Are You Truly Practicing Self-care? Tips on How Preventive Care Helps You Be Your Best Self
7 Minutes
Team Curative
Jul 9, 2024
Self-care is often portrayed as indulgent pampering, luxury spa days, or extravagant "me-time." In reality, it encompasses everything from daily habits like proper sleep and nutrition to setting boundaries and practicing mindfulness, ultimately empowering you to improve your physical and mental health. You can feel better and feel better about yourself by enacting a few simple self-care habits.
Practical, achievable steps toward self-care combined with effective preventive care can lower stress levels and improve your quality of life. When you take good care of yourself and enlist medical professionals to aid you throughout your self-care journey, you get the support you need to make significant and minor changes. Read on to discover practical tips that can get you closer to your self-care goals.
What is self-care?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, self-care means “taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical and mental health. This can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy. Even small acts of self-care in your daily life can have a big impact.”
On a deeper level, practicing self-care is a way of advocating for and enacting your own long-term health goals. When you make intentional choices to pursue self-care, you participate in your own health journey. Self-care is a form of preventive care in which you are the primary participant. The principles of self-care include:
Making healthy lifestyle choices
Avoiding unhealthy lifestyle habits
Making responsible use of prescription and non-prescription medicines
Self-recognition of symptoms
Self-monitoring
Self-management
Self-recognition of symptoms includes assessing and addressing signs of ill health, both in terms of your physical and mental well-being; self-monitoring means checking for signs of deterioration or improvement. When you have an illness or health challenge, self-management is managing disease symptoms, either alone, in partnership with healthcare professionals, or alongside others with the same health condition.
When you are engaged in a self-care program, you become more aware of changes in your physical and mental health. By empowering yourself to engage more deeply with your health status, you can perceive health problems quickly and enlist the medical assistance you may need.
Steps toward self-care
Any steps you take toward self-care can improve mental and physical health outcomes. Your specific steps depend on your location, lifestyle, and preferences. You should adopt the self-care practices that work best for you. Here are some ideas:
Exercise regularly. Just 30 minutes of walking can boost your mood and improve your health.
Eat healthy, have regular meals, and drink plenty of water. Quality food and good hydration can increase your energy and improve your focus. Examine your intake of caffeine and alcohol as well; for some, these negatively impact mood and well-being.
Prioritize sleep. Stick to a schedule, avoid screen time before bed, and ensure you’re logging enough hours.
Do things you enjoy. Listening to music, reading, spending time in nature, or engaging in low-stress hobbies restores your energy and aids in relaxation.
Explore relaxation techniques. Many apps and programs offer meditation exercises, breathing techniques, and other mindfulness tools. See what works for you.
Set goals and priorities. Decide what needs to get done now and what can wait. Learn to say “no” if you feel overwhelmed.
Practice gratitude. Remind yourself daily of the things you are grateful for.
Focus on positivity. Identify your negative thoughts and challenge them.
Connect with others. Reach out to friends and family who can provide support and help.
Self-care benefits
Practicing self-care can make you more productive and able to execute your goals at work and in your personal life. It also has concrete health benefits: by caring for yourself in the ways listed here, you may avoid significant consequences, including burnout, depression, anxiety, resentment, and other negative health outcomes.
The benefits of committing to self-care practices include:
Improved physical health and a strengthened immune system
Enhanced mental and emotional well-being
Increased productivity and focus
Better relationships
Improved self-esteem and self-worth
Prevention of burnout
Self-care is preventive care that you perform on your behalf. When you prioritize your well-being, you replenish your energy, gain mental clarity, and see progress toward a healthier you. These developments help you build a positive self-concept and feel empowered in your journey toward health.
Preventive care is self-care
A key element of self-care is being aware of your physical and mental health needs and advocating for yourself. When you are engaged in self-care, you actively participate in your medical healthcare.
Partnering with a primary care provider ensures that you have an ongoing relationship with a medical professional who can monitor and support your wellness journey. In addition to providing medical care when needed, primary care providers offer ongoing support for your that bolsters your mental and physical health efforts. This care includes:
Health screenings
BMI
Cancers
Blood pressure
Diabetes
Osteoporosis
STIs
Vaccines
Health screenings facilitate early disease detection and empower you to partner with your provider to create a treatment plan. Regular health screenings also provide you with critical information about your overall health that you can use to inform your self-care habits.
Your primary care provider can also offer referrals and support when you face a health challenge. You don’t have to seek out this information alone; your provider is an expert partner who can share professional guidance and resources. When you have an ongoing relationship with a healthcare provider, you can quickly receive mental healthcare referrals and referrals to specialists for both emergent and chronic conditions.
Curative: preventive healthcare that supports your self-care routines
Curative is a new kind of health insurance based on affordability, engagement, and simplicity. Curative plans focus on establishing preventive care partnerships between providers and members so that members can achieve their health goals.
Curative is:
Easy to pay for: Curative features $0 in copays and $0 in deductibles.
Easy to access: Curative works with your doctors to assist you with appointments, follow-ups, and more.
Easy to navigate: Members receive guidance about benefits and 24/7 telehealth can help you get the care where and when you need it.
Dedicated to improving your health: Preventive health leads to a healthier and more productive you.
Insurance you actually want to use: Curative health plans have no hidden costs, so you can confidently use your benefits.
Here’s how Curative works:
Get covered by Curative.
Get a Baseline Visit in the first 120 days.
Meet your Care Navigator and learn all about the plan.
Continue with $0 out-of-pocket in-network expenses and be the healthiest version of yourself.
Curative wants people to love using their health benefits. Our health plan delivers better health through affordability, engagement, and simplicity. No copays. No deductibles. No...really. Curative is changing the way we view health insurance. Learn more today about the role Curative preventive care can play in your self-care journey.
References:
Caring For Your Mental Health. (Feb 2024). National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/caring-for-your-mental-health#:~:text=Self%2Dcare%20means%20taking%20the,can%20have%20a%20big%20impact
Glowiak, Matt. (23 Jan 2024). What is Self-Care and Why is it Important For You? Southern New Hampshire University. https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/health/what-is-self-care
What is Self-Care? (2024). Global Self-Care Federation. https://www.selfcarefederation.org/what-is-self-care
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