The Importance of Self-Care
This blog post has been adapted from the International Self-care Foundation. To see the full article, please visit www.isfglboal.org
July 24th is International Self-Care Day, an annual opportunity to put a spotlight on self-care! This day was initiated back in 2011 and takes place every year on July 24th to demonstrate the importance of employing self-care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7).
The following “Manifesto for Self-Care” was created by the International Self-Care Foundation and presents the key features, aims and principles of self-care.
1. Self-care is a practical, person-centred set of activities that we should all be undertaking to maintain our health, wellness and wellbeing. Self-care can only be undertaken by individuals themselves, although the broader environment can provide assistance or present significant barriers.
2. Self-care is a normal part of everyday life in which everyone engages, consciously or unconsciously, irrespective of their circumstances. There is however great potential for making self-care more explicit and increasing its role in personal, family, community and national health.
3. Self-care is both a set of activities and a repetitive cycle of behaviour (Act → Monitor → Recognize → Evaluate → Act). Self-care behaviours involve individual capability, opportunity and motivation.
4. Through self-care, people can be healthier and remain so into old age, managing minor ailments themselves. They can also better manage, delay or even prevent the appearance of so-called ‘lifestyle’ diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and many cancers.
5. Self-care does not imply that people are simply left to look after themselves without external support. Rather, an overarching aim of self-care is to move people away from an unnecessary dependence on health professionals and health systems, enabling them—with the appropriate support, tools and knowledge—to take better care of themselves.
6. Self-care is equally relevant for disease prevention and for people with medical conditions, when all the basic elements of self-care still need to be undertaken, along with self-management actions specific to the disease(s).
7. The primary beneficiary of self-care is the self-carer, but other beneficiaries include family members and overstretched healthcare systems. There is an important societal balance to be struck between rights to health and healthcare, and responsibilities towards one’s own health and the consequences of poor lifestyle choices.
8. Self-care is equally important in developed countries and in resource-poor settings, although the nature of the health challenges and the priorities for self-care may vary considerably.
9. There is a great opportunity and need for self-care promotion – to articulate and promote the practice of self-care to healthy individuals, patients and all stakeholders around the world.
Please visit www.selfcare.ca (a resource for all things self-care in Canada) to learn more about the 7 pillars of self care.