Self Care
Self Care is the second anchor of cbteach and can be a great way to manage and build your energies. The 7 steps outlined below are all evidence based and follow the cbteach acronym making it easy to remember. Ask us about our instructor-led training where we explore self care in more detail.
If you like to write things down we have created some free tools that you can use to help you improve your self care regime. These are available to download from our Hub page.
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
Reach out to friends and family on a regular basis
Keep it simple
Use methods that help you feel safe and secure
Arrange joint activities where possible
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
Make time for yourself to do the things that bring you pleasure
Be honest about what your needs are to those around you
Do not be tempted to compete with others, you are walking your own path
Try to focus on the moment, what you are doing in the present, this will help to ground you
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
Sleep is key so try and create the right environment to enable you to get that all important overnight timeout
Remember that you don’t need to be on the go all the time through the day, its ok to pause
An effective timeout doesn’t have to be a stop, think of it more as a temporary step back from whatever you are doing
Particularly after any intense period of activity, physical or mental, a timeout will help you recharge
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
Try and avoid skipping meals where possible
Be aware of eating as a source of comfort or a result of boredom
Try and make eating the activity, not a side show while you are doing something else
Aiming to be sensible with food choices is important (options are currently limited)
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
Remember that being active doesn’t have to mean vigorous exercise
Try to avoid long periods sitting in one place, move regularly to help with blood circulation
Walking is a very beneficial way of staying active, even around a house/flat/garden, stairs if available
Try and get as much fresh air and sunlight as possible, use opportunities to get into nature
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
Getting creative can involve art, writing, making something or even playing music
Play based activities like board games or puzzles are a great way of stimulating your creative mind
Creating new knowledge by learning a new skill is also very beneficial
Equally sometimes bringing something new to an existing skill you already have can have the same effect
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
Make sure it is something you are able to do
Ask yourself if this is also something you are motivated to do, do you want it
Understand if it is possible to do at this current time, somethings are not always available to you
Habits form over time, not straightaway, so if you find it hard at first, keep at it
Your habits can change over time, be aware of this, and also be on the lookout for those bad habits creeping in