Self-Care Leads to Excellent Client Care: Key Take Aways

When you search for the term self-care online, images of candlelight baths, massages, and watching a sunset in a beautiful location will populate your screen. Our idea of self-care is often based on what we see on social media and online articles. But what is self-care? How can taking care of ourselves matter to those we support?

Self-care is about valuing ourselves enough to take care of ourselves. The most powerful thing you can do for yourself is believe you are worthy of love. By Identifying the lies you tell yourself, you can choose to replace those thoughts with something neutral or positive. Instead of saying, “I hate my body.” Replace it with, “My body has gotten me this far in life, and that’s a pretty good track record.” Or “Given all my body has been through, it is pretty amazing.” These thoughts can help you develop new neural pathways to create a more positive outlook on yourself and your circumstances.

Why does it matter how we treat ourselves? Because everyone is watching, including your clients. Brene Brown explains that acting like we must be perfect and not giving ourselves grace with our mistakes touches the lives of all those around us. “When we are kind to ourselves, we create a reservoir of compassion that we can extend to others.” From Brene Brown’s book, The Gift of Imperfection.

What can we do:

• • • Treat yourself with dignity and respect.
    • Build others up with your words and deeds.
    • Get plenty of sleep. It will help you interact more positively with those around you.
    • Find movement that brings you joy—exercise for the positive impact it has on you physically and mentally.
    • Look into short-term or long-term therapy. Therapy can help us better understand the interplay between emotions, thoughts, and behavior. It can also give us an outlet to work through relationship issues and a nonjudgmental sounding board for problem-solving.
    • Find your joy! Find something you enjoy doing simply because you like doing it. It can be creative or physical, done by yourself or with others.

According to Christina Borel of the Simmons School of Social Work, self-care is a way for social service professionals to balance activities and preserve longevity and happiness in both their relationships and careers. To do this, they need to accept that it is OK – and actually essential – to put their needs first.

However, if lighting candles, taking a bubble bath, or getting a massage brings you joy, then it can absolutely be part of self-care. Providing employees with a broader perspective on self-care can open their eyes to new ways of caring for themselves.