ourselves physically fit, but there are some real tensions around how we might still struggle with the idea of looking after ourselves emotionally and mentally? The statistics are staggering!
Some statistics
In 2013 there were 8.2 million cases of anxiety in the UK, that we know of
Women are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders as men.
1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem.
Looking ahead
We will look at self-care both physically and emotionally, and we will continue to bring you the best blogs from those that know, both personally and professionally why and how self-care is so important. Most importantly we will be exploring how you do it, what are the barriers and how can we break them down.
So, jump aboard the Self Care train, now you know what Self Care is, let’s work out how to make it an accessible positive part of our lives, and carry on encouraging those around us to do so too!
You might also be interested in reading my blog for the Counsellor’s Café, ‘Self-Care – I would suggest we keep it simple!'
Keep in touch!
Sass
Sass Boucher is a Co-Founder here at Self Care Psychology and full time registered Counsellor and Psychotherapist in private practice. She manages our twitter. You can read her bio to find out more about her here, and follow her individual twitter .
