Self-care is Important in our Busy Life!!

I think that mental health is important for anyone and it will affect our emotions, actions, thinking, making a choice, and relation to other (NIMH, 2022). Self-care is the best way for me to decrease pressure and relax because we are graduate students and some of us might work and study at the same time. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, if we spent some time in self-care, we can improve our physical and mental health. On the other hand, some self-care methods do not need too much time and also can let people relax and calm down.

I have some experience to decrease pressure based on self-care. When I was 16 years old, I came to the US to study. At that time, my English is very poor, and it is difficult to communicate with someone. I feel stressed and nervous, I always cried at night. Since I came to the US by myself only, no one can help me or support me. Assignments, essays, grammar, and speaking are the worst part of my learning. I tried some types of self-care to help me cross this challenge at that time, for example, physical self-care, recreational self-care, and social self-care (Beard, 2022).

First, physical self-care is a good way to let me decrease my pressure because at that time I went to play rugby at school, and as we know that tackle is the way to defend the competitor. At that time, if I can tackle one competitor really hard, it let me feel more confident, and I know that no matter how hard the assignments or essays are, I also can do it. NIMH (2022) mentions that small amounts of exercise also can let people boost their mood and improve their health.

Second, recreational self-care is the way that I really like because I do not need to do anything and just relax. Watching some TV shows or movies is a way that enjoys our life because when you focus on the movie, you won’t think about anything about stress. Also, I like playing computer games to create my own world and build some houses, and adventure in the game. Next, having a pet also is a way to self-care because research proves that having a pet can “provide a huge boon to lonely individuals, pets can be a serious mood lifter, even if you’re not experiencing feelings of isolation (Drewis, 2017)”.

Third, social self-care is my favorite way to relax because I really missed my friends and parents when I studied in the US. I almost called my parents every day to talk about what I experienced at that time and asked them for some advice about sometimes I feel stressed about and what should I do. On the other hand, I also hung out with my friends whom I met in the US, and we went to eat sushi, and play bowling. keep in touch with parents and friends can provide emotional support and practical help (NIMH, 2022).

Even though this course wants the student can have a better understanding of forensic psychology, however, self-care also can help people who have trauma. Like service dogs for a veteran that has PTSD, or people who have panic disorders, anxiety disorders, major depression, or autism spectrum disorders (DAV, 2022) because service dog can help people to become positive and good for their emotional health (Rousseau, 2022). On the other hand, Yoga also is a good self-care for people who have trauma. Rousseau (2022) and Fenneld (2023) also mention in different resources that yoga can effectively help our brain and muscle relaxation, and can help us to slow down.

Reference Material

Beard, C. (2022). The 7 Pillars of Self-Care and How to Use Them. The Blissful Mind. Retrieved February 20, 2023, from https://theblissfulmind.com/pillars-of-self-care/.
Drewis, D. (2017, October 5). Why having a pet is officially the best ever form of self-care. Collective Hub. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://collectivehub.com/2017/10/why-having-a-pet-is-officially-the-best-ever-form-of-self-care/
DAV. (2022, December 5). Service animals. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.dav.org/get-help-now/veteran-topics-resources/service-animals/
Fenneld. (2023, January 16). What is trauma-informed yoga? . Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/trauma-informed-yoga/
Rousseau, D (2022). Lecture note, Trauma, and Crisis Intervention
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022). Caring for your mental health. National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved August 14, 2022, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/caring-for-your-mental-health

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