Apparently July 24th has been designated International Self-Care Day. I forgot to check my calendar so missed posting about this for last week’s Wellness Wednesday in preparation for the big day. However, self-care should be practiced daily so now we are all prepared for next year and all the days in between.

Simply put, self-care is about prioritizing your physical, emotional and mental needs and setting boundaries. To help keep you on track, set up a daily, monthly, weekly and yearly schedule.

Example:

• daily – exercise and eat nutritious food
• weekly – declutter and clean your home environment
• monthly – have a massage/go to a spa
• yearly – take a vacation

According to the Health Nexus website, the definition of self-care as presented by the WHO is:

“Self-Care is what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health, and to prevent and deal with illness. It is a broad concept encompassing hygiene (general and personal), nutrition (type and quality of food eaten), lifestyle (sporting activities, leisure etc), environmental factors (living conditions, social habits, etc.) socio-economic factors (income level, cultural beliefs, etc.) and self-medication.”
~Retrieved July 27, 2016 from http://en.healthnexus.ca/news/international-self-care-day

This is quite comprehensive so 7 pillars of self-care were created to help identify areas of focus:

1. Health Literacy (knowledge and skills to achieve better health)
2. Self-awareness (“know thyself” and what your body/mind needs for improvement)
3. Physical Activity – fitness
4. Healthy Eating – food
5. Risk avoidance or mitigation of harmful behaviours (e.g. smoking, proper sun protection)
6. Good hygiene (clean body and environment)
7. Rational and responsible use of products (prescription medications, health care products) and services (health care)

What do you include in your self-care regime?

Links:

International Self-Care Foundation

Health Nexus – Healthy People, Thriving Communities