Introduction
Self-care is the actions individuals take to improve their physical, mental, and emotional health. It is important for students to practice self-care in order for them to maintain healthy relationships with themselves and those around them. Therefore, by teaching students about self-care, educators will give students the tools they need to manage stress, boost their confidence, and more.
Resources
There are many resources available online for teaching students about self-care. Self-care is important in everyday life, but during times of immense stress and uncertainty, practicing self-care is even more necessary. Utilizing the resources below will help you to teach students all they need to know about self-care!
Lesson Plans
- Self-Care 101: This lesson plan from gsafe includes a few different tips for taking care of yourself, such as nurturing your social support system, honoring your emotional needs, managing stress, loving yourself, coming up with a self-care plan, or getting counseling. In addition, a worksheet is attached which will provide students with a place to build the mind, body, and spirit aspects of their own self-care plans. Students will even be able to list the important people in their lives and what they wish to accomplish in the near future.
- How to Practice Self-Care: 10+ Worksheets and 12 Ideas: Positive Psychology provides this post that explores the importance of self-care, emphasizing that it involves both physical and mental well-being through personalized practices. It provides practical tools such as worksheets and exercises designed to help individuals and professionals assess and improve their self-care strategies, recognizing that what works for one person may not work for another. The article also highlights the role of self-compassion and emotional intelligence in building a sustainable approach to self-care.
Articles
- How to Make ‘Self-Care’ Actually Feel Like Self-Care: The New York Times has published an article on how to make “self-care” actually feel like self-care. In this piece, Tim Herrera explains the brief history behind the term “self-care” and breaks down self-care into four different categories: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. Self-care is a lifestyle choice. Building habits is no easy feat, but if you are able to incorporate self-care into your normal daily routine, practicing it will become second nature. Sharing this article with your students is the first step to teaching them about how to make their physical and mental health a first priority.
- Practicing Self-Care Is Important – 10 Easy Habits To Get You Started: Forbes provides ten habits to help students practice self-care. Most individuals don’t put much thought into self-care, but it is very important to our physical, emotional, and mental well-beings. The author of this piece recommends that people should not dismiss self-care because it helps them to know their self worth, create a healthy work-life balance, manage stress, start living and stop existing, and maintain a better physical health. This article will give both students and educators various ideas on how to take their self-care practices to the next level.
- Get Serious About Self-Care – 8 Questions You Must Ask Yourself!: This article from the Huffington Post offers readers eight questions related to self-care that they should ask themselves. Students who struggle with self-care will be asked what negative thoughts about themselves they are holding onto, who taught them their needs weren’t important, what they are so afraid of, what positive thoughts about themself that they can focus on, etc. Some students may be surprised by what their answers to these questions reveal, and most importantly, they will be made aware of the areas of self-care which they should focus on.
Informational Sites
- 11 Self-Care Tips for Teens and Young Adults: Psychology Today offers eleven self-care tips for teens to help them cope with the ever-changing world we live in. These tools for self-care include carving out time daily for self-care, practicing mindful meditation, participating in yoga, exercising, getting some sleep, choosing a creative outlet, playing with a pet, meeting with friends, appreciating nature, turning off cell phones, and doing something for someone else.
- Self-Care Is Important – Why Is It So Hard to Practice?: This article from Psychology Today explains why self-care is so important and why it is so hard to practice. Oftentimes, self-care is difficult to practice due to the issue of time, but many other factors are involved. F. Diane Barth explains that self-compassion comes in various forms and is a key part of self-care because in order for students to improve their own health, they need to learn how to be kind to themselves. Educators may also be interested in the advice that this article has to offer!
Conclusion
Teaching students about self-care is not an easy task, especially because it is hard for people of all ages to practice self-care. However, it is so important for students to practice self-care, and the resources above will help you to teach them how important self-care is.
Additional Resources
- TED – The Importance of Self-Care: TED offers a playlist of videos related to self-care. Students will watch videos on the power of vulnerability, why we all need to practice emotional first aid, how to make stress your friend, and more. “These talks offer simple ways to stay healthy — both emotionally and physically.”
- Do You Think You’re Practicing Good Self-Care?: loveisrespect.org provides students with a self-care quiz which will answer the question of whether they are practicing good self-care. After taking the twenty-question quiz, students will find out where they stand on the self-care scale and learn how they can improve their self-care habits if needed.
- 4 Self-Care Strategies to Support Students: Harvard Business Publishing Education has published a brief article for educators on four self-care strategies to support students. These strategies include making yourself available to students, pausing class for mental breaks, allowing moments for self-reflection, and equalizing class participation.