How To Take Care Of Yourself? Build A Personal Care Plan Tailored To You

As you focus on building a self-care plan, it can be helpful to keep in mind the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s (SAMHSA)   8 Dimensions of Wellness. Although developed by substance abuse professionals, these dimensions conceptualize domains of well-being that make us all complete. Among these dimensions we can mention:

• Emotional
• Environmental
• Financial
• Intellectual
• Occupational
• Physical
• Social
• Spiritual

These eight dimensions, if kept in healthy balance, generally predict very high levels of well-being.

Anyway, we still have a lot of work to do. Personal care life is dynamic and so are our dimensions of well-being. In challenging times, we can trust and lean on our strengths to move forward. When we put few dimensions into practice, we may find it difficult to do things that we did easily in the past.

Each of our plans will be different, but below you will see some suggestions to take into account in each of the dimensions. You are free to modify, replace or come up with your own routines as you go. Remember this is about you.

• Emotional – Talk to someone, reflect, read, write in a journal, do something artistic, exercise, listen to music, go for a walk, watch a series or movie that reflects your mood (or does the opposite and helps you change it), cry to let off steam, hug someone, laugh, take a nap.
• Environmental – Go for a walk in a nice place, breathe fresh air, enjoy the sun, enjoy the night sky, pick up trash, reduce your waste, use reusable products, recycle, clean your house and redesign your home environment.
• Financial – Develop a practical financing plan, open a savings account, start saving (even if it’s only $1 a day), try to save even more if you’re already saving, invest, reduce unnecessary purchases, think about how you can be more efficient, avoid credit cards, ask for a raise.
• Intellectual – Read, listen to audio books, watch documentaries, do crossword puzzles, be aware of the world around you, be curious, try something new, discover your artistic or creative side, start taking a class, finish a program of study, graduate .
• Occupational – Learn a trade, get your degree, train for a promotion, accept the promotion, prepare your resume, apply for your dream job and start doing something you enjoy, open your own business.
• Physical – Train daily, go for a walk, eat healthy, get your annual health check, visit the dentist, take your medications correctly, avoid drugs and alcohol, sleep 7-9 hours, go to the doctor when you don’t feel well.
• Social – Get together with friends and family, get in touch with old friends, volunteer, go out, have fun, engage in healthy use of social media, exude positivity, use technology when distance is an impediment, laugh a lot.
• Spiritual – Meditate, pray, reflect, do yoga, visit a spiritual place, do good things for others, be mindful, think about the purpose and meaning of your life, think about your higher strength, love each other, help those who need it.
• Self-care is an activity that you should do every day. In this way, you will be able to achieve a better balance between your dimensions of well-being and improve your health and well-being in general. Life is beautiful and you should enjoy it.