Reiterating Communication as Key for Self-care
Sumedha, CH Corespondent
International Self-Care Day is celebrated on the 24th of July each year to emphasize the importance of self-care and self-love. The day was established in 2011 by the International Self-Care Foundation (ISF) to uphold the round-the-clock significance of self-care in human lives.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines self-care as ‘the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote and maintain their own health, prevent disease, and to cope with illness, with or without the support of a health or care worker’. Self-care interventions can include medicines, devices, diagnostics and digital tools. Self-care actions include practices, habits, and lifestyle choices. Self-care can also be defined as a multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being.
With the newly emerging hustle culture and false positivity spreading all over the internet and in the real world, we often find ourselves left repenting and regretting for taking even a single day off. Hustle culture glorifies constant busyness, productivity, and a relentless pursuit of career goals. It promotes working long hours, sacrificing personal time and well-being for professional success, and equating one’s worth with achievements and productivity levels. The focus is on pushing limits, seizing opportunities, and achieving ambitious goals at all costs.
It is also equally essential to understand that everything seen in the digital era may not be true, and that everybody grows at their own pace. This means that all of us are given certain strengths, while being exposed to certain liabilities, not alike to those of others. It is time to accept this reality and work towards the betterment of ourselves and the people around us, instead of focussing only on the achievements of others, considering them bigger and better than our own.
Currently, 3.6 billion people, about half of the world, lack access to essential health services. WHO recommends self-care interventions for every country and economic setting, as a critical path to reach universal health coverage, promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable. This also includes negligence towards mental health, emotional and psychological well-being. However, it is also interesting to note the phenomenon of ‘over-normalization’ of various demands of the human body and its very second nature. There are various topics in the present world referred to as ‘normalized’ while they actually have to be dealt with for a better living. One of the foremost of such normalizations is obesity. Many people embrace larger bodies referring to it as body positivity. But the right amount of attention towards fitness and counter to unhealthy weight gain is crucial for improving the quality of life and health.
There are many types of self-care comprising of physical self-care, social self-care, mental self-care, spiritual self-care, emotional self-care, intellectual self-care, and professional self-care. Regular health check-ups, exercise and meditation, balanced diet, sleep, hygiene, therapy and counselling, healthy social circle, work-life balance, reiteration and scrutiny on our belief systems, skill development and expansion of knowledge base, professional development and time management are the most prominent aspects of a rounded self-care.
One of the most significant factors contributing to the lack of self-confidence, self-awareness, self-assurance and satisfaction is the social media and the ever-active digital space. It has been affecting people in enumerable ways such as sleep cycle disruption, privacy invasion, low self-esteem and self-love, and multiple expenditures or added costs. All these elements play a vital role in the overall well-being of a person, but it is important to note that each person has their own share of life experiences of ups and downs, indispensable for a formation of the right plan for a customized approach to self-care. While some people might currently be dealing with mental health wellness and fitness, some others can succumb to unhealthy patterns of coping mechanisms and behaviour patterns. This requires professional healthcare aids and regular monitoring. So, on the occasion of this auspicious self-care day, it is important to note that we have to take good care of ourselves and our loved ones efficiently, so as to bring about a happier, healthier, and fulfilled society and lifestyle.
In connection to this, communities around the globe observe ‘Talk to Us Day’ today, a day dedicated to fostering open communication, encouraging dialogue, and promoting mental health awareness. This day serves as a reminder of the importance of reaching out, listening, and offering support to those who may be struggling silently with emotional or mental health challenges. It is very well known that many people do not look for help and go vocal about their problems. This disruptive pattern has to be antagonized by stemming out the stigmatic ideology and false promotion of strength with just not seeking for help. This is inclusive of both physical and mental health issues for which assistance is required, so as to come out with beautiful colours. Let us commemorate this on this precious day of ‘International Self-care day’.
