The basics of self care.

Spoonie self care

This week I'm going to be covering self care, I'm currently having a flare up of my ME/CFS so I'm writing this post at quite an apt time over several days. Todays post is covering the basics, over the week I'm going to cover each area in more detail with more ideas for adapting to good days and bad days.

I spent two years learning health and social care at college when I was younger. That taught me the basics of how to care, nurture and support someone's health and wellbeing. I then went on to spend 10 years working in the health and social care sector where I put this into practice again and again. I'm now going to apply that to nurturing my own health and well-being and hopefully help you to do the same.

So the acronym we were taught was P.I.E.S but I think an extra "S" is needed. PIES stands for:

Physical

This is nurturing your physical health, for those with a chronic illness this could be as simple as ensuring that you have taken your medication, eaten properly, drank plenty of water and completed  your Physiotherapy for the day. This can also include exercise (if able) and anything else that you may need to do to look after your physical health.

Intellectual

keeping your mind stimulated. Read or listen to audiobooks, learn new things, take classes, complete puzzles, write, anything that keeps your mind busy. Remember that your brain is a muscle and also needs exercising. Spoonie life can be boring, this keeps things interesting.

Emotional

This can be a tough one for a lot of people especially those with disabilities who can have mental and physical issues. Counselling, journaling, crafting, getting out of the house, been around nature, cuddling pets, taking a bubble bath and chatting to a good friend can all help nurture emotional wellbeing. Emotional ill-health is just as serious as physical ill-health and should be treated as such. There are symptoms which are called "psychosomatic" these are physical manifestations of psychological issues like hair loss and rashes when stressed or a twitch when nervous.

Social

Pain and fatigue can make you cranky, anxiety can make you want to build a fort and never leave but its important to maintain contact with the outside world, even if your fort is amazingly comfy and you need a "warning, approach with caution!" sticker on your head. This doesn't have to be going to a massive party and talking to everybody you see! It can include social media chats like #spooniespeak or @spooniecult on twitter, support groups on facebook, having a Netflix and pizza party with your closest friends or simply making time to call your family and friends for a chat once in a while. Of course if you have the energy and confidence to go to a massive party and chat to everyone go for it! Its about what's right and feels comfortable for you.

Spiritual (The added "S")

This doesn't have to be in the traditional sense of the word. This can be anything from prayer to meditation or even spending time appreciating nature or animals. Watching a sunrise or sunset can be a spiritual experience for someone. As hippy as it sounds whatever makes you feel at peace with the world can take care of your spiritual needs.

Self care should nurture each of these, it doesn't have to be all of them everyday, but as long as they are all covered in some way you can take some control and responsibility over your own health and wellbeing. You can do as little or as much as you can. Adapt your self care to how you are feeling and remember you are important make some time for yourself.

As always thanks for reading. Each heading is now linked to each post from the series.

Laura :)