We were delighted to welcome Olga Chernyavska to run a 1 hour online Self Care workshop for Carers.
Olga encouraged carers to look at their own health care and make sure they were prioritising their own needs to prevent burnout. She posed a series of questions:
At the end of the session Olga asked everyone to go through a self care checklist and we are pleased Olga has given permission for it to be shared here.
Self Care Checklist
On a scale of 1 to 10 where one is 1 don’t do this and 10 is I always do this, score yourself on the following questions:
- Are you eating regularly (once, twice and/or three times per day, depending on what is normally regular for you. More here)?
- Are you eating healthily most of the time? (More here)
- Are you prioritising time to buy the necessary ingredients and cook/prepare them? (More on time management here)
- Are you taking vitamin D in winter? (More on vitamins here)
- Are you drinking plenty of water daily? (The NHS recommends drinking 6-8 glasses of fluid a day. More here)
- Are you exercising regularly? (Walking is an excellent form of exercise and has many health benefits especially if done outside. It is good for your cardiovascular system, it strengthens bones and muscles and helps to manage stress. More here)
- Are you attending all your medical appointments/checkups?
- Are you taking your medication as prescribed?
- Are you receiving massage? (More here)
- Are you getting adequate sleep? (It is suggested adults need between 7-9 hours per night. While we can get by with less sleep for a short while, if this goes on for too long it starts to cause health implications for brain and body. More here)
- Are you taking breaks from TV, social media, telephone? (More from the USA here)
- Do you take time each day to stop and pay attention to the sensations in your body and notice how you are feeling? (By doing this regularly you can start to notice when you are becoming stressed and can look to take action to reduce it. More here)
[Please note: the links above are for information, they were not part of the session.]
It may be worth scanning through the above checklist regularly to ensure you are scoring highly and if you are not, considering what you can do to change things (A pdf version of the checklist is here).
Caring for someone with dementia can take it’s toll on carers. Self care is important and vital not a luxury, as it will enable you to continue to keep caring without detriment to your own health.
Olga is a Mind-Body therapist, interested in the interconnection of the mind and body, preventing ill health and improving wellbeing. For more information about Olga and the online services she provides, please visit her website: http://www.occounsellingandpsychotherapy.org
We shall be asking members for their feedback on the session and if they would be interested in a follow-up session.
Reflections 