Self-Care Series for Cancer Patients and Caregivers — Part 2 — Categories of Self-Care.
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(read part I of the series here)
The team at The International Prostate Cancer Foundation understands that physiological and psychological changes can occur with both patients and caregivers on the journey of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Both patients and caregivers can experience stress, fear, fatigue, anxiety, loss of appetite, depression and worry just to name a few. And caregivers have an additional risk of developing Caregiver Stress Syndrome. A cancer diagnosis is primarily out of the patients and families control. It’s demanding in that it requires constant and urgent attention, which can create feelings of hopelessness, frustration, anger, etc. Self-care is a way to regain control and get back in the driver’s seat. Through self-care the patient or caregiver can nurture their individual needs, strengthen their energy reserves and build resilience. Self-care is an essential and vital part of happiness and health, even more so for patients and caregivers. Many studies over the last decade have found self-care itself as an important non-pharmacological aspect that can aid in managing many chronic illnesses — including cancer. Some studies show that teaching self-care to both cancer patients and caregivers encourages their sense of self-control and lessens feelings of helplessness that often accompany cancer and it’s treatments.
Self-care is an important tool in the life-skill toolbox, whether or not you are experiencing chronic illness. Making time for things that you find fulfilling not only brings joy and relaxation to your life, but self-care is recognized as a key source in symptom management and in keeping adherence to treatment for the chronic illness. When regularly practiced, the benefits of self-care have been linked to positive health outcomes such as reduced stress, improved immune system, increased productivity, and higher self-esteem. Individual self-care can be done in a variety of ways and the IPCF has broken this topic down into 4 simple categories of practice: Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual. It is important to note that self-care involves each of the below categories, avoid restricting yourself to just one or two. A well-balanced self-care practice/routine includes activities from each of the categories.
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Physical self-care:
Simply put, physical self-care is your solid foundation. Any activities or behaviors that aid your physical body and keep it in good working condition on a more concrete level fall under this category. Avoiding any activities or behaviors that undermine your body’s ability to function at its best is also a aspect of this category. To build and maintain this foundation it is a practice/routine you must direct energy toward everyday to manage your overall health and wellness proactively. Physical self-care is crucial from both a preventative, proactive standpoint and it has shown to help boost our immune system functions, increase productivity, reduce the adverse effects of sleep disturbances, raise self-esteem and reduce stress induced anxiety. Zimmermann et al. (2018) reported that physical self-care methods can effectively control somatic symptoms and pain management, as well as a variety of psychosocial problems experienced by patients with cancer.
There are several pillars of physical self-care. (They are included here, and will be covered in-depth in Part 3.) These include quality sleep and allowing rest periods when needed, good nutrition over highly processed foods, regular physical activity, good hygiene, avoiding drugs and alcohol, staying properly hydrated, and having a preventative health-care routine. These pillars work together to keep your body strong and running smoothly.
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mental self-care:
Mental health is a term used to describe an individual’s overall psychological well-being and involves processing all the information and experiences (e.g., abuse, trauma, joy, fear, etc.) we encounter in life. It can be affected by physical and environmental factors, such as; your family history and generational traumas, what your lifestyle and social environment is like, and biological factors, such as the function of your brain or genes. Mental health determines how you handle decision making, interactions with others, how you cope and process stress, how you focus and maintain concentration and improve how energetic you feel. Basically it’s the culmination of how you understand and process the world around you. What you think about your life challenges and experiences.
The first step in building a practice around mental self-care is objectively taking stock of your mental health. As an observer try to understand and reflect on an overview of your life and circumstances, notice any patterns. Once you have an understanding of your mental health blueprint you can start to develop a plan. Write it down if it helps. The goal in this category is to heal and understand anything in your mental health that may be undermining your life or your body’s ability to heal. There are a variety of things that you can do to build this practice, and once you start – the path will unfold for your particular circumstance and journey. Whether you are a patient, a caregiver or survivor there is much benefit in having a balanced mental self-care practice/routine. Activites such as therapy, journaling, lifestyle changes, joining a support group and meeting with a mental health care professional can get you started on the path to creating a mental self-care practice/routine.
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emotional self-care:
Emotional health is describes as the capacity of an individual to identify, understand, cope with and manage their emotions and feelings. It involves having both an awareness of your emotions and developing the ability to process, feel, regulate and express your emotions in an appropriate manner, while also taking responsibility for them — good or bad. Emotional health can affect your self-worth, outlook on life and relationships with others. Emotional health blends emotional intelligence with emotional regulation. As mental health is what you think about your life challenges and experiences. Emotional health is how you feel about your life challenges and experiences.
The first step in building a practice around emotional self-care is objectively taking stock of your emotional health. Once you have a clear blueprint you can begin to understand where you could use improvement or where there may be holes in your emotional self-care practice/routine. A therapist or support group can also be helpful to better understand what your emotional health needs may be. The pillars of emotional self-care are; be aware of your emotions, accept your feelings, process and regulate your feelings, notice any patterns, be appropriate in your behaviors, responses and reactions, pause and take a deep breath before taking action, express your feelings when needed, and finally take responsibility for your feelings, behaviors and reactions when necessary.
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spiritual self-care:
The word “spirit” is derived from the Latin words “spiritus” (meaning breath, courage, vigor or soul) and “spirare” (meaning to breathe). Simply put, spiritual health is the knowledge and connection to your beliefs, values, principles, morals and purpose in life. Spiritual health is a topic that can have different meanings for different people. It is often influenced by the upbringing and ideologies you are exposed to as you grow and develop your own opinions, thoughts and ideas throughout your life. Spiritual health may or may not include religious and/or cultural traditions as well — this is an individual choice each person makes for themselves. Spiritual health can be characterized to include the following pillars: understanding and acceptance of the connection to your soul and life’s purpose, having an accurate view of your place in the world around you, having the courage to take the necessary action for creating positive growth and forward progress in your life, connecting with God/Source/Nature and others in the community and finally anything that kindles a sense of meaning, even if only felt by you.
A spiritual self-care practice is any practice/routine that connects you to yourself and the raw expression of who you are meant to be and what you are meant to offer to the outside world. This is a personal practice that inspires introspection and offers clarity and comfort. According to numerous studies a healthy spiritual self-care practice/routine leads to improved mental health and is positively related to physical health — for instance, it may help patients experience lesser pain — among other benefits. Leaving the space to begin a spiritual self-care practice/routine helps calm any turbulence within, improves relationship with others, enhances feelings of oneness, diminishes feelings of isolation and loneliness while creating meaning and fulfillment in ones life.
Stay tuned to future posts in this series as we explore each of these categories of self-care. We will dive deep into each category investigating symptoms and signs that will alert you you're in need of self-care. As well as share practical practices and routines to aid you in integrating self-care into your life and building a unique practice individual to your experience. Self-care isn’t selfish and indulgent. It isn’t a luxury; it is an overall healthcare and wellness priority.