KEYWORD

SELF-CARE: the practice of taking time to pursue the things that bring you peace and joy to increase your mental, spiritual and physical health.

COPING STRATEGIES: behavioral and cognitive tactics that are used to manage situations that are distressing or stressful to the individual

In this section of the course, you will delve into what self-care is and why it is important to incorporate into your daily lives. Self-care is an essential part of becoming a well-rounded student that often gets left behind. Myers and colleagues (2012) found that implementing self-care into your life increases students’ overall success rate and lowers their overall stress related to academia.

ASSOCIATED LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this section, you should all be able to define what self-care is and know the key sections of self-care.

Self care is not one easy thing, there are multiple aspects that are incorporated into maintaining an individual’s wellness. All of these factors combined lead to increased holistic health.

The Two main factors of Self-care are:

  1. Physical self-care is self-care that aims to improve or maintain one’s physical health. Examples of physical self-care include meditation and running.
  2. Emotional/Mental self-care is self-care that promotes an individual’s emotional and mental wellness. Examples of emotional self-care include therapy, journaling and friendships

Self-care is not a one stop shop, it requires time and multiple methods of self-care to maintain an individual’s wellness. Self-care looks unique for everybody, with each person requiring their own types of support to keep themself healthy. Coping strategies and self-care practices are not fixed. Different times in people’s lives require individuals to shift their strategies to match what they need at that moment. For example, Jenn’s coping strategies are running for her physical health and journaling for her mental health. As finals roll around, Jenn may begin to feel that she requires more self-care and coping strategies for her emotional well-being and she may begin to run a little less and journal more or begin to seek counseling services.

As you can see, there is no one way to engage with self-care but instead it is a fluid process that is ever changing based on your needs.

READINGS AND VIEWINGS

Take a few minutes and engage with the readings and video below. While you do so, begin to brainstorm the self-care habits that you currently are using to maintain your overall wellness.

POST VIDEO ACTIVITY/ ASSIGNMENT

Now that you have had an introduction to self-care, please complete the Assignment #1: Self-care mind-map. You can either complete it on paper and hand it in in-person or complete the online copy that is linked below.

REFERENCES

Myers, S. B., Sweeney, A. C., Popick, V., Wesley, K., Bordfeld, A., & Fingerhut, R. (2012). Self-care practices and perceived stress levels among psychology graduate students. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 6(1), 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026534