What do you know about medical self-care? By definition it’s a person’s ability to use good judgment when making medical choices. This could be as simple as putting a band-aid on a small cut or taking a Tylenol for a headache versus rushing to the Emergency Room. However, it is also useful in preventative care, by encouraging self-care to keep people healthy.
These techniques have been implemented by many employers over the past several years to curb the costs of health-care and absenteeism. Teaching employees CPR and offering personal development reading and strategies seems to be working toward common goals in the workplace- saving money and improving workers health and morale. A recent study shows an average return on investment of medical self-care strategies to be 15:1!
On the other side of the coin is financial self-care; this means encouraging people to incorporate smart and responsible money management techniques into their lives. These can be as simple as checking daily bank account balances to see spending trends or using a spreadsheet to track incoming and outgoing finances.
Learning the language of finance and investing money wisely are other valuable financial wellness tools. You can learn more about financial self-care and brush up on your money skills by reading books like Rich Dad Poor Dad, Nine Steps to Financial Freedom or The Total Money Makeover. Also, budgeting apps, like Mint are great tools to help support your financial self-care.
Aside from financial self-care, there are actually 7 other branches of wellness, including Physical (ex: movement of the body, health, nutrition, sleep, rest, physical touch and sexual needs), Psychological, Emotional, Professional, Social, Environmental and Spiritual Self-care. In which of these categories do you thrive? Which needs more attention?
Aim for balance, incorporating strategies that grow self-care tactics where they’re needed most… and, of course, stay within your budget. If a self-massage at home is more realistic than a day at the spa for you right now, that’s okay. Make it special and remember that your time and your well-being is valuable!
Self Care Journaling Exercise or Rumination: Assess your self care in the major life categories. Are your needs being attended to (either by you alone, or along with loved ones), in the following categories? Write down or ruminate on why or why not, and what you can do to change this if desired.
Psychological – Professional – Social – Environmental – Spiritual