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Importance of Self Care

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Published: Mar 25, 2024

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What Is Self-Care and Why Is It Important?

4 Ways to Practice Self-Care

What Is Self-Care?

• Building a Self-Care Plan

Self-care is the practice of taking care of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life to promote health and wellness.

While many people may view self-care as a form of selfish indulgence, the act of caring for oneself is an important part of a person's overall well-being.

Many people do not fully understand what self-care means. Read on to find out more about what self-care is, examples of practicing self-care, and why it’s important for your mental and physical health.

Maskot / Getty Images

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), self-care is being able to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.

The WHO also mentions that self-care is a broad term and many facets of a person’s life come into play, including:

• Hygiene (general and personal)
• Lifestyle factors such as exercise level and leisure activities
• Environmental factors such as a person’s living conditions or social habits
• Socioeconomic factors such as a person’s income level or cultural beliefs
• Self-medication and following treatment plans for current illnesses

The main goal of self-care is to prevent or control disease and preserve overall well-being through consistently taking care of various aspects of your health.

For a person to practice true self-care, they must use personal responsibility and self-reliance in a way that positively impacts their health in the current moment and the future.

Overindulgence in spending

Binge-eating your favorite but unhealthy foods

Participating in activities that provide instant gratification

Going on expensive and lavish vacations

Perfecting oneself by any means necessary

Numbing bad feelings using alcohol or illicit substances

Binge-watching television

Prioritizing one's physical and mental health

Adopting healthy lifestyle habits that can be maintained long-term

Eating a healthy diet

Finding exercise activities that you enjoy and participating in them regularly

Getting an adequate amount of good-quality sleep

Following treatment plans for existing conditions accordingly

Taking time out for yourself to participate in healthy activities you enjoy

What Types of Self-Care Are There?

Various forms of self-care involve different activities or actions. Each form is as important as the other and drives optimal health and well-being.

Physical Health

Taking care of your physical health is a form of self-care that helps improve quality of life and prevent or manage chronic conditions.

Physical self-care will be different for each person, but ways you can practice physical self-care include:

• Getting the proper amount of exercise
• Eating regular, well-balanced meals that are mostly whole foods and staying hydrated
• Engaging in relaxing activities that can help manage stress
• Getting enough sleep
• Getting regular medical and dental care

Mental Health

Mental self-care is designed to drive a healthy mind by practicing brain-stimulating activities and healthy mental behaviors. Mental self-care can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy.

While no two people are the same, these strategies can help you manage stress and stimulate your mind:

• Use relaxation programs or apps regularly to incorporate meditation, yoga, muscle relaxation, or breathing exercises. 
• Practice gratitude by reminding yourself daily of things you are grateful for. Write them down at night or replay them in your mind.
• Participate in creative activities you enjoy.
• Read a book or do a puzzle.
• Play games such as Scrabble, crossword puzzles, or other brain teasers.
• Try a new hobby.
• Engage in exercise.
• Take adult education classes.
• Seek help from a professional as needed.

Relationships

Having healthy relationships is a form of social self-care all its own. Research has shown that different forms of relationships, whether they be romantic, platonic, or familial, can all benefit overall health and well-being.

On the flip side, not having healthy relationships can be detrimental to health. When people lack platonic relationships, they are more likely to be subject to psychological distress and engage in unhealthy behaviors.  

Ways to foster relationships include:

• Regularly scheduling get-togethers (coffee, a walk, a meal, going to the movies, or just hanging out) with friends or family members
• Connecting with community or faith-based groups
• Volunteering for a local organization
• Joining a local group, such as a hiking club, knitting group, or other interest group

Not everyone has a spiritual or religious need. However, for some people nurturing their spirit allows them to connect on a deeper level with themselves and to think beyond themselves.

Spiritual self-care practices might include:

• Hiking or spending time in nature
• Listening to inspirational music
• Going to church or attending virtual spiritual activities or groups
• Talking with a spiritual advisor

Why Is Self-Care Important?

Practicing self-care regularly can bring about both short- and long-term benefits that lead to improved well-being and an improved health status.

In the short term, people who practice self-care can see positive changes such as:

• Reduced stress levels : Putting your health and needs first along with giving yourself a bit of rest can significantly reduce stress levels.
• Increasing self-worth : The more you take care of yourself, the better you will feel about who you are as a person. This is because more of your core needs will be met on a regular basis.
• Feelings of belonging : A short-term benefit of spending time with others will provide feelings of belonging and love, which is good for your overall mental health.

