3: Defining Self-Care
- Page ID
- 226118
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)- Identify and explore how self-care is defined, including the various domains and contexts.
- Explore the purpose and importance of self-care for counselors and their clients.
- Examine the similarities and differences between self-care and wellness.
What is Self-Care?
Self-Care is literally defined as “care for oneself” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).
Self-care is most commonly associated with stress-management techniques. This is, of course, true, but the application of self-care can go far beyond managing stress. As you will read in the following chapters, self-care is related to all parts of human functioning including physical, financial, social, emotional, environmental, spiritual, cognitive, and more. When we think of stress-management, we often focus primarily on the emotional, social, and physical aspects of self. By taking a holistic view of the self, we are encouraged to consider all aspects of human functioning thereby creating the opportunity to find balance among the various systems of our SELF.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Holistic self-care encourages us to attend all aspects of human functioning. (Photo by Arina Krasnikova from Pexels.)
It is important to view self-care within a variety of contexts as well. The first is a local context that focuses on family, neighborhood, and community. This context is primarily related to the individual’s sense of safety. An example of this within the social realm could be related to satisfaction with relationships and community involvement. The second context is institutional and includes the elements of education, religion, government, and business/industry. This context could be related to social wellness with regards to relationships within each of these elements, and/or vocational wellness with regards to vocation and/or occupation. The third context is global with the elements of politics, culture, global events, the environment, media, and community events. This context is primarily focused on outside factors and the interplay of how an individual chooses to interact with them. The last context is chronometrical and includes the elements of perpetual movement, positive movement, and purposeful movement over the lifespan. This context can ebb and flow for an individual given their well-being and level of self-care during any given point in their life.
Four Self-Care Contexts
- Local: Family, neighborhood, and community.
- Institutional: Education, religion, government, and business/industry.
- Global: Politics, culture, global events, environment, media, and community events.
- Chronometrical: Perpetual movement, positive movement, and purposeful movement.
These four contexts continually affect the individual’s well-being in different ways and at different times and should be considered when contemplating self-care interventions (Myers & Sweeney, 2004).
Self-care has the sole purpose of assisting the individual to maintain homeostasis. This refers to the entire self which includes the personal and professional aspects of the person. Becoming overly stressed, burned out, and losing competence does not happen suddenly, but as the result of a gradual process of large and small stressors that remain unattended to. Teaching students in a graduate program and clinicians in supervision offers the opportunity to intervene before the stress becomes critical and begins to affect the quality of life and effectiveness of work (Jiang et al., 2020).
Video \(\PageIndex{1}\): Self-care should be a consistent, continual practice, and you should never lose contact with the things that you enjoy. ("Self Care for Therapists? How to Look After Ourselves | Real Talk with Elliott" by Elliot Connie on YouTube.)
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Learning self-care in a graduate program or during supervision allows for early intervention before stress impacts wellbeing and performance. (Photo by nappy from Pexels.)
Wellness vs. Self-Care
Wellness has historically been difficult to define and has primarily been presented as the description of a construct. Dodge et al. (2012) sought to rectify this by defining wellness as a seesaw with wellness being the fulcrum with psychological, social, and physical challenges and resources on either end constantly affecting the balance of the seesaw.
Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Wellness is the center of the seesaw, balancing between challenges and resources for wellbeing. (Photo by Krišjānis Kazaks on Pexels.)
The concept of wellness and medicine has been described throughout history primarily as a human tendency toward wholeness and balance of the mind, body, and spirit. Aristotle spoke of the “good life” and that people sought happiness that was associated with living in moderation. In the Jewish language of Hebrew the word Shalom is an expression of communal harmony and well-being. There are references in the Christian Bible relating the health of the body to the spiritual life of the individual, and many modern hospitals have affiliations with Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, or Presbyterian organizations. Native Americans and Chinese and Eastern medicine have many references to holistic understandings and practices of treating people. The rise of psychology offered greater understanding of the mind and cognitive processes and their influence on health and wellness.
Self-care, however, is the act of choosing to intervene in the levels of wellness. Self-care also includes any intervention designed to assist an individual in achieving balance in the various areas of wellness. An individual may appreciate the idea of wellness and be able to identify the areas that need improvement but still offer resistance to doing the necessary work required to affect change. This resistance is commonly seen with any type of situation seen in the counselor’s office.
How would you characterize the difference between Wellness and Self-Care?
This reflection question is also available as a PDF download: Defining Self-Care
References
Dodge, R., Daly, A. P., Huyton, J., & Sanders, L. D. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 222-235. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v2i3.4
Jiang, X., Topps, A. K., Suzuki, R. (2020). A systematic review of self-care measures for professionals and trainees. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 15(2), 126-139. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000318
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Self Care. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved April 4, 2024 from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-care
Myers, J. E., & Sweeney, T. J. (2004). The indivisible self: An evidence-based model of wellness. Journal of Individual Psychology, 60(3), 234-245.