Tuesday, April 30, 2013

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)

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