While the short-term benefits of self-care are good, the long-term benefits are what self-care is more focused on. Some long-term benefits include:

• Managing chronic conditions: By practicing physical and mental self-care strategies, conditions such as depression, diabetes, and heart disease can be more effectively managed.
• Disease prevention: Implementing self-care practices, such as regular exercise, healthy eating, and stress management techniques, reduces the risk of heart attack , stroke , and obesity in the future.
• Stress reduction: Stress affects all systems in the body. Chronic stress can lead to chronic health conditions. Practicing self-care that reduces chronic stress can help lower the risk of developing health conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disorders, and more.
• Healthier relationships: When taking better care of our personal needs, we are better able to engage in healthy relationships partially due to increased self-esteem and self-worth.
• Improved job satisfaction: A study of nurses found those who implemented intentional self-care practices had significantly higher job satisfaction. The authors suggest implementing self-care practices could improve job satisfaction and teamwork while reducing burnout.
• Reduced burnout: Authors of a review of multiple studies concluded the solution for burnout is complex, but self-care strategies are one of several components that could be effective.
• Improved quality of life: When self-care practices help to better manage health conditions, reduce stress, or create a greater sense of belonging, overall well-being and quality of life improve.

How to Practice Self-Care

Building your perfect self-care plan will depend on your personal health and lifestyle. To create a plan to encourage better health and well-being:

• Determine your overall level of health: Once you know your starting point health-wise, you can begin adding or subtracting certain activities or stressors in your life to focus on improving your health.
• Identify your stressors: Make a list of things that cause you stress in all aspects of your life. The next step is to do your best to avoid certain stressors. If they are unavoidable, teach yourself coping techniques that can help lessen your stress reaction to certain situations.
• Identify your coping strategies: Everyone develops strategies to cope with health issues, stress, and other life problems. Make a list of your coping strategies and see which ones are healthy and which ones aren’t. The unhealthy ones that don't serve you well can be swapped out for healthier coping mechanisms.

After completing these three steps, you can begin to formulate a plan that you can commit to.

Self-Care Strategies for People With Chronic Disease

If you have a chronic disease, your self-care plan may look a little different than that of someone who does not. This is only because you will have to incorporate certain activities that will benefit you. For example, if you have diabetes , ensure that coping strategies and activities you utilize as self-care help you manage your condition while you follow your treatment plan.

Self-care is the practice of taking care of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life to promote health and wellness. It is a lifestyle that enables you to set aside time for your health to ensure your overall well-being now and for years to come.

If you do adopt the right techniques to care for yourself, you will be able to reap the benefits, such as better physical and mental health, the prevention or better management of disease, and better personal and workplace relationships.

World Health Organization. What do we mean by self-care?

National Institute of Mental Health. Caring for your mental health .

Holt-Lunstad J. Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors: The Power of Social Connection in Prevention . Am J Lifestyle Med. 2021 May 6;15(5):567-573. doi: 10.1177/15598276211009454

Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Wilson SJ. Lovesick: How Couples' Relationships Influence Health. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2017 May 8;13:421-443. doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045111

David D, Dalton J, Magny-Normilus C, Brain MM, Linster T, Lee SJ. The Quality of Family Relationships, Diabetes Self-Care, and Health Outcomes in Older Adults. Diabetes Spectr. 2019 May;32(2):132-138. doi:10.2337/ds18-0039

Amati V, Meggiolaro S, Rivellini G, Zaccarin S. Social relations and life satisfaction: the role of friends. Genus. 2018;74(1):7. doi:10.1186/s41118-018-0032-z

Riegel B, Moser DK, Buck HG, et al. American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease; and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research. Self-Care for the Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke: A Scientific Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association. J Am Heart Assoc. 2017 Aug 31;6(9):e006997. doi:10.1161/JAHA.117.006997

American Psychological Association. Stress effects on the body .

Monroe C, Loresto F, Horton-Deutsch S, et al. The value of intentional self-care practices: The effects of mindfulness on improving job satisfaction, teamwork, and workplace environments . Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2021 Apr;35(2):189-194. doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2020.10.003

Adnan NBB, Dafny HA, Baldwin C, Jakimowitz S, et al. What are the solutions for well-being and burn-out for healthcare professionals? An umbrella realist review of learnings of individual-focused interventions for critical care . BMJ Open. 2022 Sep 8;12(9):e060973. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-060973

California State University Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling. How to Create an Individualized Self-Care Plan.

By Angelica Bottaro Bottaro has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and an Advanced Diploma in Journalism. She is based in Canada.

The importance of self-care

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Got a meeting? Take a walk

Importance of Self-Care: Rhetoric and Persuasion Essay

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Often, people are too busy to get enough sleep, cook a good meal, or just relax. The life of a modern person is very busy. Taking care of oneself and taking care of health is a serious way to maintain well-being. An attentive attitude to oneself allows one to be more stable before stress. If a person is worried about news, politics, or something else, taking care of oneself will help to cope with a sense of insecurity. Therefore, it is important to know self-care principles and the basic rules.

Self-care is a wide range of actions that people do to improve their well-being and cope with stress. Self-care is important for managing stress and maintaining a reasonable work-life balance. Moreover, many diseases, weakening of the body and other troubles can be prevented (Jiang 126). A person can start taking care of himself at any time. However, it is best to do it all the time. For example, someone is planning changes in life: moving to a new job or place of study. Therefore, one can think in advance about the methods that one will use. They will help to overcome the stresses that may be the consequences of these changes. So, taking care of oneself helps to cope with stress better.

