Self care is not "all about me" or even "me first". It's not about living frivolous, or about treating yourself all the time. Yet when many people hear the term "self care" they often get their guard up because they think it's just another "feel good" thing.
It used to be a term I'd avoid using even when talking about the program, but lately I've been using it frequently because what I've come to understand is that talking about things people don't fully understand, opens up doors to conversation.
So what is self care?
Self care is the time a person takes to evaluate and treat their mental, physical, and emotional health.
Self care is the preventative method to things like burnout, breakdowns, and bad breaks. You see, when you take the time to exercise and eat right for your body, you tend to get less colds, you sleep better, and your brain function is higher. The same can be said for other self care methods. Where eating, sleeping, and exercise seem like no-brainers, those are some of the top self care methods that are neglected. Now, I'm not here to preach at you for the hamburger you ate yesterday, but I am saying that if your health isn't a priority, it should be.
You need to protect yourself. This means protecting your body from ailments but eating and exercising the right way. Protecting your mind means sleeping, taking vitamins for healthier brain function, and learning Emotional Intelligence strategies. Protecting your emotions means learning to be self aware, socially aware, and emotionally responsible. All these things are huge targets that we cover in our program.
So why a self care program? The reality is that self care isn't something most people are good at. They think they feel good and that's it. But good enough is something people say when they've given up. So we ask, if you've given up on being healthy, where else have you given up? Usually poor self care results in poor relationships, poor habits, and more, true to that famous saying "you can't fill someone's cup by pouring from your empty glass.".
Our program helps participants by providing tools, outlets, and other skill sets to learn to take better care of themselves, even if they have crazy schedules, little time, and many responsibilities.
