Notes
By Marilin Antoncouri
Self-care Internships can provide much insight into the work field one will eventually enter. It is an opportunity to gain skills and network with other professionals. Most importantly, internships provide us with the invaluable opportunity to work and engage with clients. There are crucial days to feel the mounting pressure of all my responsibilities. I cannot always find myself in a space where I can take a few minutes to ground myself with something as complex as yoga or exercising, which is why aromatherapy has caught my attention as it is something I can do right from where I am sitting at the office without ultimately having to change my environment. Aromatherapy involves using essential oils that are taken out of various plants.
The use of essential oils has been made to be used in conjunction with many products we use. I use lavender and citrus essential oil to put a few drops into a small unscented lotion bottle that I carry with me. The days filled with seemingly endless work to be completed when I start to feel aches on my shoulders or stiff hands from typing too long, I head to the bathroom to wash my hands. I come back to my seat, take some of my lotions, and rub them on my shoulders. Then I sit at my desk with my eyes closed rub lotion on my hands. I am constantly rubbing and massaging my shoulders and hands. Personally, lavender mixed in with citrus-like smell essential oil and a lotion helps ground me and eases my anxiety. I breathe in and take in the smell while clearing my mind. The link I am providing helps understand what aromatherapy is and how people use it for remedies. There are different kinds of essential oils, and each has properties that help specific troubles in our lives, whether physically or mentally.
Learn more about aromatherapy at the WebMd.com website:
https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/aromatherapy-overview#1
Gabriela Arteaga
Self-Care: One of the things I find very helpful for me when I feel stressed and helps me relax and calm down is doing puzzles and word puzzles. Here is a website with free word puzzles; you can also create your word puzzle and share it with friends. Online Puzzle: App to download on your phone:
Retrieve from: https://thewordsearch.com
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Milana Davydova
I chose this word search puzzle as a self-care piece because I enjoy doing it when I am stressed and overwhelmed. It helps me feel relaxed and calm when I work on various word search puzzles. This word search puzzle and many other word search puzzles are genuinely beneficial. It is an effective way to manage and reduce the stress I am experiencing more effectively. Doing word search puzzles also makes me feel more relieved, making me feel much happier. Overall, it helps to enhance my emotional well-being as a person.
Link to Word Search Puzzle: https://thewordsearch.com/
Vivian Breland-DeShields
Self-care is integral to the effectiveness of social work students and professionals as oxygen is necessary to sustain life. As helping professionals, we commit to promote the well-being of clients. In doing so, we take on the responsibility of easing clients’ stress and suffering, leading to emotional and physical exhaustion. Self-care is needed to maintain a balance between your personal and professional obligations. In addition, it is essential to preserve the longevity of your professional career.
Growing up, my mother would often say, “You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip.” Of course, as a child, I had no clue what she meant. However, after experiencing life, I understand that my mother said you could not give what you do not have. As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, student, employee, and the list go on, each role comes with its own set of needs and requirements to protect, conserve, and foster growth and/or productivity. These roles are of extreme importance and require giving some part of myself. Giving of one’s self without replenishing oneself self is counterproductive. For efficacy, there must be a commitment to self-care. Self-care is key to maintaining a quality relationship with oneself self and others.
Words are so powerful. As social workers, we constantly use words to inspire, encourage, empower, and cultivate a positive mindset. To reduce stress, replenish energy, and strengthen my mental health, I practice self-care through reading inspirational quotes, poems and looking at inspirational imagery. This daily practice provides emotional, spiritual, and intellectual nourishment. It is essential and beneficial to my durability in all the many roles I serve.
INSPIRATIONAL IMAGERY: are visual images that can transcend our usual ways of thinking about and experiencing the world. They can capture moments of beauty and meaning.
The picture and the link are from the University of Buffalo School of Social Work’s website
Linda Dupuis
I have several things I do for self-care or escape from the day’s stressful events or triggers. My self-care choice depends on where I am or what I’m trying to separate from. When I feel overwhelmed and emotional about an event or situation, I walk. I find that walking allows me to clear my mind and release whatever has affected me. I put on earphones to talk to myself without looking crazy. I need to hear myself; it’s part of “putting it out there.” I talk through what I’ve done and what needs to be done. When I’m sad or upset, I walk vigorously and cry; it’s a form of release for the body. But most importantly, I breathe long and deep breaths and remove the negatives and take in evident positivity.