Of course, negative events are inevitable in life. However, taking care is a way to strengthen oneself to find some inner core to be ready for any adversity. Research related to self-care shows that it is an important way to maintain our well-being (Jiang 126). Participants who spent more time on themselves reported that their psychological health improved. They were also happier in their relationships saw good prospects for themselves in the future. Attention to themselves had a positive effect on their appearance and well-being (Jiang 126). The participants who took care of themselves were more attentive. Their awareness was associated with the desire for a higher level of well-being.

Self-care is an important practical habit, but it can be especially necessary when people are under stress or when they hear about the negativity happening to others. When people hear about bad incidents with other people, they can experience stress to the point of exhaustion. This may make us less capable of compassion in the future. Clinical psychologists suggest that people can feel the negative impact of events in the news on their minds (Jiang 126). And therefore, it is more important for one’s well-being not to read the news but to devote time to taking care of oneself. Therefore, a person needs to find a reasonable balance between staying up to date and taking time for oneself.

Everyone, regardless of gender, should know how to take care of themselves properly. This is necessary for many reasons: firstly, well-chosen cosmetics and procedures will contribute to the health of skin and hair. Secondly, a person will become more attractive, which means that one will improve the quality of any communication. Thirdly, it is pleasant to take care of oneself, it significantly improves mood and increases self-esteem; some even consider it a kind of therapy.

Despite modern trends and the development of society, sometimes one can still meet a person who believes in old stereotypes. All these jokes that all parts of the body are washed with the same soap and wiped with the same towel are not always just humor. Until now, most men do not pay due attention to hygiene procedures, their appearance and planned trips to the doctor (Jiang 126). For example, some are ashamed to go for a man’s manicure or choose the right shampoo for their hair type for a long time. Despite the fact that society is changing for the better now, and body positivity is being popularized, there will always be people who can be biased. An unkempt appearance can have a bad effect, for example, on a career or studies. Self–care is not only beauty but also health: a person can take care of oneself in different ways. For example, to eat right, get enough sleep, exercise, relax, spend time with loved ones. However, all this affects the external and internal beauty of a person.

In addition, some types of self-care are associated with well-being. Thus, the level of social support has a direct relationship with well-being (Jiang 126). In addition, there were other types of self-care related to well-being. These are exercise, rest and healthy habits: good food and enough time to sleep (Rupert 343). If a person wants to spend more time taking self-care, one can easily fit it into a schedule. Many of these actions do not take much time: just a few minutes. Therefore, even with a lack of free time, one needs to take a short break from the daily to-do list. It can be beneficial.

The basis of proper self-care is physical exercise. In addition to the benefits for the physical health of the body, gymnastics is also useful for the brain. It has been found that physical activity reduces anxiety the risk of depression and improves cognitive skills. It should be noted that one does not need to become a marathon runner to get the benefits of exercise; even one short lesson can quickly improve mood.

Moreover, good sleep and awareness are important for a person’s physical health. It is known that sufficient sleep duration has many advantages over lack of sleep. When a person does not sleep well, he has problems remembering new information. Research shows that mindfulness can be an important way to take self-care. Psychology graduate students were taught mindfulness. They did various exercises aimed at increasing awareness: such as meditation yoga; which lasted for 8 weeks (Rupert 343). Compared to other students who did not practice these actions, their sense of awareness reduced stress, and anxiety and increased positive emotions. Studies have also shown that mindfulness can treat depression and even lead to beneficial changes in the brain.

In conclusion, one will waste time on maintaining good appearance and well-being. This is useful and can actually allow to survive burnout. Exercise, full sleep, awareness and self-care allow to work on improving health and well-being. One can learn to take self-care, using not only cosmetology but also psychological techniques and principles. A well-groomed appearance is an important part of success. With one’s appearance, a person shows that they knows how to allocate time and keep up with everything: work, family, attend workouts and take self-care. The first step on the way to beauty is the opportunity to see this beauty with one’s own eyes. This is not an easy path; one will have to get to know oneself again. Therefore, it is important to adhere to simple rules of self-care and hygiene in order to feel successful and attract people to oneself.

Works Cited

Jiang, Xu, Allyson K. Topps, and Rebecca Suzuki. “A systematic review of self-care measures for professionals and trainees.” Training and Education in Professional Psychology 15.2 2021: 126.

Rupert, Patricia A. “Self-care, stress, and well-being among practicing psychologists.” Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 50.5 2019: 343.

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IvyPanda. (2024, February 9). Importance of Self-Care: Rhetoric and Persuasion. https://ivypanda.com/essays/importance-of-self-care-rhetoric-and-persuasion/

"Importance of Self-Care: Rhetoric and Persuasion." IvyPanda , 9 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/importance-of-self-care-rhetoric-and-persuasion/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Importance of Self-Care: Rhetoric and Persuasion'. 9 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Importance of Self-Care: Rhetoric and Persuasion." February 9, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/importance-of-self-care-rhetoric-and-persuasion/.

