Managing and Caring

MODULE 3: for the Self

Lesson 2: Self-Care
By Harrian R. Moronio

INTRODUCTION
If you ever had a flight experience, you must have heard the line, “In case of a cabin
pressure emergency, put on your mask first before assisting others.” This concept implies
that you cannot take care of others if you don’t care for yourself first. Simply put, you should
prioritize taking care of yourself― not because you are selfish but because you can better
help others by doing so. This principle relates to another adage, “You cannot pour from an
empty cup.”

Self-care refers to any activity that we do purposely to take care of our mental,
emotional, and physical health (Michael, 2018). People have different ways of practicing self-
care. But in general, its goals include finding a state of good mental and physical health,
reducing stress, meeting emotional needs, maintaining one's relationships, and finding a
balance between one's personal and academic or professional life. Often, we forget to
replenish our energy as we go through difficult times, which can drain us physically and
mentally. This lesson will equip you with knowledge about self-care― what it is and what it is
not, types of self-care, different ways to practice it, and how to benefit from it.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson, it is expected that you will be able to:
1. Discuss the nature and importance of self-care;
2. Identify the different types and ways of caring for the self; and
3. Apply new skills through sorting and planning activities of caring for the self.

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 MOTIVATION
A. HOW DO YOU FILL YOUR CUP?
Imagine that you have a cup of water. The water level represents the amount of energy
(physical, emotional, spiritual, etc.) you use to care for yourself and others.
✓ What is the level of water in your cup? Is it overflowing?
Full? Half? Almost Empty?
✓ With the current water level in your cup, do you think
you can share or give some of these to others? Why or
why not?
✓ How do you fill your cup (self-care practices)?
✓ How frequently do you practice these self-care
activities?
✓ Do you see these activities as luxuries or necessities?

LESSON PROPER
Self-care is a conscious promotion of physical, mental, and
What is self-care emotional health (Scott, 2020). Self-care may include different
and why is it forms such as taking enough sleep, going outside to get some
fresh air, exercising regularly, or engaging in reflective
important? practices such as yoga and meditation.

Stress relief activities will not be of any help if you are not
taking care of yourself. Self-care is vital for building resilience
toward stressors in life (Scott, 2020). When we are feeling our
best both physically and emotionally, we become better
equipped to handle stress. Also, practicing self-care not only
allows us to help ourselves but others as well. It also improves
our immunity, increases positive thinking, and makes us less
susceptible to stress, depression, anxiety, and other
emotional health issues (Nertney, 2017).

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TYPES OF SELF-CARE
1. Physical
Physical self-care involves activities that
improve your physical health. These activities
may include going out for a walk, exercising, or
playing your favorite sport. It is essential to know
that there is a strong connection between your
body and your mind. According to the Mental
Health Foundation (2016), having poor physical
health will risk one in developing mental health
problems. Similarly, those with poor mental
health are at increased risk of experiencing
chronic physical conditions. The following are a
few suggestions to maintain an optimal level of
physical wellness:
• Engage in physical activity every day for 30 minutes.
• Learn to recognize warning signs when your body begins feeling ill.
• Have an adequate sleep.
• Maintain a healthy balanced diet.
• Cut down unhealthy habits (e.g., smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages)

2. Social
Connecting with others is an essential part of self-care and is vital to your well-being.
However, it becomes hard for us to join or build relationships with others because of being
too busy. Research shows that there is a link between social relationships and many
different aspects of health and wellness. Low social support has been associated with
depression and loneliness and has been shown to alter brain function and increase the
risk of alcohol use, cardiovascular disease, depression, and suicide (Cherry, 2020). There
is no requirement for the amount of time you should devote to your friends or work on
your relationships. But, we need to take time to cultivate and maintain a network of family
or friends that we can turn to in times of need. The following are a few suggestions to
maintain social self-care:
• Build a social support system.
• Spend time with friends and family.
• Assess your relationships with others.
• Set boundaries.

