It may be surprising that those who care for others often tend to neglect their own care. But in order to provide the level of attention your work requires, you’ll be shortchanging yourself if you don’t take the time to prioritize your own needs.
Focusing on the seven dimensions of well-being can be a great place to ensure you benefit from a balanced and enriched life.
Consider these 7 areas of caregiver wellness
To achieve optimum health, integrating these seven dimensions into your life can support you in fulfilling your potential and taking advantage of all of life’s possibilities:
- Physical wellness
Practice healthy daily habits. Creating and maintaining a regular exercise routine, learning about nutrition and how to properly fuel your body is key. Take steps to strengthen muscles and flexibility to help build endurance and protect against injury.
Suggestions to focus on your physical wellness:
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a well-balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight
- Get the amount of sleep your body and mind needs
- Recognize signs of illness and take proactive steps to care for yourself
- Learn ways to prevent diseases and adopt healthy habits
- Emotional wellness
Your emotions impact how you view the world. Caring for your mental health is as important as your physical well-being. Strive to achieve optimism and build your self-esteem and self-acceptance. Be realistic in expectations and work on your ability to cope with stress.
Suggestions to focus on your emotional wellness:
- Be in touch and express your feelings and thoughts
- Work to create an optimistic attitude
- Provide support to others and ask for it when needed
- Practice stress management techniques
- Recognize anxiety and how you can address it
- Spiritual wellness
Search for purpose and meaning in your life and the world around you. Take steps to define your core beliefs and values and how they will influence your life. Strive to develop faith and a commitment in your own beliefs and respect those of others.
Suggestions to focus on your spiritual wellness:
- Spend time alone; consider practicing meditation or mindful breathing
- Be present in all situations
- Define and clarify your principles
- Create a life that supports your beliefs
- Look for opportunities for growth and seize them
- Social wellness
Strong social connections play a large role in maintaining your optimal health and in avoiding isolation, which can be detrimental. Remember that friendships strongly influence your health – either by helping you give up negative behaviors or adopting healthy habits.
Suggestions to focus on your social wellness:
- Meet new people and make friends
- Nurture and strengthen your existing friendships
- Expand your social network to reach your community
- Share your talents and volunteer
- Offer your friendship to those who may need it most
- Vocational wellness
We all have talents and skills but realizing satisfaction from the work you do can greatly enhance your overall wellness. Those whose work directly impacts the lives of others will often realize feelings of self-esteem and accomplishment – as well as having a purpose.
Suggestions to focus on your vocational wellness:
- Find the type of work that suits your goals
- Find an employer who supports your professional growth
- Be open to change and learning new skills
- Ask your supervisor how you can grow your career and/or cross-train into other departments
- Look for opportunities to learn from others
- Don’t self-limit what you believe you can do
- Look for options that will provide opportunities for growth
- Intellectual wellness
This dimension focuses on ways to improve your intellectual abilities and to share your knowledge with others. Engaging in activities that stimulate your brain helps it stay strong and boosts your critical thinking skills, including problem solving and being able to adapt to change.
Suggestions to focus on your intellectual wellness:
- Never stop learning; continue to take classes or develop new skills
- Learn a new language
- Read, read and read
- Learn to play a musical instrument
- Spend time with those who challenge you intellectually
- Environmental wellness
This area reminds you to take responsibility for the planet and its resources – not only for your use but to benefit those in the future. Understanding the role you play and the impact you make on the earth can help you better learn ways to protect our finite resources.
Suggestions to focus on your environmental wellness:
- Conserve water and other resources
- Learn more about the earth’s resources and your impact
- Commit to recycling and reusing
- Be intentional and try to reduce your impact whenever possible
- Set a good example for others to follow
Joining the team at Sinceri Senior Living
Sinceri Senior Living specializes in independent living, assisted living and memory care, fostering deep bonds between those who live and work in our communities – just like families.
We extend our commitment in creating this welcoming environment to our employees who form strong relationships with the residents and their coworkers. In fact, many of our team members think of the community they work in as their second home because of such strong connections.
The caregiver’s role is to first make our residents feel safe and secure. We strive to ensure everyone we hire is generous, compassionate and as committed as we are to provide excellent service at every opportunity.
We understand the stress that caregivers can experience and the challenge in trying to stay one step ahead of what a resident or family member might need or desire. We fully support their efforts as it truly takes a team to provide quality senior care.
If you’re interested in becoming a care partner with Sinceri Senior Living as we strive together to exceed expectations, we hope you’ll be in touch.
We also invite you to download our complimentary guide, Simple Self-Care for Caregivers and CNAs: 6 Ways to Take Care of Yourself so You can Care for Others, which includes helpful tips and steps you might try.
