Integrative Medicine supports your daily self-care habits by giving you more direction in your overall health. We’ll look into habits that can change how you feel about yourself.
Taking care of yourself is a complicated process. Where do you start? Let’s look past the “bubble bath” self-care tropes and discover what it means, truly, to take care of yourself.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll dive deeper into specific self-care areas you may have missed, including quality multivitamins, eye support, and social wellness. For now, let’s discuss the most effective ways to feel whole and at home in your own body.
Self-Care Defined
The WHO defines Self-Care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote and maintain their own health, prevent disease and cope with illness, with or without the support of a health or care worker” (2). While the health & wellness industry may use “self-care” as a term to promote certain products, the ability to care for oneself lies within the daily habits we maintain and their impact over time. Ironically, self-care is not entirely dependent on our singular habits and motivations. It extends to the ways in which we care for each other. Afterall, where do we learn our habits? From one another.
When to Seek Health Professionals
Self-care can only get you so far. If you are experiencing prolonged symptoms that limit your ability to function in daily life, it might be time to seek professional help. While you are the only person who knows your body specifically, a trained professional can apply their knowledge to your symptoms and address deeper causes, provide testing, and find your blind spots.
At Salus Integrative Medicine, we don’t just look to make a diagnosis, we aim to treat the whole person. “Each client’s care is individualized based on history, genetic makeup, nutritional standing, environmental exposures, previous treatments, and lifestyle issues.”
Specialists, mental health professionals, and regular checkups can create long-lasting positive effects on your capacity to care for yourself (and others). Seeking professional support is a critical part of self-care strategies.
What Makes Self-Care Difficult?
There are two main reasons people struggle with self-care: Behavioral Change and Illness-Related Factors (1). You may struggle with attachment to unhealthy behaviors, a lack of motivation to change, difficulty deciding when to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and maintaining healthy behavior over time. These are behavioral changes and are largely shaped by the ways in which you learned to handle your day-to-day life. Building resilience and receiving care from others are major predictors of your ability to enact positive self-care habits (1). Learning about healthy lifestyles, habit formation, and tactics to maintain motivation may help you overcome behavior struggles.
Illness-related factors include managing multiple conditions that contradict or add barriers to self-care habits, responding slowly or ignoring the ways in which your body asks for care, and life events that disrupt or derail healthy habits (1). Supportive loved ones who can help monitor symptoms and provide access to healthy alternatives on difficult days are critical in sustaining healthy habits. You can address environmental concerns and accessibility to make self-care easier, such as medication or treatment reminders on a calendar, monitoring symptoms on paper or in an app, and preparing quick wellness options as easier alternatives while making poor habits less accessible.
High-Impact Self-Care Habits:
Focusing on the most impactful self-care habits can give you a starting point for addressing your health concerns. Creating a self-care checklist can help you figure out where you’re doing well, and create a plan for what areas need improvement (3). Simplifying habit-building to one small step or goal at a time can create more motivation and long-term implementation.
What needs are currently unmet? Personal needs can vary from person to person, so it’s important to be specific and realistic in setting goals. Support healthy habits by educating yourself on habit formation (gold star for doing that right now!), finding people who care for you and support your needs, and gather resources or tools to bridge the gaps in access and ability.
For a place to begin, start with these foundational habits and sample questions:
- Nutrition
- Are you eating enough nutrients (high-fiber carbs, lean protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, etc.)?
- Do you have any deficiencies or need to test for deficiencies?
- Do you hydrate regularly?
- Exercise
- How can you make progress without injury? Pain, lightheadedness, and fatigue during exercise may be signs of overexertion.
- Where can you add small exercises (doing squats while waiting for the microwave, playing with your children or grandchildren, stretching while watching TV, etc.)?
- What makes you feel strong?
- Proper Hygiene
- What is one way you can improve your dental habits?
- Is regular hand-washing accessible throughout your day?
- What are your most common skin frustrations?
- Sleep
- How many hours of sleep feel restful to you?
- What can you swap for screen time before bed? Try reading fiction, simple crafting (without much cleanup), or a simple hygiene routine.
- Does your bed feel calm and comfortable?
- Social Wellness
- Are you struggling more with contacting new people or connecting in current relationships?
- When was the last time you provided care for someone? When was the last time someone provided you with care?
- Can you plan a time and/or place to meet with loved ones in person?
- Stress & Mental Health Management
- What feels relaxing or calm to you?
- Do you journal or have a way to express your thoughts and feelings?
- How do you respond to stressful situations or miscommunications?
Care doesn’t look like dismissals and deferred treatments, but supporting your body’s functioning through scientifically proven methods like lifestyle changes, medical treatment, and nutritional support. Contact Dr. Lisa Mainier to partner with you to address your health issues and medical conditions in an integrative fashion: as a whole person; mind, body and spirit to inspire you to achieve your personal wellness goals.
Sources:
- Riegel, B., Dunbar, S. B., Fitzsimons, D., Freedland, K. E., Lee, C. S., Middleton, S., Stromberg, A., Vellone, E., Webber, D. E., & Jaarsma, T. (2021). Self-care research: Where are we now? Where are we going?. International journal of nursing studies, 116, 103402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.103402
- WHO. (2024). Self-care for health and well-being. In World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/self-care-health-interventions
- How to Make a Self-Care Checklist. (2020). In Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/self-care-checklist