Dr Anand Kumar Srivastava
“Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how you use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept.” – Anna Taylor
Self-care means looking after yourself in order to maintain excellent health and a comfortable life. In today’s modern and complicated busy life, it is really vital to have some time for yourself; time for exercise, relaxation, hobbies and other healthy pursuits in life. One needs to be physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually fit and healthy. It is usually seen that most of us are so busy in our daily routine that we hardly get any time for ourselves. Life is a series of unlimited and one after another ambitions and we have no time to stand and stare at the enormous wealth of nature; bright sunshine, starry nights and rains after dry summer.
“If you don’t love yourself, nobody will. Not only that, you won’t be good at loving anyone else. Loving starts with the self.” — Wayne Dyer
First of all, it is really important to have excellent health in order to appreciate other attractions of life. It requires time, planning, and constant effort. Regular exercise, a healthy diet, good habits and regular medical check-ups are vital and necessary actions to be taken on time. Ignorance and negligence are two fatal enemies that attack us all of a sudden and leave us in the lurch. In the event of any trouble, early intervention, the right diagnosis and suitable medical attention and palliative care are essential. Don’t ignore and don’t go into denial mode in order to fight back and restore good health.
Regular physical exercise may include a long walk, yoga, stretching our body many times and other outdoor activities. One needs time and planning to maintain equilibrium between mental and physical health.
Today a large number of people are leading a very stressful life; stress from the office, family worries and social pressures. All these tensions keep increasing and push one in a state of depression and gloominess. One must have plenty of sleep. Enough and proper sleep is a tonic to the brain as it revitalises our brain cells and gives repair time to our body. In other words, our body is in repair mode when we enjoy sound sleep.
It is really important to develop some hobbies according to our inclinations and likings. We have to explore ourselves and find out what are the hobbies that give us mental peace and satisfaction. Right from music to reading there are numerous hobbies that one can choose according to one’s interest. When we pursue a hobby intently, it provides us with enormous pleasure and contentment. It is true for people of all ages, groups and places. Our hobbies boost our mental health by providing quality time for relaxation.
“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” – Jean Shinoda Bolen
Humans are social beings and enjoy the company of family, friends, relatives, neighbours and colleagues. They need to give an outlet to their feelings, emotions, anxieties, worries and other discomforts. Hence, social interaction is a good source of mental satisfaction. Attending social functions, weddings and meetings with colleagues outside office hours provide opportunities to catharsis emotional burdens and enjoy good mental health. Such activities release cortisol, a stress-relieving hormone. All this is significant to reduce or control certain diseases like diabetes and hypertension because we get peace of mind.
Self–care or self-management means keeping away from certain things in life. It is said that “Man is known by the company he keeps.” But it is also true that “Man is also known by the company he keeps away.” Smoking, consumption of alcohol and drugs may be temporary attractions but one should avoid them to keep oneself fit and healthy.
Spiritual health is another important aspect of our personality. Prayers, meditation and introspection are valuable features of our spiritual health. We need time and peace of mind in order to connect ourselves with the Almighty or the Superpower responsible for our existence on this planet. We also need to reassess our ideas, social behaviour and other notions about life.
In conclusion, it can be said that self-care or self-management is very important in our lives to keep us physically, mentally, socially and spiritually healthy. We are the architects of life and destiny. It is our responsibility to care for ourselves and make all efforts to stay healthy.
(Dr AK Srivastava is Principal, DAV Intermediate College, Dehradun)