To self-care when I’m home and need to separate, I cook. It allows me to focus, be creative, and then feel happy that I have made something that I can share with those I love. If by myself, I get to enjoy the peace and quiet and the results of my labor. In addition, I clean and make lists to self-care when I’m feeling a loss of control, unproductive, or stagnate. We contribute to our stress, and by cleaning, organizing, and decluttering, we take back some control and free the mind. I organize myself with a list of the things to be done. I feel a sense of calm once I’ve accomplished an item to cross the list. There is a great feeling when your private space looks great. It’s like getting your hair done; if you look good, you feel good. If your personal space is whole, you can then take on the rest of the world.
Solange Medina
I chose self-care activities that could be quickly done even if you are confined to a workspace. No special machines or equipment are needed, just utilizing things around you. Below are a few links to web pages with good self-care resources.
https://www.health.com/mind-body/self-care-ideas-at-work
https://www.lovethispic.com/image/231329/positivity-pledge
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/387942955393605540/
GET UP, STRETCH, AND MOVE:
Stretch your arms and legs at your desk, do laps around the office, walk up and down the stairs, or take on some other activity that allows you to move your body. “When we start to feel our body signaling that we need a break, stepping out of your workspace for 5 to 10 minutes can help shift perspective and gain mental clarity. Running quick errands, going to make coffee or tea, or visiting with a co-worker is very helpful for rejuvenation.”
If you can get outside at some point during your workday, go for it: A 2017 study echoed previous research, finding that exposure to sounds found in nature has a soothing effect on the heart and brain.
REPEAT AN INSPIRING MANTRA:
The way we talk to ourselves shapes our performance and attitude. It’s a good reason to come up with a go-to saying or a list of affirmations to recite out loud (or quietly to yourself) when you’re feeling doubtful or need a confidence boost. For example, I will succeed on this project with ease.
HAVE A DAILY RITUAL YOU LOOK FORWARD TO:
Whether it’s making a cup of coffee or a quick chat with a co-worker, start your workday by getting excited about something. It doesn’t need to be distracting from your work, but do something that lights you up. Think about something you can look forward to each day and do that thing, again and again.
By Seedika Meighoo
Self-care is a way for social work professionals to balance activities and preserve happiness in their relationships and careers. Maintaining a healthy relationship with you produces positive feelings and boosts your confidence and self-esteem. Also, self-care is necessary to remind yourself and others that you and your needs are essential. It ensures that you stay sharp, motivated, and healthy since many professionals forget about themselves and cause burnout. Yoga can help social workers relax, making it easier to work with clients and avoid burnout. I recommend taking time out of your hectic schedule to do some yoga at least 3 times a week. Below are some steps and the link so that you can begin.
Step 1: Find a quiet space
Step 2: Light some candles or oils
Step 3: Spread your yoga mat on the floor
Step 4: Turn on the video and enjoy!
Below is a link I use for free yoga classes (yogawithadrienne.com), which many find enjoyable.
https://yogawithadriene.com/yoga-for-social-anxiety/
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Luis Quinones
I once recall reading a story about the famous actor Will Smith and a conversation he had with his son, Jayden Smith, over the subject of self-care. Will Smith asked his son if on an airplane and something were to go wrong, enough, so the oxygen mask was to deploy, “whose mask am I to put on first?” The elder Smith asked his son. “Mine!” His son responded confidently. “Wrong!” “I must put my mask on first because if I pass out, who is left to take care of you?” Smith responded.
Self-care can be so diverse due to general reasons; common amongst them are we are all individuals, and what one person finds relaxing may result in causing anxiety in another. My approach to self-care is called Biblical Mediation. This is the process of reading the Bible and meditating upon a passage (Morgan, 2017) or story. One author expressed at length:
“Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God” (Packer, 1973).
Unlike what has become standard views (and solely one perspective) of meditation, biblical mediation comes from an entirely different model; it is not the emptying of the mind by filling the mind with the biblical truths found in the Bible. One 16th Century writer stated: “Meditation is the serious exercise of the understanding, whereby our thoughts are fixed on the observation of spiritual things in order to practice” (Saxton, 2015).
I chose the following due to the positive results in my life, in the past, but more importantly, presently in the midst of the current unforeseen pandemic. I want to inform the reader that the following form of meditation does not miraculously erase the situation or trial someone may be experiencing. However, it offers a clearer perspective whereby one can step out of a situation and see things with a different intent.
