Gabriel Dè Light's Key Ideas from The Self Care Prescription
by Robyn Gobin PhD

Gobin believes the self-care prescription should, therefore, include nurturing every aspect of ourselves—mind, body, and spirit.

She focuses on strategies that will help you improve six essential dimensions of wellness:

• Physical
• Spiritual
• Emotional
• Intellectual
• Vocational
• Social

Let’s review what each of them entails and what you need to do to keep them healthy and well-balanced.

‘’Physical self-care involves caring for your body in ways that sustain, revitalize, and strengthen it,’’ Gobin writes. It involves three components: physical movement, sleep and rest, and proper nutrition.

Doing physical activity doesn’t necessarily need to be about going to the gym. It can include doing stretches during commercials on TV, engaging in physical activity with your pet, spouse, kids, or taking the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator.

Remember, even short periods of exercise produce health benefits.

Just as physical exercise is an inevitable part of physical self-care, so is brain exercise for the intellectual. It helps your brain realize its full potential and function well as long as possible.

Learning new things is perhaps the best way to stimulate our brains. You can gain new knowledge by reading a book, magazine, or blog for pleasure, listening to an informational podcast or an audiobook, solving crosswords, visiting a museum, or engaging in healthy debate on a topic you’re passionate about.

First of all, create your social-self care vision. Here is an example of one: “I am shaping relationships in which deep connection is plentiful, love and respect is mutual, and contact is pleasant and consistent.”

Then, develop a social-self care plan to make your vision a reality. It can, for example, include doing your favorite activities, ranging from sports and vigorous exercise to dancing or playing a board game with people you care for.

But sometimes we need to isolate ourselves from everyone and dedicate some time to our emotional needs.

The key to being emotionally healthy is developing an assertive relationship with our emotions.

Once we do this, we will be able to embrace the pain when we are hurting because we know it won’t last forever.

Assertive relationship with our emotions also allows us to savor the pleasant moments without holding on to them too tightly, enables us to control our emotional responses and cope with life’s challenges effectively.

Even if it sometimes seems there is nothing good about your job, there probably are some aspects that you like or appreciate. After all, there is no entirely awful job, right?

Start improving your life at work by finding its benefits—and try to be grateful for them. Rather than being miserable about the downsides, observe them as challenges for which you should find solutions.

Perhaps you can even take up a hobby that exploits your talents and brings you joy. This might increase earning potential at your current job or help you find new employment that is closer to your vocation.

Your spirit also needs care, which entails engaging in activities that turn your attention inward and connect you with yourself. Spiritual self-care helps us realize what matters to us and what we believe in.

You can also use this time to say a prayer, read an uplifting blog, or spend time in nature. Spend some time isolated from the outer world, try to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions.

Once you get accustomed to treating your thoughts and emotions as temporary sensations, you will be able tomake your decisions without being influenced by them.

No one will ever care for you better than you do.

Therefore, never forget to regularly ask yourself how you are doing and what your body, spirit, and mind are asking for.

Remember: self-care is not a selfish act but the act of responsibility toward yourself and others.