1. IvyPanda . "Importance of Self-Care: Rhetoric and Persuasion." February 9, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/importance-of-self-care-rhetoric-and-persuasion/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Importance of Self-Care: Rhetoric and Persuasion." February 9, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/importance-of-self-care-rhetoric-and-persuasion/.

As summer comes to a close and you make your way back to your (online or in-person) campus, it can be challenging to refocus your energy and get back into the swing of academic life. College can be an incredibly exciting time for young adults – and it comes with potential stressors like financial burdens, academic pressure, homesickness and pandemic-related hardships like social isolation, any or all of which can lead to mental health challenges.

In 2021, a study by the American College Health Association found that 48% of college students reported moderate or severe psychological stress, 53% reported being lonely, and 26% had considered suicide. It’s important for students to practice self-care to reduce stress, avoid burnout and maintain and enhance overall health and wellbeing. According to the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) curriculum, practicing self-care helps you be able to adapt to changes, build strong relationships and recover from setbacks.

Keep these tips in mind to help you or someone you know practice self-care and take care of their mental wellbeing while in college.*

• Set a routine – and keep it. In high school, students tend to have the same schedule every day – something along the lines of breakfast, school, extracurricular activities, dinner, homework, repeat. This structure isn’t a given in college; classes will be at different times, clubs might meet at night and students might find themselves sleeping in regularly when they don’t have morning classes. But having a routine has been shown to lower people’s stress levels and help them feel more productive and focused. Consider planning to wake up, eat, study and exercise around the same times every day. This will help give you a sense of control, lower your stress levels and even improves focus.
• Get enough sleep. An article published by Harvard states that over 50% of college students get less than seven hours of sleep per night (the minimum number of hours recommended for healthy adults by The National Sleep Foundation). Sleep deprivation can lead to symptoms of depression , but college students who prioritize sleep are likely to see positive effects like improvements in academic performance, their ability to concentrate while studying and less daytime sleepiness. Need more inspiration? Check out the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s tips for a good night’s sleep.
• Exercise . The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends adults exercise at least 2.5 hours each week – that’s only about 20 minutes per day! In addition to staying physically fit, exercise has many proven health benefits , such as making people happier, improving functional capacity, lowering risk of diseases and decreasing depression and anxiety. Taking a walk around campus, going to the gym or participating in an organized fitness class are all things students can do to get a little exercise in. For exercise to truly feel like self-care, MHFA recommends you choose a form of exercise that you like.
• Eat nutritious meals. Of course a well-balanced diet is good for physical health, but it is also crucial to mental wellbeing . A nutritious, balanced diet can help you think clearly and improve your attention span, whereas eating lots of processed foods can lead to inflammation, which may contribute to mood disorders like anxiety and depression. Stress and depression can cause people to either undereat or overeat, triggering a vicious cycle. Check out this Sutter Health article for more healthy eating tips.
• Drink plenty of water . Your brain is 73% water , so drinking lots of water is also important to healthy brain functioning. Without enough water, the brain starts to shut down, which can lead to symptoms of depression and anxiety. If you’re not sure how much water you need to stay healthy, try out this Hydration Calculator from Everyday Health.
• Clean up. According to Verywell Mind , cleaning and decluttering helps people gain a sense of control, improve their mood and even reduce levels of anxiety. College students often live in a small dorm with roommates, and it’s easy for things to get cluttered. Creating a chore list can help hold you and your roommates accountable for maintaining a clean living space that can be a sanctuary during stressful times.

Creating a self-care plan can be helpful in keeping yourself on track. To get started on your plan, ask yourself these three questions from the MHFA curriculum: Have I decided what I will do for self-care? Who can I speak with now? Who can I call if I feel upset or distressed later?

Check out these related blogs and sign up for a MHFA training to learn more about how to practice self-care!

• • Five Ways to Use Food as a Tool for Practicing Mindfulness, Fostering Connection, and Centering Joy
• • How and Why to Practice Self-care
• • Five Ways to Wind Down and Relax Before Bed

*These self-care tips are not a replacement for professional treatment. If you feel you or someone you know is in danger, call 911, a local mental health crisis hotline or one of the following national crisis resources for immediate assistance:

• • Suicide Prevention Hotline: Dial 988
• • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255 (TALK)
• • Crisis Text Line: Text “MHFA” to 741-741

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Gordon, S. (2021, Feb. 23). The relationship between mental health and cleaning . Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-mental-health-and-cleaning-are-connected-5097496 .

Greater Good Science Center. (2016, March 23). A simple weekly mindfulness practice: Keep a gratitude journal . https://www.mindful.org/a-simple-weekly-mindfulness-practice-keep-a-gratitude-journal/ .

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Kennedy, K. (2022, June 30). Hydration calculator: How much water do you need to drink a day? EverydayHealth.com. https://www.everydayhealth.com/dehydration/hydration-calculator/ .

