Self-Care During Clinical Practice
Tools for mental, physical, & emotional balance
What is Self-Care?
Self-care encourages you to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself, so that you can transmit the good feelings to others. This is especially important in your relationships with students and colleagues. You cannot give to others what you don't have yourself.
You can view self-care through the following five lenses:
Mental - your frame of mind, equilibrium, sense of wellbeing
Physical - exercise and movement, such as stretching or walking (even a 15-minute walk can make a difference)
Spiritual - as it relates to your personal well-being
Social - connection with others: family, friends, community
Emotional - tame negative thoughts, tap into your values (Emotional Agility by Susan David)
Vibrant has an easy-to-navigate checklist to help you conceptualize specific self-care practices. You can use this checklist to create a Self-Care Action Plan.
How Can You Practice Self-Care?
- Meditation/breathing
- Mindfulness
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a mind and body practice that has a long history of use for increasing calmness and physical relaxation, improving psychological balance, coping with illness, and enhancing overall health and well-being. Mind and body practices focus on the interactions among the brain, mind, body, and behavior. Throughout your school day, find little moments to rejuvenate your mind-body connection with breathing and visualization exercises.
Here are two suggested resources to help you start practicing meditation:
10-Minute Mindfulness Meditation Video: A guided meditation
Headspace app: Free guided meditation
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress. As with meditation, find little moments throughout your day to stop and breath or tap into what you are feeling.
In the video, What is Mindfulness?, the Founder of the Mindfulness Stress Reduction Program discusses what it is and why it is important.
Additional Resources
Self-Care:
Emotional Agility by Susan David, PhD: “Emotional agility is a revolutionary, science-based approach that allows us to navigate life's twists and turns with self-acceptance, clear-sightedness, and an open mind.”
Meditation/Breathing:
Meditation Music: YouTube video with meditation music and nature sounds
10-Minute Meditation for Anxiety: Guided meditation video
Brief Mindful Breathing for Anxiety: Video introduction to mindful breathing with a short guided breathing exercise
Mindfulness:
Mindfulness Exercises - One Simple Mindfulness Exercise: Short video to begin practicing mindfulness
8 Mindfulness Habits You Can Practice Everyday: Blog post providing actionable steps one can take to practice mindfulness
22 Mindfulness Exercises, Techniques, & Activities for Adults: Comprehensive online article with suggestions and additional resources linked
Mindfulness Exercises: Free online worksheets to guide you through mindful practices
Physical Activity:
- The Mental Health Benefits of Exercise: Online article showing the connection between physical activity and mental health
