As a Trainer, Psychologist and Business Owner, this is one of the hardest lessons to get right.
At Promote Mental Health we discuss the importance of self-care in all the training we offer including: Mental Health First Aid, self-care, work-life balance, stress management and resilience. We work with many clients in caring professions such as health professionals, education staff, the prison service and volunteers.
We all need to learn how to look after ourselves so we can thrive in our job roles, personal life and support others. We have to recognise and overcome barriers to practicing self care. If you notice an animal when it is distressed, it will take itself off somewhere quiet and recover, but as humans we are intelligent beings and often override this built in safety mechanism.
But how do I practice what I preach? – It’s a challenge!
As a psychologist I’m in a caring role. As someone running my own business there is a risk of overworking and not looking after myself. In the first 5 years of running my business I've struggled to get this right. Through the pandemic I was homeschooling, running a business and home, and since then have been looking after family members going through serious physical and mental illness. This year I'm making ME a priority.
A university friend of mine suggested a trip away, just the 2 of us, no kids or families, and here we are, 4 days away in Gdansk. It’s been great to catch up on old times, put the world to rights and get some head space from everyday life. I'm going home with a spring in my step and plan to schedule more breaks. I will definitely be booking in that massage and reflexology voucher I got for Christmas before we hit July, which is what happened last year!
For more info on our training at Promote Mental Health contact me info@promotementalhealth.com
- Self-Care
- Mental Health
- Wellbeing
- Work Life Balance