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2022, April 29). Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858 .

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Northstar Transitions. (2021, April 24). Can drinking water help improve mental health? Northstar Transitions. https://www.northstartransitions.com/post/can-drinking-water-help-improve-mental-health .

Suni, E. (2022, April 13). How much sleep do we really need? Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need .

Sutter Health. (n.d.). Eating Well for Mental Health . https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/nutrition/eating-well-for-mental-health .

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2019). Physical activity guidelines for Americans, second edition . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf .

Yang, J. and Mufson, C. (2021, Nov. 2). College students’ stress levels are ‘bubbling over.’ Here’s why, and how schools can help . PBS News Hour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/college-students-stress-levels-are-bubbling-over-heres-why-and-how-schools-can-help .

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What is Self-Care and Why is it Important For You?

While there is no unit of measurement for self-care, I personally like to compare it to calories, which are literally units of energy. That is, one calorie equals one unit of energy. Here, I see one unit of self-care as a unit of personal fulfillment. The more units of fulfillment one has, the higher their life satisfaction. Subsequently, individuals may find themselves more motivated, energized and purposed in their endeavors.

Though calories do give you energy, those alone are not enough to provide the type of fulfillment you're seeking. You must take time to not only appreciate your life but the positive impact you have on others. Regardless of intention, you cannot possibly keep going without having a strong foundation, which is built upon self-care. And, yes, healthy eating — which includes nutritious caloric consumption — is also part of this.

First, What Does Self-Care Mean?

Although prioritizing self-care may sound like common sense, especially if you’re considering longevity, it’s often the first thing to go when you find yourself in challenging situations, whether because of bad health, a financial crisis, job loss, divorce or another significant life event. This is why it is important to keep it top of mind and not an after-thought, especially in challenging times.

Why is Self-Care Important?

Burning the candle at both ends, so-to-speak, comes with significant consequences, which may include but are not limited to burnout, depression, anxiety, resentment and a whole host of other negative implications.

Engaging in a self-care routine has been clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, improve concentration, minimize frustration and anger, increase happiness, improve energy and more. From a physical health perspective, it has also been clinically proven to reduce heart disease, stroke and cancer. Spiritually, it may help keep us in tune with our higher power as well as realize our meaning in life.

▸ What are the Benefits of Self-Care?

Self-care offers numerous benefits for your overall well-being. Here are some key benefits:

• Improved physical health: Engaging in activities like regular exercise, getting enough sleep and eating nutritious meals can enhance your physical health, boost your energy levels and strengthen your immune system.
• Enhanced mental and emotional well-being : There are many reasons why mental health is important , and practicing self-care can help reduce stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression. It promotes better mental health by providing an opportunity to relax, recharge and engage in activities that bring joy and fulfillment.
• Increased productivity and focus: Taking care of yourself allows you to recharge and rejuvenate, leading to increased productivity, improved concentration and better problem-solving abilities. When you prioritize your well-being, you have more energy and mental clarity to tackle daily tasks.
• Better relationships: When you prioritize caring for yourself, you have more emotional resources to invest in your relationships. Taking time for yourself helps prevent burnout and enables you to show up as your best self in your interactions with others.
• Increased self-esteem and self-worth: Personal care practices can boost your self-esteem and self-worth. By prioritizing your needs and engaging in activities that make you feel good, you send a message to yourself that you deserve care and attention.
• Prevention of burnout: Regular self-care can help prevent burnout, which is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. By taking proactive steps to care for yourself, you can replenish your energy and prevent the negative consequences of burnout. This can be especially important for those working in the helping professions .

Self-care is vitally important. Without appropriate nutrition, physical activity, sleep and otherwise, you may be able to get by for a while but will ultimately burnout. This is not a matter of if but when.

How to Practice Self-Care

Perhaps the single most common reason people give for not participating in self-care is due to a lack of time. While many of us have a lot going on, it’s imperative that we take time out every day for ourselves, even if minimally. And it doesn't have to cost a thing. You can even accomplish it in the convenience of your own home. 

Even if you only have 5-minute increments spread throughout the day to engage in self-care, that is certainly better than nothing. Over time, you may significantly enhance your overall health and well-being. Even if you are just beginning, there are results that may be realized almost immediately.

▸ What are Examples of Self-Care?

Examples of self-care do differ, even if minimally from person-to-person, but generally satisfy one or multiple of the national Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) eight dimensions of wellness ( SAMHSA pdf source ).

Though developed by substance use professionals, these dimensions conceptualize the domains of wellness that make all of us whole. 

Here are some suggestions to consider among each of the eight domains. Feel free to modify, replace, or consider your own as you go along. Remember, this is about you.

