Self-Care is Not Just a Pedicure
We hear the phrase “self-care” a lot. But what does it really mean?
When my fellow physician colleagues hear someone recommend or emphasize more “self-care” there is often an initial gut reaction of eye rolling and “Give me a break. Stop telling me to do more yoga or meditation to fix my burnout. Getting a massage won’t fix my burnout.”
This reaction is understandable. After all, we are in a crisis in healthcare today, with physicians, nurses and healthcare workers suffering burnout and emotional exhaustion at an all-time high. Self-care is not the cure-all for the complex issue of systemic burnout we experience in modern healthcare today. Self-Care, however, is one part of the key.
At its essence, self-care is what you need to be your best self each day – physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, socially, at home, at work, and in the environment around you. This is in essence what well-being is – the feeling of being well in each aspect of your life as a human being. Self-care is the key to finding well-being because it is based on exactly what you need – your self. This is what it means to live from the inside out, to live with an internal locus of control, and to recognize that you have the power to choose how you live, view, and approach your life.
Self-care can look like spending time with yourself, taking a walk, reading a book, listening to a podcast, writing or journaling, being outdoors in nature, having dinner with good friends, hugging your child or your elderly parent, giving your pet a good scratch behind the ears, and playing an instrument or listening to music. It can be as simple as feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin, slowing down to enjoy a beautiful sunset, or watching your favorite TV show together with your partner at night after the kids have gone to bed. Self-care can look like taking a needed mental health day off from work, disconnecting from all technology for a day, or letting yourself sleep in until you wake up without an alarm.
Self-care also can look like the basics that we need to be well as human beings: prioritizing our sleep, eating a nutrient-dense diet, daily exercise and moving our bodies, reducing consumption of alcohol and addictive substances, reducing stress, and prioritizing time for meaningful social connection. These last six are the Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine, a boarded specialty of medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Research studies show and again and again that followings these six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine in your life significantly reduces and can even reverse diseases and conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and hypertension.
Self-care can be incredibly simple – in fact, it is simple. What do you need to be your best self, each and every single day? What do you need to first put your own oxygen mask on first, before you stop to help and care for others? What do you need so that you can be the best version of yourself, so that you can show up in the world the way you long to, and impact others around you the way I know you are capable of?
Sure, this can include a pedicure or massage (I personally prioritize a massage every week, especially now during the pandemic), but this is much deeper than checking off a box. Only you can answer this for yourself – and once you are able to with clarity, you will find that this is the beginning of setting priorities and boundaries in your life. This is the key to living a life of fulfillment, joy, choice, freedom – and well-being.
Tammie
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