Who cares about self-care? WE DO!
Self-care has been a topic of importance for therapists for a long time. Thanks to social media, it’s become encouraged and prevalent today. What do you consider to be your self-care?
Self-care may look different for everyone. Ultimately, self-care may be anything that you do for yourself that feels nourishing and helps you to reset.
As humans we wear many different “hats.” We’re mothers, fathers, partners, a friend, an employee, an entrepreneur, a teacher, a mentor and so much more! How can we possibly balance all those hats while maintaining our own well-being?
Every aspect of your life interacts, intertwines and weaves into one another, even when you try to compartmentalize and separate them. In order to maintain all our commitments, it’s important to create a habit of self-care. We must take care of ourselves in order to have the energy to take care of other things (and people).
A group of psychologists including Jane Myers, Thomas Sweeney, and Melvin Witme, created a tool called “The Wheel of Wellness”; “in which body, mind and spirit are integrated by the individual to live more fully within the human and natural community” (Myers et al., 2000). As years have passed, many have re-created the wellness wheel to make it their own. In 2013, Olga Phoenix created “The Self-Care Wheel” which is used to assess and plan self-care. Olga’s Self-Care Wheel consists of six areas of life that (ideally) deserve attention. These areas are:
- Psychological
- Emotional
- Spiritual
- Personal
- Professional
- Physical
Most people will focus only on a few of these areas. However, if we can nurture all six aspects of life, we can decrease our chances of burn out: not just professionally but in life too. (Let’s not forget; we are still very much in a pandemic and inflation is real!) Olga’s wheel provides suggestions of actions you can take to nurture each area, but the goal is to create a personalized wheel of your own. Although the Self-Care Wheel is not a magic pill, it is a great tool that can help us to jump start our journey to living a more fulfilling life that we deserve. Let’s take the first step together!
- Assess – Look at the Self-Care Wheel. What areas do you notice need some extra love and attention? What can you do to nurture those areas?
- Plan – Personalize your self-care wheel. Add to Olga’s and ignore what you don’t find useful.
- Execute – Schedule your self-care. Be specific and write it into your planner, calendar, or add a reminder on your phone. Prioritize yourself. You’ll thank yourself in the long run. And don’t forget; self-care does not need to consist of spending a lot of money or time!
If you need some support in creating self-care routines, consider meeting with a counselor at PRO Counseling Center! Our licensed counselors can guide you toward practical, accessible, and personalized ways to promote more self-care in your daily routines and can help you expand your self-care wheel for life.
Contact the PRO Counseling Center at (425) 376-3320 or email at counseling@proclub.com.
Written by: THAVARRY YAIM, MA, LMHC
Thavarry’s belief is that counseling is most effective when taking a collaborative and holistic approach. Every individual is unique in their needs and the time it takes to address them. She strives to create a strong, therapeutic relationship that is built on trust, respect, responsibility, empathy, attentiveness, and open-mindedness through communication. Her goal is to offer a safe and supportive space, to walk with individuals in their journey, explore aspects of the ‘self’ that they would like to build on, and discover strengths that can be used in their present and future to have the life that they desire.
