Being Healthy...

I was speaking to a colleague not too long ago about how the field of mental health and psychology do a wonderful job at defining what is wrong, pathological, or unhealthy. While at the same time it is more difficult to define what is healthy. If you have ever taken any common psychology courses such as general psychology or abnormal psychology, pathology, or "what went wrong" is often the focus. An Abnormal Psych class is a good example of learning what is wrong by learning to define the different mental health disorders through diagnostic criteria.

Often, in our own lives we can be struggling with a particular issue and know something is wrong, maybe even knowing specifically what is wrong. However, we may be unsure about what we want to be different besides wanting the issue to just "go away." The thinking becomes "I don't know what I want, but I don't want this." The journey towards health requires knowing not only what you want to change about your life, but also what you want your life to be. We can become focused on what we don't like in our lives, without knowing what we really want or what we are striving for.

Although the idea of health and what it means to be healthy is not something that can be discussed in one blog post, it is something we can begin to explore and address. In this post I wanted to share a self care assessment for you to take. It covers a few areas of our lives and asks questions related to healthy living. Not only is it fun to take and see where you are at, it is also a teaching tool which brings awareness to the different areas of our lives which point to health. Health is something to strive for, as well as protect.

Please note, no one test shows whether you are healthy or not healthy, so use this as a tool to examine your life, but not as a formula for health. There are many aspects of health not addressed on this assessment.

So take the test, have fun, and see where you can improve! Whether you have a lot to do, or notice there are a few areas which need more protection, awareness is always the first step.

Self-Care Assessment Worksheet

This assessment tool provides an overview of effective strategies to maintain self-care.  After completing the full assessment, choose one item from each area that you will actively work to improve.

Using the scale below, rate the following areas in terms of frequency:

  5 = Frequently

  4 = Occasionally

  3 = Rarely

  2 = Never

  1 = It never occurred to me

Physical Self-Care

___  Eat regularly (e.g. breakfast, lunch and dinner)

___  Eat healthy

___  Exercise

___  Get regular medical care for prevention

___  Get medical care when needed

___  Take time off when needed

___  Get massages

___  Dance, swim, walk, run, play sports, sing, or do some other physical activity

             that is fun

___  Get enough sleep

___  Wear clothes you like

___  Take vacations

___  Take day trips or mini-vacations

___  Make time away from telephones

___  Other:

Psychological Self-Care

___  Make time for self-reflection

___  Have your own personal psychotherapy

___  Write in a journal

___  Read literature that is unrelated to work

___  Do something at which you are not expert or in charge

___  Decrease stress in your life

___  Let others know different aspects of you

___  Notice your inner experience—listen to your thoughts, judgments,

             beliefs, attitudes, and  feelings

___  Engage your intelligence in a new area, e.g. go to an art museum, history exhibit, 

             sports event, auction, theater performance

___ Practice receiving from others

___ Be curious

___ Say “no” to extra responsibilities sometimes

___ Other:

Emotional Self-Care

___  Spend time with others whose company you enjoy

___  Stay in contact with important people in your life

___  Give yourself affirmations, praise yourself

___  Accept yourself

___  Re-read favorite books, re-view favorite movies

___  Identify comforting activities, objects, people, relationships,

             places and seek them out

___  Allow yourself to cry

___  Find things that make you laugh

___  Express your outrage in social action,  letters and donations, marches, protests

___  Play with children

___  Other:

Spiritual Self-Care

___  Make time for reflection

___  Spend time with nature

___  Find a spiritual connection or community

___  Be open to inspiration

___  Cherish your optimism and hope

___  Be aware of nonmaterial aspects of life

___  Try at times not to be in charge or the expert

___  Be open to not knowing

___  Identify what is meaningful to you and notice its place in your life

___  Meditate

___  Pray

___  Sing

___  Spend time with children

___  Have experiences of awe

___  Contribute to causes in which you believe

___  Read inspirational literature (talks, music, etc.)

___  Other:

Workplace or Professional Self-Care

___  Take a break during the workday (e.g. lunch)

___  Take time to chat with co-workers

___  Make quiet time to complete tasks

___  Identify projects or tasks that are exciting and rewarding

___  Set limits with your clients/consumers and colleagues

___  Balance your workload so that no one day or part of a day is “too much”

___  Arrange your work space so it is comfortable and comforting

___  Get regular supervision, support, or consultation with your manager or supervisor

___  Negotiate for your needs (benefits, pay raise)

___  Have peer support

___  Other:

Balance

___  Strive for balance within your work-life and workday

___  Strive for balance among work, family, relationships, play and rest

 

Adapted from: Transforming the Pain: A Workbook on Vicarious Traumatization.  Saakvitne, Pearlman & St aff of TSI/CAAP (Norton, 1996)