SELF CARE

Build Your Energy

Self Care is a key aspect of how you can manage your energies, and is a great way of helping to build them up. The 7 steps outlined below are all evidence based and easy to remember using the CBTEACH® acronym

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For those of you who like to write things down in journals we have created some helpful tools that you can use to help you improve your self care regime

CONNECT

Positive social connections and relationships are vital for your wellbeing as they provide comfort, stability and familiarity. They provide an opportunity to share experiences and both give and receive support

1. Reach out to friends and family on a regular basis

2. Keep it simple

3. Use methods that help you feel safe and secure

4. Arrange joint activities where possible

5. Make use of technology when face to face is not an option (eg during social distancing) 

BE

Just be you. This is one of the most powerful self care gifts you can give yourself. Working to accept yourself and recognising your needs helps to build your self esteem and self worth. It helps to ground you and allows you to feel more fulfilled

1. Make time for yourself to do the things that bring you pleasure

2. Be honest about what your needs are to those around you

3. Do not be tempted to compete with others, you are walking your own path

4. Try to focus on the moment, what you are doing in the present, this will help to ground you

5. Be yourself and show up everyday as your whole self, let the world know who you truly are

TIMEOUT

Taking regular timeouts are vital to your wellbeing. Whether that is sleep helping your bodies to heal and your brain to regenerate, or taking a pause in the day to boost your productivity, you need that opportunity to rest, recover and recharge

1. Sleep is key so try and create the right environment to enable you to get that all important overnight timeout

2. Remember that you don’t need to be on the go all the time through the day, its ok to pause

3. An effective timeout doesn’t have to be a stop, think of it more as a temporary step back from whatever you are doing

4. Particularly after any intense period of activity, physical or mental, a timeout will help you recharge

5. Purposeful breathing is a great way of taking a pause, make your out breath longer than your in breath

EATING

What you eat, but also when and how is a critical part of your self care routine. Many studies have shown that eating regular, well balanced meals have a positive impact not just on our body but also our minds. The interaction between the gut and the brain is a fast growing area of research within the academic community

1. Try and avoid skipping meals where possible

2. Be aware of eating as a source of comfort or a result of boredom

3. Try and make eating the activity, not a side show while you are doing something else

4. Aiming to be sensible with food choices is important  (options are currently limited)

5. Remember to stay well hydrated, while we get plenty of water in our food, its a good idea to stay topped up

ACTIVE

The role that staying active plays in helping you to feel better has been known for some time and there is a lot of evidence to show there is a positive impact on both body and brain. Building an active lifestyle into your day is something everyone can achieve

1. Remember that being active doesn’t have to mean vigorous exercise

2. Try to avoid long periods sitting in one place, move regularly to help with blood circulation

3. Walking is a very beneficial way of staying active, even around a house/flat/garden, stairs if available

4. Try and get as much fresh air and sunlight as possible, use opportunities to get into nature

5. Time spent active is more important than how far or fast you go

CREATE

Being creative is one of the essential traits of being human, you only need to look at how happy babies are when playing to realise this form of expression has huge benefits for feeling great. Unfortunately in our busy lives this is an are that is easily overlooked

1. Getting creative can involve art, writing, making something or even playing music

2. Play based activities like board games or puzzles are a great way of stimulating your creative mind

3. Creating new knowledge by learning a new skill is also very beneficial

4. Equally sometimes bringing something new to an existing skill you already have can have the same effect

5. Problem solving is naturally a creative process, so picking the right challenges for you to tackle can be great fun too

HABITS

Habits are a powerful way of bringing a sense of comfort, stability and familiarity in a similar way to connecting with people. They provide certainty in uncertain situations or during uncertain times. They help to provide structure and routine when you need this to help you feel better

1. Make sure it is something you are able to do

2. Ask yourself if this is also something you are motivated to do, do you want it

3. Understand if it is possible to do at this current time, somethings are not always available to you

4. Habits form over time, not straightaway, so if you find it hard at first, keep at it

5. Your habits can change over time, be aware of this, and also be on the lookout for those bad habits creeping in