Understanding the 7 Pillars of Self-Care — Mindful Maelstrom (2024)

BY KRISTINA DRAGNEA, Registered Psychotherapist

Self-care is vital and covers all aspects of your health and wellbeing.

Self-care include things like exercise, getting regular check-ups, eating healthy, mindfulness, talking with a friend and even a relaxing bubble bath. But, to fully understand the scope of self-care, and how you can incorporate it into your life in a meaningful way, theInternational Self-Care Foundation (ISF)has developed a framework for self-care around seven ‘pillars’.

Pillar 1: Knowledge and health literacy

Knowledge,as the saying goes, is power – so understanding your body, how it works, and how it’s affected by any health conditions you may have – gives you the ability to make informed decisions and play an active role in the maintenance of your healthcare. Whereas, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, health literacy is “the ability to access, comprehend, evaluate and communicate information as a way to promote, maintain and improve health in a variety of settings across the life-course.”

Together, health literacy and knowledge give us the tools we need to be empowered when it comes to our healthcare. By understanding our body and our health, we can discuss our options with our health professionals, we cancritically evaluate informationfrom a range of sources, make adjustments to our lifestyle and behaviours, understand risk factors and the appropriate use of treatments and tests.

In fact, research shows that people who have high levels of knowledge and health literacy have much better health outcomes. What is worrying is that 47% of Ontarians have low health literacy. People with low health literacy are less likely to be able to identify their own medications, understand how to take them and potential side effects, and are more likely to misinterpret warning labels.

Pillar 2: Mental wellbeing, self-awareness and agency

Incorporating things you enjoy and that make you feel good into your daily/weekly routine – such asmindfulness,exercise, alone time,relaxation,massage, and staying connected with family and friends – is a simple thing you can do to look after yourmental wellbeingand increase your resilience.

Self-awarenessinvolves taking the knowledge you have about your condition and health in general, and applying it to your specific circ*mstances. For example, if you’re havingproblems sleeping, and you knowexercisecan help with that, ensure you’re getting enough exercise each day. Or if you’re carryingmore weightthan you’d like, and this is causing increased knee pain, as well as issues with your self-esteem, talk with your doctor about safe ways you can lose weight. Or if you haverheumatoid arthritisand a family history ofosteoporosis, talk with your doctor about how you can look after your bone health.

Agencyis the ability and intention to act on your knowledge and self-awareness.

Pillar 3: Physical activity

This is fairly self-explanatory since we talk about the importance of exercise and being physically active all the time. Regular exercise helps us manage our pain, sleep, mood, weight, bone health – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It keeps us moving, improves our posture and balance, helps us stay connected and helps prevent (or manage) other health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Pillar 4: Healthy eating

This one’s also easy to understand, as along with exercise,healthy eatingplays a vital role in our overall health and wellbeing.

Being overweight or obese increases the load on joints, causing increased pain and joint damage, especially on weight-bearing joints like hips, knees, ankles and feet. The amount of overall fat you carry can contribute to low but persistent levels of inflammation across your entire body, including your joints. Being overweight or obese can also increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes, some forms of cancer, poor sleep and depression.

Being underweight also causes health issues. It can affect your immune system (meaning you’re more at risk of getting sick or an infection) and you may feel more tired than usual. Feeling tired and run down will affect your ability to be active, and do the things you want to do.

Pillar 5: Risk avoidance or mitigation

Taking responsibility for our actions and doing all we can to reduce or avoid actions and behaviours that increase our risk of injury or death, is good for our health.

This includes things such as driving carefully and wearing a seatbelt, drinking alcohol in moderation, wearing a helmet when riding a bike, getting your vaccinations,protecting yourself from the sun,quitting smokingand practicing safe sex.

It also includes seeing your doctor and healthcare team regularly.

Pillar 6: Good hygiene

Many people living with physical or mental health condition/s are more susceptible to bugs, germs and other environmental factors than other people. Their immune system is weakened due to their health condition and/or the medications they’re required to take.Practicing good hygieneis a simple thing you can do to reduce the risk of getting sick or developing infections.

Good hygiene includes things such as regular and thorough hand washing, coughing/sneezing into your elbow, appropriate and safe preparation and storage of food, cleaning your teeth regularly, staying home when sick, and having a clean home/work environment. They all help us maintain good health and avoid spreading disease.

Pillar 7: Rational and responsible use of products, services, diagnostics and medicines

Self-care products and services are the ‘tools’ of self‐care, as they support health awareness and healthy practices. These tools can include medications (both prescription and over-the-counter), complementary therapies, monitoring equipment (e.g. blood pressure and blood glucose machines), aids and equipment (e.g. heat or cold pack, walking stick), wellness services (e.g. exercise classes, weight loss groups), and health services (e.g. smoking cessation programs, physiotherapy, and massage therapy). However, it is important to note that these tools should be ‘rational and responsible’, meaning only using products and services proven to be safe and effective.

REFERENCES / RESOURCES
Public Health Ontario Health Literacy
International Self-Care Foundation The Seven Pillars of Self-Care