ABSTRACT
Self-care is the keystone that allows individuals including healthcare professionals to help themselves and help others to heal. Without self-care, people slowly run out of energy and may even burnout. Caring for ourselves is intricately connected to caring for others. Many individuals ignore caring for themselves and prioritize the care of other people. Healthcare professionals are notorious for this. With a goal of positive health for all, clinicians must learn to prioritize their own self-care and discover strategies and skills that help them enjoy self-care without adding an extra burden, too much extra time, or the feeling of “another thing I can’t fit in.” This chapter reviews common definitions used when discussing self-care, describes the wellness hierarchy for clinicians, identifyies a COACH Approach™ for self-care, and introduces whole person assessments and tracking tools. The goal is to integrate the practices and principles of lifestyle medicine and positive health into each day in a way that encourages all individuals including clinicians to prioritize and play with healthy behaviors in order to adopt and sustain them throughout their careers at work and their lives at home. To be a role model, one must be taking care of one’s self. It is more motivating to hear about the benefits of self-care from a healthcare professional that is working to take care of themselves rather than from someone who is struggling to get through the day, paying no attention to their own needs or health. Being a role model is the path to emphasize and revolutionize self-care. Self-care is a necessity not a luxury.
