Contributed by Sarah Linton TOC Director & Catalyst Advisor
Sustainable Self-Care
When you hear the term sustainable Self-care – what are your first thoughts?
What comes up for you to understand what it is, how you feel about it and how you might practice it?
A common myth that we are about to bust is:
“Self-Care is synonymous with self-indulgence or being selfish.”
Self-Care is far from selfish. It’s more than any bubble bath.
Sustainable Self-Care is an essential part of being a functional human.
Always on
We are in a world where we have one foot always on the accelerator. We are ‘always on’ with access to technology, making us available in and out of the workday & often operating across time zones – it’s hardly surprising that we have an epidemic of anxiety, stress and depression.
Connection
Connection is a vital aspect of being human. COVID lockdowns’ increased isolation and loneliness, and that impacted our relationships with ourselves and others.
Our Over and Unders
At the WAVE.co.nz, we see excess and deprivation behaviours resulting from trends and attitudes in our mental and emotional wellbeing – we refer to these as our ‘OVERS’ and our ‘UNDERS.’
The OVERS include:
- OVER drinking
- OVER Eating
- OVER Thinking
- OVER Working
- OVER browsing
- OVER shopping
- OVER giving self to others
- OVER medicated
The ‘UNDERS’ include:
- UNDER Sleeping
- UNDER Happy
- UNDER Whelmed
- UNDER Caring
- UNDER Performing
How many of those do you recognise in yourself? Many of our clients are surprised by the number and the levels of their OVERS and their UNDERS. These Overs and Under’s often correlate to Burnout and a severe lack of self-care.
You may wonder how we know this? Simple answer & reality – we experienced it and, over the years, took its toll on our wellbeing, and the research of the last decade endorses what our truth was.
Our heart-led passion is to support others in finding their short cut to avoid health issues and be your Catalyst in Personal Change and Transformation.
Burnout
In 2019 the WHO – recognised Burnout as an occupational phenomenon
“Burnout is a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Three dimensions characterise it:
- feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
- increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
- reduced professional efficacy.”
Burnout solutions need Self-Care at their core.
Sustainable Self-Care
Self-Care is a vitally important foundation for us to bust through our upper boundary limits and create the vitality we desire.
Self-care means taking care of yourself to be healthy, be well, do your job, help and care for others, and do all the things you need to and want to accomplish in a day.
If you think you’ve heard more about self-care recently, you are absolutely on the money! And – it’s not related to our last 15 months amidst our pandemic – our world is crying out for a paradigm shift in taking care of ourselves.
One indicator of this is very apparent is Google Trends. The number of searches for “self-care” has more than doubled since 2015.
Fight – Freeze – Flight
Our brains are wired for fight, freeze & flight under stress rather than rest & reset. Our brains software is out of date for stress conditions for today’s world; we aren’t under threat of immediate death, just like any modern tech we need to update and relearn to help us manage our responses.
Self-care is anything you do to take care of yourself to stay physically, mentally and emotionally well. When you take care of yourself – you get more out of your life.
6 aspects of Self-Care
To demonstrate how this is more than just a bubble bath, we have categorised Self Care down into six areas with tips on what you can do for each.
Research suggests SELF-CARE promotes positive health outcomes, including:
- fostering resilience
- living longer
- recognising your stressors and being well equipped to manage stress points
- reducing anxiety
Gratitude
Moreover, we know the power of cultivating gratitude as a self-care practice.
Taking charge of our thoughts can shift our feelings in a positive direction and improve our attitude. In turn, that improved attitude can lead to shifts in our behaviours (we are more mindful and become calmer), resulting in improved outcomes.
Can you imagine how that will impact your life?
Can you feel your stress levels drop?
7 benefits of Self Care – I am worth it
TOC & Wave.co.nz have segmented these 7 benefits:
Sustainable Self Care is an individual pursuit.
Self-care looks different for everyone and is individual. Self-care promotes health and sparks joy for you rather than feeling like punishment.
If this resonates and has sparked your curiosity about how you can make these habits your norm – get in touch – we can help.
At the WAVE.co.nz we create space for you to move towards the horizon you want.
You are the expert on you, and we are the experts to connect you to your future version of yourself
You can STOP OVERthinking, LET GO of OVERworking, STOP being OVERwhelmed and Reset, Decide and ACT;
Book your Complimentary Consult
45 mins focussed on you for you to generate your own insights
(Our gift to you to explore – no obligation)
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Leave your insights or comments below.
Enjoy your reflections
Sarah x
We love to hear from our community!
Leave your insights or comments below.