• Emotional: Talk to someone, reflect, journal, read, do something artistic, listen to music, work out, take a walk, watch something that suits the mood (or does the opposite and changes it), cry it out, hug someone, cuddle, laugh, take a nap.
• Environmental: Take a walk somewhere nice, breathe in fresh air, enjoy the sun, enjoy the night sky, avoid littering, pick up litter, reduce waste, use reusable products, recycle, clean your house, redesign a room.
• Financial: Develop a practical financial plan, open a savings account, start saving (even if $1 per day), try saving even more if you are already saving, invest, cut back on unnecessary purchases, consider where you can cut corners, avoid credit cards, ask for a raise.
• Intellectual: Read, listen to audiobooks, watch documentaries, complete puzzles, be mindful of the world around you, become curious, try something new, tap into your creative/artistic side, take a class, complete a program, graduate.
• Occupational: Learn a trade, get your degree, train for a promotion, accept the promotion, put together your resume, polish your resume, apply for your dream job, take on a task you enjoy, open your own business.
• Physical: Work out daily, take a walk, eat healthy, get your annual checkup, see the dentist, take medications as prescribed, avoid drugs and alcohol, get 7-9 hours of sleep , see the physician when you do not feel well.
• Social: Meet up with friends and family, keep in contact with old friends, volunteer, go out, have fun, engage in healthy social media use, stay positive , utilize technology when distance is a factor, have a big laugh.
• Spiritual: Meditate, pray, reflect, engage in yoga, visit a meaningful site, do right by others, practice mindfulness , consider your higher purpose and meaning, look to your higher power for support, love one another, help those in need.

Self-care is an important activity to do every day. Doing so will lead toward a better balance among your dimensions of wellness and lead toward improved overall health and wellness. Life is precious, and it is meant to be enjoyed.

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The Importance of Self-Care for College Students

• November 30, 2022

Nassim Bickham

Table of Contents

One silver lining of 2020 was that it helped people become more open to practicing self-care. According to a recent survey, two-thirds of people agreed that the personal self-care routines they developed during the pandemic have become a permanent part of their daily lives. While that’s true of the general population, higher education leaders need to understand why self-care is important for college students and how to help them develop a self-care plan.

What is self-care?

Included in the World Health Organization’s definition of self-care is “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” At its core, self-care is simply the practice of looking after your own well-being in ways that prevent poor physical and mental health. Everyone’s self-care needs are different and should be based on determinants specific to their life, such as hereditary health and environment, schedule, habits, interests, stress levels, and more.

Of course, if college students are eating healthy, exercising, and getting enough sleep, they’re already practicing self-care. But sometimes these essential habits are not enough for the physical and mental well-being demands of student life. Given the compounding stress of politics, COVID-19 and its variants, war abroad, violence, and tragedies at home, it’s no wonder mental health is suffering in America — and rampantly among college students.

Why is self-care important for college students?

The ups and downs of life — college life in particular — can have a huge impact on the health and well-being of students. A self-care routine can equip students to better navigate the inevitable stressors of college life and beyond. Engaging in a self-care routine is clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, increase happiness, and more. It can help students adapt to change, build strong relationships, and recover from setbacks. Respondents in a national survey cited the benefits of self-care as enhanced self-confidence (64%), increased productivity (67%), and higher levels of happiness (71%). And from a physical health perspective, self-care is clinically proven to reduce heart disease , stroke, and cancer, contributing to better overall well-being.

“College students are taught that the next four years [of college] are the ones to look forward to and will someday be the ones they wish to return to,” said Dr. Sharia Hays, Ed.D., Associate Dean at George Fox University. However, by encouraging students to view the college experience with rose-colored glasses, we are setting them up for failure. As students transition to college, prepare them for the struggles as much as for the joys.” To equip students, Hays lists four elements to include in a self-care plan :

1. Body self-care

These are things we do to take care of our bodies in healthy ways. Students can do key activities to manage their physical well-being. Students need to develop a regular sleep routine, aim for a healthy diet, limit the number of late-night fast-food runs, schedule frequent breaks, and exercise as part of their weekly routines.

2. Mind self-care

3. spiritual self-care, 4. support system.

Mental health experts at Johns Hopkins University suggest trying these self-care tips for college students to maintain their physical and emotional well-being:

