What is Self Care?

There are Three Types of Self-Care: Body, Mind and Spirit.

Body: refers to the self-care related to exercise, nutrition, lifestyle choices (smoking, drinking, drugs), preventative healthcare (breast and prostate self-exams, sunscreen, check-ups), appearance (hair, skin, nails) and home activities (schedules, kids, responsibilities).

Mind: refers to the self-care related to self-esteem, value systems (what you give time to you value), communication patterns, relationships with others, employee morale and how you define yourself and your environment.

Spirit: refers to the self-care related to belief in a higher power, honoring yourself and your inner knowing, identifying what gives you hope and support, as well as self-awareness, and therapeutic work on past traumas.

"You cannot change things with the same mind that created them."
- Albert Einstein

Self-Care Solutions for the Body, Mind and Spirit

How do your improve your Self-Care practices?

Here are some tips for improving your self-care on a daily basis. You may find many of these suggestions different than what you tell your patients. Try them.

BODY
Trust the intelligence in your body.

Exercise
Think about this, what does your body like to do when it's moving? Don't think about whether it is exercise or not just think for a moment of what you are doing when your body is moving and you are smiling; then do that.

Diet
Get quiet for a moment and check in with yourself, your body will tell you what it wants to eat and it's probably not the voice that is shouting for the juicy cheese burger. Today, when you get ready to eat, stop and check in with your body and see what it needs.

Twenty minutes of sunshine a day - This is my personal prescription. When the sun is not shining, try 20 minutes of fresh air instead. It makes a world of difference in your day. And stop and really notice the sensations. The smells, the colors, feel the air and the sunshine on your skin. This works best if you empty your mind.

Sleep
Start a daily log of bedtime and rising time as well as how you felt that day. Keep this for four weeks and you will discover how much sleep you really need.

Laughter
A lot has been written about the power and healing properties of laughter. When was the last time you let out a belly laugh or laughed so hard you couldn't get your breath? Do you find humor in your daily work life, home life, family, pets or yourself? Please remember to laugh.

MIND
"You are about as happy as you make up your mind to be"

Conflict Management/Empowerment
- Adopt communication skills that allow you to get your message across and leaves the listener fully informed and unharmed with the communication. Try Assertive Skills, Non-Violent Communication or Active Listening Skills at work, at home, and in all areas of your life to be heard and to maximize the impact of your message.

Organize
A clean and organized environment allows your mind to relax and quit worrying about the details.

Quiet Time
Try meditation, nature walks, solitude.

SPIRIT
There are many ways to nurture the spirit. You can do great work with your body (exercise) and work on your mind (gain knowledge) but without the third leg of the stool you will topple over when a crisis hits.

Self-Awareness
Understand who you are. To effectively offer physical, psychological and therapeutic presence to patients the healthcare provider requires tremendous attention to personal growth and self-care.

Use the Right Side of Your Brain

• Art: Color, paint, (surround yourself with the colors you like), take a class, model clay, hang pictures you love, see a play, or visit an art gallery.
  
  
• Music: play, listen, dance, compose, drum, drumming circles, sing, take lessons, or just reminisce.
  
  
• Dance: I can't recommend dance highly enough. 5 Rhythms dance groups, 'Sweat your Prayers', Sufi dancing, folk, square, round, funk, old school, just move your head and shoulders and your feet will follow.
  
  
• Garden: Feel the earth in your hands, plant color; trees, or small pots of flowers. Try to stick to small projects at a time not major renovations.
  
  
• Relax: Go to the beach, the woods, hike, hang a hammock, buy a spa tub, sit and do nothing, read a book, talk with friends, or hug your kids.
  
  
• Journal: Get your thoughts out of your head and on to paper. It is a great way to empty out stressors and increase your self-awareness. Journaling provides an avenue for right answers to come to you. Writing forces your thoughts to slow enough that you can get them on paper and the act of writing like art itself.
  
  
• Listen to your inner voice - Ask yourself, what makes me happy? Listen for the answers then do it.
  
  
• Keep a spiritual practice - Give priority in your life to whatever your spiritual practice is. Remember what we give our time to is our "real" priority.

One consequence of poor Self-Care

Burn-out: Nurses site work environment and work schedule as also leading to burnout. Studies indicate that one-third of all nurses leave three years after getting into the profession (Health and Medicine, 2004). New nurses cannot keep up the demanding pace. This can be costly to healthcare organizations as recruitment and orientation costs run high. A 2000 ANA study found that 40% of the working nurses planned to leave the profession in three to five years because of stress levels and workload. These facts are amplified in the correctional setting due to the environment, danger, lack of tools for job and the stigma associated with the profession. New nurses are often not prepared for this type of environment and may leave due to feelings of isolation and fear.

If you are a nurse who is working in a mental health or correctional setting, please take our Survey to participate in research on this topic.