Self-Care and Self Compassion (Part 1)

Hi all! My name is Meg Hall and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) at the Maine Medical Partners Pediatric Specialty Care- Pulmonary 

and CF clinic in Portland, Maine. I have been in my current role as the social worker for our CF clinic for 9 years and also worked in our adult clinic for approximately 4 years under our mental health grant.

I am here today to talk about self-care and self-compassion. There is so much to go into with self-care and self-compassion that we will be discussing this in two parts (and maybe three parts) First off, what do we mean when we talk about self-care and self-compassion? I teach compassionate interaction trainings at our hospital, so I am going to go off what I teach as part of those classes. I am sure that there is much more information and literature out there beyond what I am sharing today!

I think of self-compassion as being aware of our own stress and struggles without judging ourselves or being super self-critical of ourselves around this stress. Itis being kind to ourselves. Self-care, again to me, are actions that we may take to preserve emotional, physical, and mental health. In fact the World Health Organization (WHO) defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider”. 

Let’s focus on self-care today and how to check in regarding your self-care practices. What are the activities thatimportant for you to engage in daily, weekly, or regularly? Do you need to do movement, get enough sleep, read, drink water, etc.? Take a moment to write these down for yourself; thinking about aspects of self-care across different environments (home, work, school, etc.). What things are going well for you right now and what areas would you like to improve upon? Once you have this written down, choose a self-care goal for yourself. Think about (and write down) the benefits that you will gain from doing this and any obstacles/solutions to committing to this goal for you. Is there anyone that needs to know about your goal to help hype you up and support you? Any additional steps that you may want to take? 

From here, write down your goal on a sticky note or colorful paper and put it wherever you might see it throughout the day. Remember that self-care is self-interest and is a great investment in yourself! My current goal is to take time for me in the morning. This could mean doing some crossword puzzles, scrolling through podcasts, drinking coffee in bed or stretching. I am also reading some books about self- compassion, habit change, and how to show up for myself and others. I’ll let you know if they are worth a read.

I’ll be back in the next blog for more on self-compassion!

MegJ