“It’s something of a paradox that in a world consumed with self-interest - self-care is more important than ever.”
We are bombarded daily with messages, overt and covert, competing for our money and attention. As our free time becomes less and less, this pressure can be almost overwhelming for even the most resilient souls. Constant smartphone notifications, junk email, adverts on every media channel. Even the weather and news is somehow "sponsored".
No wonder mental health is probably the greatest issue facing us as individuals and thus as a world society.
So what is self-care?
The World Health Organisation defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider”. https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/self-care-interventions/definitions/en/
“Imagine you had a severe headache and you asked a random group of people what you should do. Rather than offering paracetamol, how many would people would ask “what’s troubling you?””
Being off work currently, I've had a lot of time to reflect and asked myself this very question.
Here's a few things I've done recently as examples of what I mean.
1. Migrated from Spotify to Amazon Music HD (higher quality audio) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=3022219031
2. Built a home office
Our home office
3. Sponsored a donkey from the Donkey Sanctuary - https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/
4. Sat down with my wife and really listened to her hopes, fears and ambitions
5. Bought some monkey nuts from a pet shop and fed some squirrels in a local park - https://www.lincoln.gov.uk/hartsholme-country-park
Cute or what?!
6. Lots of walks around another country park - https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/whisby-nature-park
7. Cooked quite a few meals for my family (never knew I had it in me!) - not sure who's more surprised, me or my wife, lol.
8. Signed up for the Android Guardian newspaper app - advert free, in-depth quality journalism, IMHO
9. Listening to random playlists, discovering music again, new and old, familiar and unfamiliar
10. Writing this blog!
I'm gonna sign off for tonight, but please feel free to reach out via the comments box below if there's anything in particular you'd like me to blog about or just to say hello!
I hope I've inspired you to at least think about how self-care may benefit you.
You matter.
Take care and speak soon.
CHRIS SADLER
Trying to look like I know what I’m doing