The Self-Care Handbook

Book description

Learn how to improve and maintain your health and wellbeing with a practical and achievable self-care guide

Are you looking after yourself? For so for many of us, with so much to do and think about, self care - taking care of our mental, emotional and physical health and wellbeing - often falls by the wayside.

The Self-Care Handbook equips you to make positive, helpful choices for incorporating self-care into your life. It explains how to take responsibility for your own wellbeing and provides ideas and practical advice on how you can better look after yourself.

Bestselling author Gill Hasson shows you how to develop the mindset, routines and habits that can protect, maintain and improve your health and wellbeing. The Handbook presents straightforward approaches that can help you feel good about yourself, manage stress and anxiety, achieve a work-life balance, increase your physical health and much more. This book will help you:

  • Encourage a positive, healthy relationship with yourself and strengthen your wellbeing
  • Understand and implement the factors that can protect, maintain and improve your mental and physical health and wellbeing
  • Manage overwhelm and simplify a busy life
  • Know how best to relax, switch off and enjoy yourself
  • Look after yourself when you’re going through difficulties, setbacks or a crisis

The Self-Care Handbook is an important resource for anyone wishing to integrate healthy behaviours and activities and look after their physical and mental wellbeing.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Introduction
  3. 1 What and Why Self-Care?
    1. Knowing Yourself
    2. Self-Care; Self-Indulgent?
    3. What's Stopping You?
  4. PART I: Care for Your Mind
    1. 2 Accept Yourself
      1. Catch the Critic
      2. Challenge Your Inner Critic
      3. Give the Inner Critic a Name
      4. Stop That Thought
      5. Engage with Your Inner Advocate
      6. Recognize that Critical Thoughts Aren't Helping You
      7. Moving on to Positive Thoughts
      8. The Power of ‘But’ and ‘And’
      9. Get Some Perspective
      10. Be Aware of the Comparison Trap
    2. 3 Feel Good About Yourself
      1. Recognize Your Skills
      2. Recognize Your Efforts, Achievements, and Successes
      3. Take a Compliment
      4. Do Things You Enjoy
    3. 4 Stop Doing so Much
      1. Why Can't You Let Go?
      2. Identify Your Commitments
      3. Identify What's Important and What You Enjoy
      4. Identify What to Let Go Of
      5. Still Struggling to Let Go?
      6. Say No to Others and Say Yes to Self-Care
      7. Establishing Emotional Boundaries and Limits
    4. 5 Let Go of Friendships That Aren't Right for You
      1. Who to Let Go
      2. How to End a Friendship
      3. How to End a Friendship 1: Let it Fade Out
      4. How to End a Friendship 2: Cut the Friendship Short
      5. Refuse to be Bullied
    5. 6 Manage Overwhelm at Work
      1. Be Aware of How Much You Work
      2. Take Responsibility
      3. Ask for Help
      4. Work–Life Balance if You Work for Yourself
      5. Manage Busy, Stressful Periods at Work
    6. 7 Unplug; Switch Off!
      1. Step One: Decide What the Limits Are
      2. Step Two: Find Other Ways to Spend Your Time
      3. Step Three: Reflect Before You Reintroduce Technology
      4. Minimize the Amount of Negative News in Your Life
    7. 8 Financial Self-Care
      1. Simple Financial Self-Care
      2. Financial Zen; Get Financial Peace of Mind
  5. PART II: Care for Your Body
    1. 9 Get Moving!
      1. Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Moving More
      2. How Much Physical Activity Should You Be Doing?
      3. Include More Activity in Your Day-to-Day Routine
      4. Break Up Sitting Time
    2. 10 Go to Bed. Get to Sleep
      1. Go to Sleep!
      2. Do's and Don'ts to Help You Sleep
    3. 11 Feel Good. Look Good
      1. Reframe the Way You Think of Your Body
      2. Mind What You Wear; Wear it Well
    4. 12 Eat Well
      1. Shop, Prepare, and Cook
      2. Eat in Moderation
      3. Find Your Balance Across the Day
      4. Eat More Fruit and Vegetables
      5. Manage and Take Control of Emotional Eating and Drinking
      6. Overcome Cravings
      7. Set Yourself Up for Success
    5. 13 Be Drink Aware and Stop Smoking
      1. Stop Smoking
  6. PART III: Care for the Good Times and the Bad Times
    1. 14 Be with Good People and Do Nice Things
      1. Volunteer
      2. Find Spirituality
      3. Do More of What You Enjoy; Small Pleasures and Awesome Things
      4. Find ‘Flow’
      5. Get Out in Nature
      6. Do Awesome Things
    2. 15 Self-Care When Life Is Really Difficult
      1. Understanding Sadness
      2. Take the Pressure Off
      3. Indulge Yourself with Comfort, Reassurance, and Small Pleasures
      4. Moving On
      5. Let Go and Move On
      6. Self-Care When You're Ill or Injured
      7. Let Others Take Care of You
      8. Ease Back into Your Life
  7. Websites and Books
    1. Health Quiz
    2. Health Apps
    3. Pharmacies
    4. Mental Health Advice and Information
    5. Counselling, Psychotherapy, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
    6. Workplace Issues
    7. Managing Bullying
    8. Good News
    9. Financial Advice
    10. Food and Nutrition
    11. Physical Activity and Exercise
    12. Men's Health
    13. Dealing with Substance Misuse
    14. Social Groups for Leisure Interests, Hobbies, and Learning
    15. Volunteering
    16. Books
  8. About the Author
  9. Index
  10. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Self-Care Handbook
  • Author(s): Gill Hasson
  • Release date: February 2020
  • Publisher(s): Capstone
  • ISBN: 9780857088123