Self-Care

GE 1 Understanding the Self

What is self care?
Self-Care
• As described by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, satisfying the
various levels of need is very important to a person’s overall
health and wellbeing. Part of your overall wellbeing and
healthcare is to take care yourself.
• This caring of the “self”, however, is more than being clean and
living clean.
• Self-care, entails taking a deliberate acts of looking after your
mental, emotional and physical health.
Self-care
• Proper self-care is taking a very active and powerful choice to
engage in activities that will result in acquiring or maintaining
optimal health that cover the physical, psychological, emotional,
social and spiritual components.
• Self-care is vital for the management of daily stressors and
challenges, as well as overall health and wellness. Self-care is
neither overindulging nor necessarily depriving yourself. The
keyword to self-care is balance; being good to yourself will
enhance the likelihood of living to your fullest potential.
Compassion
• Compassion according to Goetz et. Al is the felt response to
perceiving suffering that involves an authentic desire to ease
distress. It is a kind and caring emotional response to perceived
suffering that acknowledges the shared human experience of
imperfection, and that involves an authentic desire to help.
Empathy
• Is the visceral or emotional experience of another person’s
feeling. It is an automatic mirroring of another’s emotion.
Altruism
• Is the unselfish regard to or devotion to the welfare of others.
Compassionate instinct
• Both animals and human beings have an automatic response to
ensure survival not only of our own but of others.
Compassion’s Benefit
• Research suggests that compassion may have ensued our
survival because of its tremendous benefits for both physical
and mental health and overall well-being. It is suggested that
connecting with others in a meaningful way helps us enjoy
better mental and physical health and speeds up recovery from
disease.