Self-care has to be self-taught

Self-care has to be self-taught

There are a lot of medical professionals who have trouble managing the high pressure of their jobs. A lot of attention goes into the care of patients and that leaves the professionals with no time to spend on self-care.

Prioritizing your internal stability is essential when dealing with compassion fatigue. So, take a deep breath and read these tips to help you with self-love, -care and -acceptance.

Try being friendly to yourself.

When stressed feelings arise, it’s easy to make yourself a target for your negative emotions. Blaming yourself for small mistakes or feeling insecure might feel like it’s a proper way to handle build up negativity; because you think you can handle it and not directed at a patient or co-worker.  Self-blame often leads to vicious cycle of neglecting self-care because you feel unworthy of it.

Tiny mistakes happen, we are human, so try to accept them and not blame yourself.  Even if you have a day where everything goes wrong, try putting emphasis on the good things you do and your qualities that cause good things,

Perfection is unrealistic.

When wondering about self-love, let go of the idea that you have to be perfect. Perfection in appearance, life, or intelligence is desirable but not realistic. This concept is often concealing mental health challenges, especially in social media or when comparing yourself with someone else.

Don’t expect flawless perfection; remember that no one achieves it. It is good to know that even the people you think are perfect, have their own issues. Therefore, everyone has their distinctive qualities and personality traits.

Tighten your circle.

Consider the people in your life, as they significantly shape your identity. Are they kind, supportive, and loving? Or do they exhibit negativity, rudeness, and mistreatment? How people treat themselves also says a lot about how they view their own worth.

If someone in your life, like a pessimistic friend or a judgemental, old lady living across the street, is not treating you with realistic amount of respect, realize that you’re not obligated to invest your time in them. It is permittable to distance or disengage yourself from these people.

https://www.lifehack.org/634714/the-hidden-power-of-every-single-person-around-you

Eat healthy.

You are what you eat – is very true. The produce you consume has impact on your mental health. If you eat good, you’ll feel good. When you eat something you think is terrible, you feel ashamed of yourself, you’ll feel bad mentally and eventually physically.

Remember to take pleasure in eating or preparing food. Let go of strict eating rules and don’t make your life revolve about endless diets. See eating healthy, natural food as a form of self-care and your body will thank you.

Move healthy.

Physical activity releases endorphins, the body’s natural mood lifters, which can positively change your mood and reduce stress. Regular exercise enhances self-esteem, as it leads to improved physical well-being and a sense of accomplishment. Setting and achieving fitness goals will make you feel empowered and boosts self-confidence.

The second reason why exercise is great, is because it provides an opportunity to disconnect from daily stressors.

The combination of an improved mood, increased self-esteem, and stress reduction contributes to a more optimistic outlook on life. This making exercise a powerful ally in self-care and self-love.

The pictures from this page are from pixabay.com

WebMD. (2022). Compassion Fatigue: Symptoms To Look For. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/signs-compassion-fatigue

Relaxing, here are some tips for it

Relaxing, here are some tips for it

Taking a break is important and relaxing in this break is important for this. We have a couple of tips to accomplish this relaxation.

Take a break

Take a step out of the busy or stressful situation for a few minutes. A break can help you with calming down. This break doesn’t need to take a long time, just a few minutes is most of the time long enough, but you can always take more time if you need to.

In the break you can read in a book or a magazine. You can also get a bath, play with a pet or watch a film.

Active relaxing

Sitting still is not for everyone a form of relaxation, you can also try a form of gentle exercise. For this you can think about a walk, this can be as long or short as you want. You can follow a class like yoga, Pilates or stretching. You can follow this class in person or on YouTube if that feels better. If you don’t have te space or time to do one of these, you can also try seated exercise.

If you want you can try some seated stretched/yoga with help from this video:

Breathing

Taking time to focus on your breathing can be done everywhere and helps by calming down.

While you are focusing on your breathing it is important to relax your body, lay your hand on your stomach to feel yourself breathing and put your feet on the ground. Count as you are breathing. Count to 4 while breathing in and again to 4 when you are breathing out.

Get creative

Doing something creative can help with relaxion. For this it is important to not focus to much about the end product. You can try painting, drawing, dancing, baking, or something else what you like to do yourself.

Spend time in nature and relax

Go outside, this can be in your garden, in a park in the neighborhood or in a forest. Pay attention to your surroundings what kind of trees, flowers or other plants do you see around you. Do you see any animals. Try not so much to pay attention to the things you still need to do but only to the surrounding things.

Afbeelding 6.1. n.n. Pixabay.

Music

Put on some music, it is important to put on music that helps you relax. You can choose for classical music or your favorite numbers. You can just listen to it or you can dance or even sing along. While listening you can also focus on what you hear, which different instruments can you hear or on which beat is it going. But most important focus on the music.

Tech break relaxing

Take a break from your technology. Technology can give a lot of notifications because of this taking a break can help a lot. Shut of your laptop, phone and even your smartwatch if you have one. Step away from it and go do something without them for a bit. You can do this as long as you want or as you need.

Afbeelding 6.2. n.n. Pixabay.

In the end: start more relaxing

It is important to take a break and relax for a bit. This can look different every time and different for everyone. But it is important to do it every day, take even if it is only 5 minutes at the time you need to do it to take care of yourself.

The pictures from this page are from pixabay.com

Mind (2021, November). Relaxation. https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/relaxation/relaxation-tips/