Written by Karen Tang, General Member
Disclaimer: The insights shared in this blog are not medical advice and thus, should not be taken as such. Please consult a licensed medical professional if you are unsure.
Given that this month’s theme at the YCRH is on Mental Health and Well-being, I alluded to in my previous blog post (“Mental Health: Key Takeaways I have learned as a Clinical Psychologist PhD Student”) that I wanted to dedicate an entire blog post on how YOU can take care of your mental health.
We often hear the term “self-care”, and I want to emphasize that self-care should be incredibly personalized to fit your needs. A self-care plan can help you enhance your health and well-being, including your mental health!
Generally, a self-care plan has many different domains, however, I am going to use the example of using six domains. Feel free to add or change any domain as you see fit! This self-care plan should be tailored for you and your life, so please choose activities that resonate and are meaningful to you!
Physical self-care: These are activities that allow you to stay healthy and physical active, so that you can have enough energy to get through your day’s commitments (e.g., school, work). Some examples include:
· Having a physical activity routine (e.g., cardio, lifting weights)
· Having a regular sleep routine with consistent bedtimes and waketimes (yes, even on the weekends!). More resources on sleep hygiene below.
· Eating healthy including having a balance diet
· Going for a short walk (or any short burst of physical activity)
· Taking your dog for a walk
Psychological self-care: These activities help you feel mentally ready to engage with your day’s commitments.
· Relax, relax, relax! Practicing box breathing is a great way to relax your brain (see resource below).
· No working outside of work hours! This can include removing your email app from your phone or setting “work hours” in your email signature
· Journaling! Be it gratitude journalling or just dumping down your thoughts
· Seeking mentorship from more experienced colleagues or people you look up to
· Do a non-work related hobby (e.g., painting, reading, gardening)
· Have some fun! (Tip: For a list of 365 fun activities, check the resources section below)
· Spend time with your loved ones!
· Engage in “me time” (i.e., time to yourself if that is how you recharge)
Emotional self-care: This domain allows you to fully experience all your emotions, even the negative ones!
· Talk to your trusted loved ones (e.g., friends, family) about how you are coping with life demands
· Journal down three things that you did that day
· Nurture your friendships that are supportive and uplift you
· Watch a sad movie!
· Listen to music that matches your mood
Spiritual self-care: These include activities that give you a sense of perspective beyond your day-to-day life.
· Do reflective practices like meditation (tip: try the Peaceful Place mediation linked below)
· Yoga
· Attend a religious place (e.g., church, mosque, temple)
· Engage in reflection with a close friend, or even self-reflection
Relationship self-care: This domain prioritizes maintaining healthy, supportive interpersonal relationships, beyond your work colleagues!
· Prioritize your close relationships. This can include family (biological and/or chosen), your friends, significant other
· Attend special events of your loved ones (e.g., weddings, celebrations)
· Nurture your relationships by spending quality time with your loved ones. This can include grabbing coffee with a friend, or visiting a grandparent in the nursing home
Workplace or professional self-care: These activities help you perform well at the professional level (e.g., at school, place of employment).
· Consult a more experienced colleague either by organizing supervision meetings or consulting with them as the need arises
· Create a peer-support group. It can be helpful to form a group where you are in similar positions (e.g., entrepreneurs) or experience similar challenges, so you can vent, problem-solve, and uplift each other!
· Continue to engage in professional development opportunities for self-growth. This can include attending webinars/workshops/training sessions
· Set boundaries at the workplace, especially between clients and staff members
It is important to remember that these activities are merely suggestions! Choose activities that are meaningful to yourself and your own goals. You may find that once you start practicing activities from your self-care plan, that you want to remove one—that is okay too! Feel free to add or delete activities—this is a very iterative process.
Additionally, engaging in your personalized self-care activities ensure you regularly recharge your batteries…so you don’t hit the point of burnout! It is important to consistently maintain your mental health and well-being to ensure you minimize burnout or hitting a crisis. You can even keep this plan somewhere visible or schedule in “self-care” time in your schedule (I do this using a pink highlighter so it is super visible in my agenda!)—this can help you establish engaging in self-care as part of your routine and solidify it as a habit.
Resources and further reading:
Download your own self-care plan template: https://schools.au.reachout.com/-/media/schools/files/pdf/self-care-plan.pdf
Sleep hygiene: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/how-to-reset-your-sleep-routine
Box breathing relaxation technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEmt1Znux58
Peaceful place meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQqp6fGFZxs
Fun activities catalogue: https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/-/media/CCI/Mental-Health-Professionals/Depression/Depression---Information-Sheets/Depression-Information-Sheet---06---Fun-Activities-Catalogue.pdf