• Maintain connections: If a student gets sick and has to be isolated, social distance doesn’t have to mean social isolation. It’s essential for students to have a strong support system they can turn to when they’re sick and struggling. Setting up virtual get-togethers, phone calls, or group texts with friends or family can significantly improve mental health and help students feel less alone.
• Take care of your body: Maintaining physical health is a crucial factor in keeping students’ minds healthy. Eating a well-balanced and nutritious diet can boost the immune system, lowering the effects of stress on the body. Incorporating exercise with a healthy diet will also help improve their mood by producing endorphins.
• Take a break from news and social media: The news is often filled with negativity and stressful information that can affect young adults. It’s important for students to know when to unplug. They can stay informed by checking in from time to time, but shouldn’t overdo it by continuously refreshing social media throughout the day. This can increase feelings of fear and anxiety.
• Get outdoors: Not getting enough sunlight can result in a drop in serotonin levels, which directly affects mood . Low levels of serotonin can also lead to symptoms of depression. Going outdoors for at least an hour every day allows students to get fresh air and improve their mental well-being.
• Stick with daily meditation practices: The physical benefits of meditation include decreased blood pressure, reduced stress and anxiety, regulated negative thinking, and a healthier immune system. Meditation also helps students practice mindfulness and develop relaxation techniques. Various free apps, podcasts, and YouTube videos can help students get started.
• Give yourself permission to cry: At some point, students may feel sad, disheartened, or even hopeless. At a time of heightened stress and anxiety, it’s common for them to develop burnout or to experience an emotional breakdown. Students should give themselves permission to feel these emotions fully, to release any pain, and to help them see the sun through the clouds once again.
• Take deep breaths: Deep breathing techniques are proven to reduce anxiety and relieve stress. Taking deep breaths allows students to stay present in the moment and provides peace of mind.
• Prioritize sleep: Getting enough sleep is a significant part of maintaining physical and mental health. Not only does sleep help boost the immune system, but it also lowers the effects of stress on the body. Experts suggest that young adults get at least seven hours of sleep each night to recharge their bodies and brain. Sleep deprivation can cause irritability, inability to focus, overreactions, increased stress, and make students more prone to illnesses.
• Avoid self-medicating: College students struggling with mental illness are at a higher risk of developing problems with drugs or alcohol. To cope with symptoms, some young adults turn to drugs or alcohol to self-medicate. Abusing substances can exacerbate mental health symptoms. Urge students to not be afraid to ask for help from a mental health professional to find healthy coping strategies and a treatment plan that works best for them.
• Create a support system: College is a time when many young adults need guidance and support. According to a study by the American Psychological Association (APA) , having quality relationships is associated with better physical health and well-being. Supportive relationships have many benefits — not only physically, but mentally as well. A strong support system helps students when they feel down or stressed, provides guidance when they fail, and celebrates when they succeed.
• Listen to music: One of the most convenient ways to relieve stress is to listen to music. Music has many therapeutic benefits : it helps lower anxiety and depression levels, eases muscle tension, and enhances your mood. Encourage students to make a playlist with their favorite songs that help them de-stress, and to start their mornings playing them.
• Find a hobby: Instead of using all their free time to binge-watch a Netflix show, encourage students to find a hobby, as they promote better mental and physical health by lowering the risk of depression, dementia, and high blood pressure . They also provide a mental break from everyday stressors and improve efficiency in time management. Whether it’s journaling, drawing, or playing an instrument, students should try to add a hobby to their daily routines.
• Set goals: Setting goals can help define priorities and improve self-confidence and motivation . Students should write down their goals and how they want to accomplish them. Not only will this help them stay organized, but it will also allow them to keep track of their progress towards achieving the goals.
• Try online, remote therapy options: According to a recent survey from BestColleges, 95% of college students experienced negative mental health symptoms during COVID-19. When you encounter struggling students, encourage them to consider online therapy. It’s essential for students to take care of their mental well-being not just in difficult circumstances, but all the time. Find out if your school has online mental health resources, like TimelyCare, that enable students to connect with mental health professionals anytime, anywhere.

Support students when they need it most

How can colleges and universities provide students with opportunities for self-care.

Demands for mental health support in college typically exceed resources. To help address that gap, the Greater Good Magazine outlines how colleges and universities can address student well-being in and out the classroom, making mental health part of students’ normal dialogue. Consider the emerging programs, new online resources, and innovative approaches to classroom teaching described below as a jumping-off point for further exploration.

Increase awareness from the start

Colleges provide orientation sessions on drug and alcohol use, sexual violence prevention, and other student health and lifestyle topics. So why not address mental health more directly? Many colleges are beginning to proactively share mental health information with students during face-to-face orientation sessions . Approaches vary from traditional presentations and panel discussions to role plays, short videos, and student testimonials followed by small group discussions.

Free mental health screenings

Another way to counter the stigma is to encourage students to monitor their mental health the same way they monitor their physical health. Some universities are normalizing mental health checkups by offering free, readily accessible screenings for their students. For example, Drexel University’s Recreation Center has a mental health kiosk where students can stop by to answer a quick series of questions on a private screen. At the end of the screening, students receive information regarding additional mental health resources and support, as needed. Also, take a look at this guide for creating a college student mental health plan .

Campus-wide courses, programs, and initiatives

Programs like This Way Up , designed by Professor Gavin Andrews and his team at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, help students understand the emotions they experience (e.g., fear, anxiety, stress, sadness), connect with a clinician who can supervise their progress, and take free self-help courses online like “Coping with Stress,” “Intro to Mindfulness,” or “Managing Insomnia.” As universities also note a decline in student resilience — the ability to bounce back from negative experiences — Florida State University recently launched an online trauma resilience training tool developed through the Institute of Family Violence Studies and their College of Social Work. Other programs in the U.S. take a more preventive approach to mental health challenges by promoting student resilience throughout the school year. For example, Stanford’s Resilience Project features personal storytelling as well as academic skills coaching.