References
Brocas, I., Tarraso, J., & Carrillo, J. D. (2018). Self-Awareness of Biases in Time Perception. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 1-19.Morgan, R. J. (2017). Reclaiming the Lost Art of Biblical Meditation: Find True Peace In Jesus. Nashville, Tennessee: HarperCollins.Packer, J. (1973). Knowing GOD. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.Saxton, D. W. (2015). GOD’S BATTLE PLAN FOR THE MIND: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books.Whitney, D. S. (1991, 2014). Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life. Colorado Springs, CO: NAVPRESS.
By Felecia Rajendranauth
The Self-care exercise I choose was tense and relaxation techniques for your body. These techniques can be done sitting at a desk. Self-care can benefit many social work students, especially in between clients, to get a little relaxation to keep the stress load off your shoulders. I sometimes experience body pain when I sit for too long. I tend to slouch in my chair, which leads to back pain, so these exercise is something that helps me throughout my day.
The University at Buffalo School of Social Work was the article I found. Below is the link: https://socialwork.buffalo.edu/content/dam/socialwork/home/self-care-kit/exercises/effective-methods-for-relaxation.pdf
Below are some steps to practice:
Step 1: Begin deep breathing.
Step 2: Tense the muscle groups (as described below) and relax them.
The Tense & Relax Exercise:
Preparation
1) Make yourself as comfortable as possible in a seated position
2) Try and sit up straight with good posture with your hands resting in your lap
3) Remove your glasses if you wear them; some people prefer to remove their
Contact lenses
Tensing and Relaxing Specific Muscle Groups
1. Relaxation of the feet and calves:
- Flex your feet (pull toes toward the knees)
- Contract calf muscles and muscles of the lower leg
- Feel the tension build and hold the tension
- Take a deep breath
As you exhale, say the word “RELAX” and let the tension go
2. Relaxation of the knees and upper thighs:
- Straighten your knees and squeeze your legs together
- Contract your thigh muscles and all the muscles of your legs
- Feel the tension build and hold the tension
- Take a deep breath
As you exhale, say the word “RELAX” and let the tension go
3. Relaxation of the hips and buttocks:
- Tense the buttock muscles by squeezing them inward and upward
- Feel the tension build and hold the tension
- Take a deep breath
As you exhale, say the word “RELAX” and let the tension go
4. Relaxation of the abdomen:
- Observe your abdomen rising and falling with each breath
- Inhale and press your navel toward the spine, then tense the abdomen
- Feel the tension build and hold the tension
- Take a deep breath
As you exhale, say the word “RELAX” and let the tension go
5. Relaxation of the upper back:
- Draw the shoulder blades together to the midline of the body
- Contract the muscles across the upper back
- Feel the tension build and hold the tension
- Take a deep breath
As you exhale, say the word “RELAX” and let the
Tension go
6. Relaxation of the Arms and Palms of the Hands:
-Turn palms face down and make a tight fist in each
Hand
-Raise and stretch both arms with fists
-Feel the tension build and hold the tension
- Take a deep breath
As you exhale, say the word “RELAX” and let the tension go
7. Relaxation of the Chin, Neck, and Shoulders:
- Drop your chin to your chest
- Draw your shoulders up toward your ears
- Feel the tension build and hold the tension
- Take a deep breath
- As you exhale, say the word “RELAX” and let the tension go
8. Relaxation of the Jaw and Facial muscles:
- Clench your teeth together tense the muscles in the back of your jaw
- Turn the corners of your mouth into a tight smile
- Wrinkle the bridge of your nose and squeeze your eyes shut
- Tense all facial muscles in toward the center of your face
- Feel the tension build and hold the tension
- Take a deep breath
As you exhale, say the word “RELAX” and let the tension go
9. Relaxation of the Forehead:
- Raise eyebrows up and tense the muscles across the forehead and scalp
- Feel the tension build and hold the tension
Take a deep breath
As you exhale, say the word “RELAX” and let the tension go
10. Intensification of Relaxation throughout the Body:
- Focus on relaxation flowing from the crown of your head
- Over your face
- Down the back of your neck and shoulders
- Down your body through your arms and hands
- Over your chest and abdomen
- Flowing through your hips and buttocks
- Into your thighs, your knees, and calves
- And finally into your ankles and feet
- Continue to deep breath for several minutes in silence
11. Finishing the Tense & Relax Exercise:
- Count backward in your head from 3 to 1
a) 3 – become aware of your surroundings (location, people, noises)
b) 2 - Move your feet, legs, hands, and arms, rotate your head
c) 1 – open your eyes, feeling re-energized, refreshed, and relaxed
By Dana Ross
The self-care approach that I’ve selected is meditation. Meditation has many benefits both physically and emotionally. It can help reduce stress, manage anxiety, reducing feelings of depression, lower your heart rate and blood pressure, and slow down your respiratory rate, and other additional benefits. Meditation provides you with the opportunity to clear your mind of all the chaos and refocus on your actual goals and priorities and focus on the things you can change.
