Reflections from Self Care week and what Next?

Reflections on selfcare week

Some really interesting opportunities during selfcare week to learn and share together. One of the things we explored was what actually prevents us from building selfcare into our everyday. These are some of the points made, see if any resonate with you.

  • Time constraints
  • Busy putting others first
  • Feeling guilty about spending time on ourselves
  • Comparison with others (Feel that they are coping better than us)
  • Other people’s perceptions of us
  • Feeling like you need to combine it with helping somebody else.
  • Pressure to be productive or to check things off a to-do list.
  • We think we “should” be doing something different or more productive.

There were also really interesting conversations around what actually do we think selfcare is, what activities do we label as selfcare and how it can look different to each of us and what our mindset is around selfcare and that sadly often we only think about it when we have reached crisis point.

There was a real theme about guilt associated with selfcare and this need for us to be seen to be busy and if we are not all busy 100% of the time somehow others may think badly of us as if we are not trying hard enough and this makes taking time out for ourselves a real challenge.

We explored that there are different types of rest. This is an interesting piece shared by 6sec the Emotional Intelligence Network https://www.6seconds.org/2025/11/07/no-rest-for-the-weary-why-cultivating-rest-is-an-art-and-a-science/  This article explores 7 types of rest it is worth a read to find out more about each of these and how you bring them into your life…

  1. Physical Rest
  2. Emotional Rest
  3. Creative Rest
  4. Sensory Rest
  5. Mental Rest
  6. Social Rest
  7. Spiritual Rest

As part of the workshop for volunteers during selfcare week delivered with Volunteer Glasgow, we offered some points for reflection. The slides from that session can be found here https://www.copescotland.com/resources/volunteers-selfcare-workshop They offer an invitation to reflect on what selfcare is to you and what difference you would like it to make, then to plan how to bring it into your day. We had a similar focus for the workshop we offered in Argyll and Bute during selfcare week as part of weaving networks in MAKI https://www.copescotland.com/weaving-networks-in-maki  and feedback suggested people found that helpful too.

Winter can be a time of reflection and if we are wanting to make some changes this can be a good time to begin to plan to make those changes and be clear on why we want to do it, the resources we need to do it and the difference we hope it will make. There are many more resources on our website which can offer points for reflection and ideas.

The place to start with is ‘Does looking after your own wellbeing matter to you?’ seems like an obvious question but if we are not looking after ourselves maybe taking time to reflect on this would be helpful for us. As ever, this wee piece is for selfcare and not a replacement for professional advice. It was interesting the number of times guilt was mentioned, so I wanted to share this piece on managing guilt https://www.copescotland.com/resources/tips-to-self-manage-feelings-of-guilt again not a replacement for professional advice but may be helpful for reflection.

As I often share at workshops, if we are on a plane and the oxygen masks come down, we put our own on first not because we are selfish, but because if we pass out, we cannot help someone else. Perhaps this is the myth we need to challenge that selfcare means we do not care about others that we are somehow selfish. Not the case. Selfcare is about looking after your own wellbeing which is good for you, those you know and anything else you are involved in. You are not harming anyone by looking after yourself. Selfish on the other hand is not considering the needs of others around us and only focusing on what we want, even if that is at others expense.

Now we may think the needs of others is more important than our own, and not to be giving to others 24/7 365 is selfish so we cannot find it in us to make time for selfcare. But think, selfcare can be as simple as making sure you get a good sleep. This reflective workbook may be of interest https://www.copescotland.com/resources/improving-your-sleep-workbook As we are entitled to sleep, we need to sleep that is a way to give ourselves a chance to rest and recharge. When we are rested and recharged, we are more able to be there for others as well as ourselves.

There are many demands and responsibilities we face, what matters for selfcare is finding the balance between meeting those demands and responsibilities to others as well as our responsibility to look after ourselves too. The following are some of the small changes people shared could be brought into our everyday routines.

  • Upping my protein intake
  • 5 minutes of stretching whenever an opportunity presents itself.
  • Not putting pressure on yourself to achieve your goal every day or right away.
  • Swimming regularly.
  • Consistency.
  • Visualising how you will feel once you have done the things you have set out to do.
  • Consistency = habit
  • Creating a habit in the first place can be challenging but keep at it as it becomes easier.
  • Schedule in self-care the same way you would schedule a work call or GP appointment. Schedule in what matters to you.
  • Reading a page at a time.
  • Reframing self-care.
  • Creating micro moments of self-care

A wee change can make a big difference, thank you for reading. Please look after yourself as you do matter too.

Our winter wellbeing newsletter is coming out next week, if you would like a copy here is the link to register https://www.copescotland.com/#newsletter 

Hilda 🙂

Ps the wee blether next week is around setting Boundaries as that too led to some interesting conversations

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