Photo credit: BigStockPhoto/devke
by Erlene Grise-Owens, EdD, LCSW, MSW, MRE, lead co-editor of The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals
I hope everyone enjoyed our Super-Self Care Summer! Now, it’s time to Re-Set for the next season. Along with marking the 9-year anniversary of this blog, September is Self-Care Awareness Month. Gretchen Rubin calls September another “new year”—as a time to re-new and re-set.
Take Five
This “new” year, let’s Take Five and give attention to five interlocking areas to Re-Set for effective self-care.
1. Mindset
Like many of you, my partner and I had a full summer schedule! We navigated a range of commitments—travel, hosting, professional obligations, political activism, and family and social activities, including prioritized Grand time. Overall, the summer vibe was congruent with wholistic self-care, which adapts to seasons.
Yet, with autumn on the horizon, I’m looking to re-set and get back into a bit more routine. I remind myself that one’s mindset/attitude toward self-care is key. A growth mindset is helpful; it’s about the learning—never about “shoulding” or “failing.”
What mindset shifts do you want to make as we enter a new season? How can a growth mindset support your self-care?
2. Environment
Next, let’s consider our environment. We tend to underestimate the effects of our environment. Home is a key environment. And, we need to attend to office, vehicle, and any other spaces where we find ourselves. With a full summer schedule, my home office has collected “I’ll-get-to-that-later” stacks. Likewise, my active (largely extroverted) schedule squeezed out introverted aspects, such as solitary reflection and sequestered writing.
One of the first pragmatic steps in my Re-Set is to organize my office. Creativity and contribution are important aspects of my self-care, and my office reflects and reinforces those. I’m also being more intentional in placing myself in environments that nurture me—nature, libraries, bookstores.
What aspects of your environments enhance your self-care? What aspects do not support it? What (even small) changes could you make to environments in this re-set season of self-care?
3. Habits
Comparable to environments, our habits constitute another significant daily impact in our self-care. We ended the Super Self-Care Summer calendar by assigning the post about habits, because habits are so key in sustaining self-care throughout the year. Typically, summer is a time when we neglect some of our routine good habits. Stay up late, eat more junk food, let some things slide. For example, this summer, I neglected using my tried-and-true habit tracking system.
So, another strategy in my Re-Set is reinstating that habit-tracking form. I know which good habits support my self-care (e.g., sleep!), which problematic habits I’ve fallen into (inconsistent sleep schedule), and which habits I want to prioritize! I know my tracking form helps me stay…: On Track! 😊
Re-set by considering: Which habits currently support your self-care? Which pernicious practices detract from it? What habits do you want to emphasize, reinforce, or initiate? What strategies might you use to encourage good habits?
4. Relationships
Although self-care is often viewed as an individual endeavor, our relationships (in all arenas) play a crucial role. Emphatically, relationships require a healthy balance of connections and boundaries. Aspects of this busy summer highlighted some dilemmas about how, as Taylor Swift said, the “luxury item of my energy” gets accessed.
In this Re-Set, I’m considering Taylor’s advice. 😊 Also, I’m reflecting on the adage: We’re most affected by those five people with whom we share most of our time. In my case, I humorously observe that’s why I try to be with my school-age grandkids, two of my favorite joy-infusing humans, as much as possible. Of course, having a wonderful life partner is a self-care gem. Self-care involves identifying the Energy Vampires and Energy Infusers in your circles—then, committing to nurturing the Infusers and neutralizing the Vampires.
Who are the Energy Vampires in your life? Energy Infusers? Who—both specific individuals and more general types—do you want to set more boundaries with? Connect with more? How can you make that happen?
5. Resources
The above four Re-Set facets require a fifth one: Resources—not just material resources, but, any type of resource. Sometimes, we miss/neglect resources already available. For the Re-Set strategies above, I need to access and accentuate the resources of my home office, public libraries, and parks. I’m planning a writing retreat with an accountability writing group. I commit to using my resource-skills in setting boundaries and supporting connections.
What resources do you already have? What resources do you want to access, accentuate, or develop?
In the past, we have provided a Self-Care September Calendar to use throughout September’s Self-Care Awareness Month. You can readily adapt that calendar, provided here. With a repository of nine years of self-care wisdom, continue to use this blog as a resource. And, as always, consider contributing to the forum. Let us know how you Re-Set—and all other things self-care.
Peace, Love, & Self-Care
Erlene
Erlene Grise-Owens, EdD, LCSW, MSW, MRE, is a Partner in The Wellness Group, ETC. This LLC provides evaluation, training, and consultation for organizational wellness and practitioner well-being. Dr. Grise-Owens is lead editor of The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals. As a former faculty member and graduate program director, she and a small (but mighty!) group of colleagues implemented an initiative to promote self-care as part of the social work education curriculum. Previously, she served in clinical and administrative roles. She has experience with navigating toxicity and dysfunction, up-close and personal! Likewise, as an educator, she saw students enter the field and quickly burn out. As a dedicated social worker, she believes the well-being of practitioners is a matter of social justice and human rights. Thus, she is on a mission to promote self-care and wellness!