How Do I Practice Self-Care Between Sessions?

There is a misconception that when one goes to a see a therapist, they will walk out of the room immediately feeling better. Although that does happen as we try to provide our patients with a beneficial coping skill upon leaving, therapy is a healing process.

For our patients who see us 1-2 hours per week, what do we suggest for you to do the other 166 hours per week to help you progress in your treatment goals?

Here is a way to visualize our aim in this blog.

Think of the therapy session as the location you pick up your tools for a work week. You pick up your insights, your communication skills, your relaxation techniques, your home practice, your herbal medicine, and more! Then what is next is to apply these tools in your life to help you practice self-care and reach your pinnacle of health and wellness.

Self-care is a large concept and I like to break it down into the well-known wheel of wellness. Practicing wellness can be done so in terms of financial, emotional, intellectual, social, occupational, spiritual, physical, and environmental. Some of us are working on some of these types of wellness more than others, and what is important is not to judge ourselves, but to observe them throughout the week.

Here are some examples of practicing self-care or wellness in each of the domains:

Financial:

• Check your banking account to be sure you are not over-spending
• Before buying all items in the online shopping cart, wait 24 hours to see if you still need or want those items
• Empower yourself with learning financial literacy on YouTube

Emotional:

• Attend psychotherapy not only when you feel you are in a crisis or emergency, but as preventive and maintenance care
• Journal your thoughts when they feel “all over the place”

Intellectual:

• Practice open-mindedness when learning new information
• Read the book that you have been putting off for months!

Social:

• Find a support group that aligns with your needs (e.g., cancer survivor, military, substance abuse, codependency, mood symptoms, chronic illnesses, trauma recovery, chronic pain, grief)
• Call a friend and ask how they are doing today

Occupational:

• Take that lunch break away from the desk or workplace
• Write down 3 things you are grateful for in your job

Spiritual:

• Attend gatherings if you identify with a spirituality or religious group
• Connect with nature by watching a sunset or sunrise

Environmental:

• Spend time in nature or with wildlife
• Spend time learning how to take care of the planet with little actions (e.g., recycle, use a reusable water bottle)

Physical:

• Exercise 20 minutes daily with a regimen approved by your medical provider
• Eat mindfully by
  • refraining from multitasking (e.g., driving and eating, eating while working)
  • eating food that aligns with your values and your wellness goals

At Hills Neuroscience Integrative Psychology, our aim is to help you improve your wellness in all domains to achieve your treatment goals. We do this by having a team that can help you address all areas of wellness including psychotherapy, peak performance training, massage, acupuncture, and herbal medicine.

To schedule a free phone consultation to see if our services are right for you, call: 1 858 880-4019