Thinking - about self-care - Know yourself - care for yourself

By: Tom Cloyd - 2 min. read (Published: 2024-05-29; reviewed: 2024-06-09:0828 Pacific Time (USA))

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Photo by Jan Canty on Unsplash

Self-care - taking care of YOU - requires awareness of many things.

To do it well you need good knowledge about your physical and emotional needs, your feelings, your social relations, your thoughts about yourself, your place in the world…and quite possibly more.

Psychologist Michael Mahoney has assembled a list of questions to stimulate self-awareness and aspects of parts of your life. Consider giving attention to these questions as you work to improve your self-care.

There’s a lot to consider here, so take it slowly. When you find something that strikes you as important, ask yourself: what do I want and need to do about this? Then ask: do I know how to respond to my concerns - my challenges and what I want to do about them - that I can expect to get good results? Consider getting a little expert consultation, if you are unsure.

This is not a one-day project, so begin, and stay with it, day after day. One that that will almost surely happen if you persist is that you will learn, over time.

There is a saying I have long loved, because I can see myself (and others!) in it: “If only the fool would persist in his foolishness he/she would become wise.” Persist - yes - but also work to elevate your awareness of yourself and of the consequences of what you do.

Some Reflective Questions

  1. How happy are you most of the time?
  2. How do you feel about yourself?
  3. Who and what do you love?
  4. How healthy do you feel right now?
  5. Do you seek and accept help or comfort from others?
  6. How do you feel about your work? :
  7. Is your rest us-reflectionually adequate and satisfying? he
  8. Do you often feel loved and appreciated?
  9. What are your fears?
  10. What gives meaning or purpose to your life? I1. Do you forgive yourself?
  11. What are your hopes?
  12. Do you often feel lonely?
  13. What do you treasure as joys and enjoyments?
  14. What don’t you talk about with anyone?
  15. What do you feel when you look at yourself in a mirror?
  16. What could you do to be more self-caring?
  17. With whom can you talk about your inner life?
  18. Do you laugh and cry?
  19. How honest are you with yourself?
  20. What forms of music and movement do you enjoy?
  21. What are your spiritual needs and comforts?
  22. If you could change three things in your life, what would they be?

from: Mahoney, M. J. (1991). Human change processes: The scientific foundations of psychotherapy. BasicBooks, p. 370.

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