What is self-care?

Self-care can improve our mental and physical health, helping us to feel better in our mind and our body. While self-care is different for everyone, it all comes down to one practise: looking after and taking care of our own health.

Here to provide an expert insight into self-care is Dr Alka Patel, leading lifestyle medicine physician, longevity coach and general practitioner. She explains what self-care involves in practice, why it can seem challenging and how can a specialist help, among other important points.

What do you mean by self-care?

Let me start by telling you what the problem with self-care is. The problem is that self-care has become synonymous with bubble baths and massages. It is seen as a self-indulgent luxury, which is why self-care needs to be strategic.

Strategic self-care means caring about yourself using a strategy that involves a no guesswork approach to your health. This requires taking a pulse check on your own trajectory, to steer your life and your lifestyle exactly in the direction that you decide.

When I talk about self-care, I mean strategic self-care that is precise, personalised, and predictive.

Why is it so important? Can self-care really benefit our health?

Around 80 per cent of medical illness are preventable, reduceable and reversible. You may wonder how can these illnesses can be avoided and managed? I will tell you how: by zoning in on the root of health which is your lifestyle.

To prevent, reduce or reverse heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout, you have to place a macroscope and a microscope on how you style your life, how you self-care. Self-care has been shown to impact many different ailments, including migraine, irritable bowel, joint pains, and thyroid problems.

However, self-care exists not only to prevent illness - I do not want you to live in fear of illness. Instead, I want you to live with the freedom of health, so that you can optimise your health, increasing mental clarity, increasing energy, enhancing focus, and reversing ageing. As you can see, the benefits of self-care are wide and deep.

Why do some people find self-care challenging?

The amount of health and wellness information has risen exponentially, with six out of 10 people saying that the sheer volume of health-related content available on the Internet is overwhelming.

The problem is that with access to so much uncensored health information, health-related decision-making becomes incredibly difficult. What is better? Do I run or do yoga? Do I eat brown bread or no bread? Do I meditate or make affirmations?

The result of information overload is that you end up doing what most people do. You end up making decisions that follow the latest fads and trends on Instagram, meaning that you end up with off-the-shelf care instead of strategic self-care. It can feel so overwhelming that you either feel more pressured by self-care as another thing to add to an already overflowing to-do list, or you end up doing nothing because there is too much to do.

How can people improve their wellbeing through self-care?

Self-care involves a 360-degree approach to your lifestyle that puts your lifestyle first. I have made this easy by identifying the 10 key elements of your lifestyle that contribute to your health, and as luck would have it, they spell out the word ‘Lifestyle First’. These are: life's purpose, identity, food, exercise, sleep, time out, your connections, learning habits, and emotions. Above all, however, are motivation and mindset.

These are some of my tips for living longer and healthier lives:

• Wake with a purpose each morning
• Make a daily declaration that connects to your identity
• Eat within the 8AM to 10AM hour window
• Keep moving and stand more than you sit
• Do not sacrifice sleep to get more things done - seize the day, not snooze the day
• Take time out for regular resets - annually, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, or on the hour
• Slow down your breathing to switch of your stress nervous system
• Create meaningful relationships
• Automate habits
• Allow yourself to experience all emotions
• Have a growth mindset steeped in curiosity

The LQ (lifestyle quotient) test on my website (dralkapatel.com) can also help you figure out where to start on your wellbeing journey. Just like with your IQ and your EQ, your LQ tells you how smart you are about your lifestyle and what areas are calling out for your attention.

How can a specialist help?

A specialist is valuable for many reasons, including:

1. To minimise the overwhelming emotions
2. To provide a clear strategy
3. To provide expertise in data interpretation
4. To ensure accountability to keep you on track
5. To be your cheerleader!

This is exactly what I do, and I look forward to meeting you and guiding you on your onward health optimisation journey.

If you are looking to start self-care practice and wish to receive expert coaching, make sure to visit Dr Patel’s Top Doctors profile today.