Self Care

Anna Langridge from 1FitLife explains how why self-care will be a hot topic during World Mental Health Day on 10th October 2021 and what we can do to address it.  

Daily life can be all-consuming and we don’t tend to take the time to look after our physical and emotional wellbeing, which can have a significant impact on our overall health. Sometimes we just need to be kind to ourselves and take time out to reflect and repair.

There are many areas of self-care, but we’ve just focused on a few to help you reflect on your current status.

1) Physical self-care

Physical self-care is all about how much you move your body, the ways in which you move it, what you eat and how you rest eg quality of sleep and downtime.  All these areas are key to ensure your health remains balanced.

2) Psychological self-care

Taking time out for ‘me’ is extremely important.  We all get caught up in the frenzy of life and forget about the way this pace affects our psychological state.  Allocating daily time for ‘me’ in your diary should be the most important part of your day.  Activities for psychological self-care can include creativity, finding calm through meditation or reading, turning your phone onto silent mode, celebrating small successes that you’ve achieved in your day and taking time to reflect and breathe.

3) Social self-care

When we’re busy it’s easy to let our social and support groups slip.  It’s just another thing you’ve got to fit into your day.  However, social situations can help draw you out of the spiral of monotony. Having fun and laughter is one of the best medicines there is after all!.

4) Environmental self-care

Being organised and having a well maintained and clutter-free work and home environment helps to calm the mind.  Keep your finances in order and do regular clearouts at home so things don’t start to build up.

To find out more on self-care visit the Dorset Mind website at https://dorsetmind.uk/help-and-support/self-care-resources