Self-care means taking care of yourself, it is a necessity not a luxury. As stated by the National Institute of Mental Health, self-care can play a role in maintaining your mental health.

What is self-care?

The practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, especially during periods of stress; it is planned. It is engaging, and it is different from what you do day to day.

Why is it important?

• Studies show that mental Health deficiencies have a staggering impact on our workforce:

• 12 billion working days are lost every year due to stress (WHO)¹.

• 500,000 people miss work every week due to issues associated with poor mental health (CAMH²).

• Absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover due to mental health costs more than 6 billion dollars in lost productivity (Mental Health Commission 2011³).

Just as we prioritize safety in the workplace, we must prioritize our own safety and well-being.

Individual benefits of self-care

• Helps manage your stress.

• Lowers risk of injury or illness.

• Increases energy levels.

• Helps create healthy boundaries.

The most identified reasons for not partaking in self-care are time and money; when in fact, it takes very little of either to master the art.

As Health care workers, if we aren’t looking after our physical and mental health, how can we provide effective safe care for our patients? Self-care is an important part of maintaining your mental health.

¹ https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work¹¹¹¹¹

² https://www.camh.ca/

³ https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/what-we-do/workplace/#:~:text=The%20total%20cost%20from%20mental,from%20absenteeism%2C%20presenteeism%20and%20turnover.

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