There are different types of meditation techniques that you can apply, such as concentration meditation, mindfulness meditation, and other meditation strategies. You can use various meditation designs to accommodate your lifestyle. The social work profession and meditation methods can work hand in hand with each other because of the pressures and demands placed on social workers to meet deadlines or develop treatment plans for clients. Listening to clients’ stories about their hardships can be difficult for them. Applying a meditation action of breathing techniques to help alleviate some of the strain could make a difference and impact the workers’ ability to provide good services for this client.
Meditation skills can be performed at your desk and help you rejuvenate before seeing your next client or when you’re home after you have a long day, and you need to relax and ease your mind of the tasks you have performed. I like meditation because it is versatile and straightforward to incorporate into your daily life, no matter how hectic or structured it may be. The health benefits are rewarding, and you have many options for the types of meditation skills you can use. It is cost-effective, and you can customize your meditation plan, so you don’t become bored with it, and you can adapt the meditation techniques to work within your schedule. The versatility of meditation is what I like most. I will use it regularly while working in the field and throughout my life to have mental clarity about my purpose and intentions.
MEDITATION TECHNIQUES, BENEFITS, AND A BEGINNER’S HOW TO:
Retrieved from: https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/meditation-101-techniques-benefits-and-a-beginner-s-how-to
Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to how fitness is an approach to training the body. But many meditation techniques exist — so how do you learn how to meditate?
Different meditation practices require different mental skills. It’s challenging for a beginner to sit for hours and think of nothing or have an “empty mind.” We have some tools such as a beginner meditation DVD or a brain-sensing headband to help you through this process when you are starting. In general, the easiest way to begin meditating is by focusing on the breath — an example of one of the most common approaches to meditation: concentration.
CONCENTRATION MEDITATION:
Concentration meditation involves focusing on a single point. Meditation could entail following the breath, repeating a single word or mantra, staring at a candle flame, listening to a repetitive gong, or counting beads on a mala. Since focusing the mind is challenging, a beginner might meditate for only a few minutes and then work up to longer durations.
In this form of meditation, you simply refocus your awareness on the chosen object of attention each time you notice your mind wandering. Rather than pursuing random thoughts, you simply let them go. Through this process, your ability to concentrate improves.
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION:
Mindfulness meditation encourages the practitioner to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. The intention is not to get involved with the thoughts or to judge them, but simply to be aware of each mental note as it arises.
You can see how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in particular patterns through mindfulness meditation. Over time, you can become more aware of the human tendency to quickly judge an experience as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. With practice, an inner balance develops.
BENEFITS OF MEDITATION:
Retrieved from: https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/meditation-101-techniques-benefits-and-a-beginner-s-how-to
If relaxation is not the goal of meditation, it is often a result. Studies on the relaxation response have documented the following short-term benefits to the nervous system:
Lower blood pressure
Improved blood circulation
Lower heart rate
Less perspiration
Slower respiratory rate
Less anxiety
Lower blood cortisol levels
More feelings of well-being
Less stress
Deeper relaxation
The purpose of meditation is not to achieve benefits. It’s simply to be present.
HOW TO MEDITATE: SIMPLE MEDITATION FOR BEGINNERS
Retrieved from: https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/meditation-101-techniques-benefits-and-a-beginner-s-how-to
This meditation exercise is an excellent introduction to meditation techniques.
Sit or lie comfortably. You may even want to invest in a meditation chair or cushion.
Close your eyes. We recommend using one of our Cooling Eye Masks or Restorative Eye Pillows if lying down.
1. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally.
2. Focus your attention on the breath and how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation. Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage, and belly. Simply focus your attention on your breath without controlling its pace or intensity. If your mind wanders, return your focus to your breath.
Maintain this meditation practice for two to three minutes to start, and then try it for more extended periods.