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 3. Mental
Our thoughts affect our everyday lives, provoking
emotions and behavioral responses (Nicholas, 2017).
Activities for mental self-care are those that help declutter
your mind and reduce your stress levels. It also involves doing
things that help you stay mentally healthy such as practicing
healthy inner dialogue. The following are a few suggestions
to maintain mental self-care:
• Maintain a reflective journal.
• Guard your thoughts.
• Do things that keep your mind sharp like puzzles, or
learning about a subject that fascinates you.
• Take time to relax your mind each day (unplugging from technology, decluttering
your home).

4. Emotional
Emotional self-care includes activities that help you acknowledge, accept, and
express your feelings. The key is to get in touch with your emotions. When you have a
healthy attitude about your feelings and tell them, you are better equipped to get through
events well (Brenner, 2018). The following are a few suggestions to maintain emotional
self-care:
• Talk to a partner or close friend about how you feel.
• Spend time for leisure activities that help you process
your emotions (e.g., meditation).
• Write in your journal.
• Practice gratitude.

5. Spiritual
Spirituality a person’s beliefs about their subjective sense of
existential connectedness, which includes beliefs that reflect
relationships with others, acknowledge a higher power, recognize
an individual's place in the world, and lead to spiritual practices.
Spiritual self-care is the set of spiritually-based practices
promoting continued personal development and well-being in
health and illness (White, Peters, & Schim, 2011). The following
are a few suggestions to maintain emotional self-care:

• Meditation
• Yoga
• Spend time in nature

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 APPLICATION
List down at least three learnings and state how you are going to apply them to
yourself.
(1) _____________________________________________________________________
(2) _____________________________________________________________________
(3) _____________________________________________________________________

GENERALIZATION
In a nutshell, we learned that:
Self-care refers to conscious acts intended to promote physical, mental, and
emotional health Religiosity is the quality of devotedness in a particular religion.
Self-care is important as helps us become better equipped in handling stress, and is
vital in building resilience.
There are different types of self-care― physical, mental, emotional, social, and
spiritual.
Self-care doesn’t have to take tons of time or cost lots of money to be beneficial.
Self-care is neither selfish nor luxury.
There are no short cuts to optimal well-being. Holistic self-care means we need to
focus on all aspects of our lives.

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 ASSESSMENT

Sort and Plan

1) Review your answers in the initial activity (How do you fill your cup?)
2) Classify/sort your answers into the table below.
Physical Mental Emotional Social Spiritual

3) In your journal, answer the following questions:

• What type of self-care are you good at?
• What area/s need/s improvement?
• How do you plan to improve it?

REFERENCES
Brenner, A. (2018, March 27). 5 ways to take care of yourself emotionally. Psychology Today.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-flux/201803/5-ways-take-care-yourself-emotionally

Cherry, K. (2020, April 14). How social support contributes to psychological health. Verywellmind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/social-support-for-psychological-health-4119970

Nertney, B. (2017, October 23). The importance of self-care. Community Partnerships of Idaho.
https://www.mycpid.com/importance-self-
care/#:~:text=According%20to%20Living%20Self%20Care,our%20needs%20are%20important%2C
%20too.

Nicholas, R. (2017, June 26). How do my thoughts impact my life? Charis Counseling Center
https://www.chariscounselingcenter.com/blog/how-do-my-thoughts-impact-my-life/

Mental Health Foundation. (2016, February). Physical health and mental health.
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/p/physical-health-and-mental-
health#:~:text=A%20clear%20distinction%20is%20often,of%20developing%20mental%20health%2
0problems.

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UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services. (n.d.). Physical wellness.
https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/wellness/physical

Scott, E. (2020, August 3). 5 self-care practices for every area of your life. Verywellmind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729

Good Therapy. (2019, May 15). Self-care. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-

therapy/issues/self-care

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2020, May 28). What is mental health?
Mentalhealth.gov. https://www.mentalhealth.gov/

White, M. L., Peters, R. M., & Schim, T. M. (2011). Spirituality and spiritual self-care: Expanding self-
care deficit nursing theory. Nursing Science Quarterly, 48-56.

World Health Organization. (2018, March 30). Mental health: Strengthening our response.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response

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