Self-Care and Self-Compassion
Barbara Dossey, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN
© Barbara Dossey 2011

Hear what Barbara Dossey says about self-care.

When was the last time you said, "I need to do some self-care?" Can you feel the energy right now as you say these words "I will do some self-care today?" Was it easy or challenging?

Self-care is essential in achieving
life balance and life satisfaction.

It includes practices and activities that you initiate and perform on your own behalf to maintain health and well-being. It is recognizing, choosing, integrating and motivating yourself to achieve and maintain a healthier body-mind-spirit.

When was the last time you actually created a personal self-care plan? Designing a self-care plan is actually fun and rewarding as it generates and creates novelty around becoming healthier and more balanced with the hectic pace of life.

Remember to use all the ingredients of your life! You might consider activities that include the following areas:

• physical (exercise, nutrition, weight management)
• mental (life balance, life satisfaction that includes stress management)
• emotional
• social
• spiritual
  

Reflect on the following:

• Know those practices and activities that can refresh you
• Set up a schedule that is sane
• See your limits with compassion
• Involve, support, and nourish others

Choose restorative, mindful, wholesome, and healthy activities and practices. Your self-care plan may include some of the following ideas:

• Remember that there is no one right way to create your self-care plan
• Cultivate a belief system that supports well-being
• Maintain a commitment to well-being
• Use relaxation, imagery, massage, exercise, and good nutrition
• Make time for play, laughter, and humor
• Include hobbies, arts, and crafts
• Create time in nature for walks, sitting, and just being
• Work with a partner or community for support and feedback
• Create a vessel of support that allows some time off
• Practice keeping your life balanced
• Strengthen your tolerance for differences
• Become aware of not being attached to outcomes
• Realize compassion for self is essential

What is self-compassion and why is it so important in daily life? Self-compassion is remembering to treat yourself with compassion and lovingkindness just as you would treat another person. You can recognize lack of self-compassion when there is a judgmental voice around your imperfections or when you don't achieve your goal/s. This voice may lead to harsher self-discipline, deprivation and neglect to change or sustain healthier behaviors.

Accepting our imperfections is an essential step toward better health. To learn the skill of self-compassion requires actively and consciously treating yourself with kindness. This actually leads to lower anxiety, stress, depression and life balance and satisfaction. Self-compassion can influence such things as how much we eat, exercise, or manage our weight.

Self-care is valuing who you are and caring for yourself so that you can serve others with a joyful and healthy spirit. It is your willingness to experience and face your fears, worries, and self-deceptions. Caring for yourself also means that you will be able to bring more of yourself to each present moment.

Learning to integrate self-care and healthy life style patterns leads to sustainable change. When there is a fit with a self-care practice, there is a felt balance and an internal rhythm from the inside to the outside. Without a plan, self-care usually remains low on the list of priorities. Tolerating stress is not serving you or anyone else.

Best wishes with your self-care and in your healing journey!

Barbara Dossey, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the holistic nursing movement. She is a Florence Nightingale scholar, nurse theorist, and national speaker and teacher on the role of holistic nursing and holistic nurse coaching in the emerging integrative health care paradigm. Barbara is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She is certified in holistic nursing.

Barbara is International Co-Director and Board Member of the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health (NIGH), Arlington, Virginia, and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Director, Holistic Nursing Consultants in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Co-Director, International Nurse Coach Association, Huntington, New York; and Samueli Institute Board Member, Alexandria, Virginia.

Self-Care Academy Announces:

Self-Care Academy will be releasing My Self-Care Journey, an online, self-care tool at the American Organization of Nurse Executives 44th Annual Annual Meeting and Exposition on April 13-16, 2011 in San Diego.

Please stop by booth #143 to find out more about this revolutionary new product!

Weekly Ways

Sign up for our FREE weekly e-application!

We have collected numerous applications of self-care in the work environment and want to share what we've learned with you through a weekly e-mail program called Weekly Ways.

This "e-application" will be delivered to your inbox each Monday morning so you can begin your week more mindful of the importance of making self-care a priority in your life.

Here's a sample of what you'll recieve:

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