Through July, Good Care Month is aimed at those who work tirelessly as paid or unpaid carers. Celebrating and promoting the great work that they do. To engage and inspire others to enter the profession and continue the great work already being done in all types of settings, groups of people and with a full range of LTHCs, disabilities and age-related deterioration in health. With the impact of the COVID pandemic and the increase in life expectancies, there is more pressure than ever on carers in both paid and unpaid care-related roles.
Part One - Good Care Month*
We focused on what the month is all about and celebrating the carers who make life so much more for-filling and meaningful. Looking at;
Types Of Carers
Being/Becoming A Carer
Being Cared For & The Need For Emotional Support
Emotional Support For Carers
You can read it here.
Part Two - A focus on the Emotional Support Options for Carers and those being cared for.
Looked at the emotional support for carers and those being cared for with particular attention to the additional effects of the pandemic. With support from Mental Health Charity mind, patient blogs and agency interventions.
You can read it here.
Part Three - Self-Care Mechanisms
The focus here is on;
What is self-care?
Why is it important?
How can we incorporate this into our everyday lives?
For many with LTHCs and disabilities, they may not need constant care or a carer with them regularly. Whilst self-care will be a requirement for those with and without carers. it is also essential for those who are carers. Their own health needs need to be met.
What is Self Care?
‘Self-care has been defined as the process of taking care of oneself with behaviours that promote health and active management of illness when it occurs.[1] Individuals engage in some form of self-care daily with food choices, exercise, sleep, and dental care.[1] While the concept of self-care has received increased attention in recent years, it has ancient origins. Socrates has been credited with founding the self-care movement in ancient Greece, and care is of oneself and loved ones have been shown to exist since human beings appeared on earth.[2] Self-care remains a primary form of healthcare worldwide'.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-care)
‘Routine self-care is important for generally healthy people but self-care becomes essential when illness occurs.[3] Chronic illness (e.g., heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure) requires behaviours that control the illness, decrease symptoms, and improve survival such as medication adherence and symptom monitoring. An acute illness like an infection (e.g., COVID) requires the same types of self-care behaviours required of people with a chronic illness, but the medication adherence and symptom monitoring behaviours associated with an acute illness are typically short lived’. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-care
‘For the majority of people with a chronic illness, time spent having that illness managed by a health professional is vastly outweighed by time spent in self-care. It has been estimated that most people with a chronic illness spend only about 0.001% or 10 hours per year of their time with a healthcare provider’. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-care
There are so many different forms of self-care that you can try and not everything will suit everybody. It’s a very personal situation. For Carers in particular it is really important as The Circle Health Group stipulates that the healthier you are as a carer the more you will be able to give to the person(s) that you are caring for. Better relationships, health and vitality bring success.
Marie Curie has top tips for carers in this great blog post which highlights that carers need to;
Trust themselves and know that it’s ok to cry
Realise that laughter can help
Be honest about their own needs
Keep batteries charged
Keep family and friends informed
Say yes to help
Accept kindness from others
Look for guidance
Remember you need to be well to be a carer
Be kind to yourself
What does self-care look like?
Self Care Routine Tips is a really interesting article by Caroline Shannon-Karasik who takes you through 25 different ways in which to add self-care to your daily routine. With some quirky tips like writing a menu for the week, creating a mini-dance party, practising Kegal exercises (pelvic floor exercises), getting a tomato plant and not eating Kale if you don’t like it! There are also some of the more obvious ideas such as yoga, drinking water, getting enough sleep and writing down 5 things that ‘didn’t totally suck’ during the day!
Self Care or Self Harm?
Is it time for a social media break? As much as this can be a positive and support self-care it can also be a negative. Mind has developed resources to support good social media interaction and some simple signs to look out for if things are getting out of hand. They include;
Less face-to-face conversations with friends and family
Stopping you from getting things done
Feeling disconnected from those closest to you
Find it difficult to think about and enjoy other things.
This hard hitting account from Jessica just shows how detrimental social media can become. She writes;
“I thought that everyone I knew on social media was laughing at me and plotting against me. The world contained ‘signs’ which were hidden in things such as graffiti and social media posts and I felt I could decode them to understand a greater conspiracy against me. When I was sectioned I was so ill that I had no idea I was in a psychiatric hospital and instead thought I had been kidnapped. Several times I actually escaped from the hospital and was brought back by the police because I didn’t understand what was going on. (https://bit.ly/3xD4O5W)
She has now thankfully found a way to manage this as you can read in her blog The Mind charity website also has an Online Mental Health support package. This just shows the fine balance between good self-care and neglecting our personal needs as a carer or as one being cared for.
Incorporating Self Care Into Daily Lives
Simple elements of self-care will easily become part of your daily routine. Basics like drinking plenty of water, taking regular exercise and spending time with family or friends. Others may be more difficult but the benefits outweigh the negatives. In some cases, it may be finding the time to try self-care in the first place and working out what works for you. Go for one thing and try it for a bit, then try something else. Remember that for it to have a real impact both the carer and person being cared for should practice self-care in whatever format that may be.
*As you read our blogs please remember that we are all on the same pathways as you. Sometimes we find what we convey helpful but at other times we don’t. However, we include it because everyone's journey is different and we like to have this passionate perseverance to help others as much as possible. To dispose of it all would be a waste and a disservice to our readers.
Women’s Health Magazine - Self Care Routine Tips
Jessicas Story - Blog - Social Media
Mind - Online Mental Health Support - Social Media
Circle Health Group - What Is Self Care and Why is it Important?
Marie Curie - Tips For Carers
Commentaires