Talk about it

Approximately 350 colleges now utilize an online simulation program called Kognito that helps students learn how to talk to friends who may be suffering emotionally, directing them to appropriate resources. When students enter Kognito’s virtual campus, they learn more about mental health from a handful of virtual students, and they talk with a virtual student in distress. After trying out several different approaches, they learn the most effective ways to respond to their virtual peer. On a much larger scale, Active Minds is a national organization dedicated to mental health advocacy that currently hosts more than 450 campus chapters. With a Speaker’s Bureau sharing personal stories of hope, a “ Send Silence Packing ” traveling exhibit to increase awareness and prevent suicide, as well as peer-run mental health clubs and support networks, Active Minds is opening up the conversation around mental health and leveraging the power of peer-to-peer outreach to change campus culture.

To learn more about other student well-being programs and resources, check out Greater Good Magazine .

What is the role of virtual care in self-care for college students?

Given the growing concern for students’ mental health, it’s important to note the value and availability of telehealth as part of the solution for supporting student health and well-being. Stress, anxiety, depression, and other conditions can all be treated remotely with virtual care, helping thousands of students struggling with mental health. Here are just a few benefits of telemedicine for college students:

• Virtual care is affordable: Telehealth is more cost-efficient than in-person consultations, making it a perfect solution for students. It can also complement existing on-campus health resources that may be overwhelmed by demand for care.
• Students can receive mental health support regularly: With telehealth, students can access sessions weekly. This is especially advantageous for those struggling with mental problems like anxiety, depression, or OCD.
• Telehealth is convenient: Students can receive professional medical assistance at any place and at any time. They can keep in touch with a doctor from a tablet, phone, or computer and get extensive consultation, receive prescriptions, and even obtain advice on specialized care.
• Fast and professional advice: Many students turn to influencers on TikTok for mental health advice and diagnosis , as wait times for appointments may be too long or too inconvenient to access. As a result, mental health treatments based on internet guesswork often result in poor health outcomes due to misinterpretation and misdiagnosis. Rather than entrusting their health and well-being to social media influencers and self-diagnosis, telehealth enables students to connect with a professional healthcare provider remotely and receive detailed, sensible, and personalized medical advice.
• Continuity of care: With most telehealth platforms, all students’ medical histories are stored in a patient records database online , so they can have access to them at any time — as long as the student stays with the same telemedicine provider.

Simply put, care delivered through telehealth and virtual care options is fast, easy, and efficient. It eliminates wait times, reduces the stigma of seeking mental and medical care, and is available the moment a student needs care. When students don’t have to wait days or weeks for a counseling center or clinic appointment, there will be a positive effect on-campus health and wellness. And prospective students are evaluating mental health services at schools as a differentiator more now than ever, which impacts enrollment and retention.

Contact TimelyCare to learn more about the importance of self-care for college students and how telehealth can make a difference in the lives of your students.

VP of Care Transformation

Nassim Bickham is a trained clinician dedicated to using treatments proven to work. Over the past decade, Bickham has focused on increasing access to mental health services and disseminating evidence-based practices through the use of technology at start-ups in Silicon Valley. She previously served as Director of Clinical Innovation at Two Chairs and Senior Therapist at Lyra Health. By joining TimelyCare, her professional journey has come full circle, as her own mental health journey in college inspired her down the path of becoming a practitioner and bringing solutions to the hands of those who need them.

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The importance of self-care for college students.

By Robert Parmer

Prioritizing our own needs isn’t always an easy thing to do. And focusing on self-care can be especially challenging for students, as day-to-day rhythms are oftentimes flooded with too much to do and not enough time.

But self-care for students is crucially important—we must slow down as frequently as necessary and pay attention to our individual needs in order to be our best selves. The following self-care guide for students will help you understand common forms of “self-neglect” and where they may be hiding in your life.

Make Sure Your Basic Needs Are Met

When deadlines, chaotic schedules, and side work all start piling up on top of the other variables of life, it’s surprisingly easy to forget to take care of our basic needs. The following basic needs should always be at the forefront of a student’s self-care routine:

• Get enough sleep : As an article by USC Master’s of Public Health puts it, “Sleep 6 to 8 hours a night—it is a critical restorative process for the body. A regular schedule of sleep does more to fend off sickness than vitamins, exercise, and washing hands combined.”
• Eat enough food and drink enough water : It may seem like a no-brainer to eat, but busyness and stress can lead to students accidentally skipping meals. Depending on your body type, you should drink at least 6 to 8 (eight ounce) glasses of water over the course of each day.
• Exercise when you can : Did you know that getting to the point of feeling a ‘runner’s high’ is essentially as beneficial to mental health as it is physical health? Daily exercise is ideal for most people. Consider low impact exercise, such as hiking or riding a bicycle if you are worried about long term joint health. But remember, over exerting yourself while running or jogging commonly leads to sore knees.
• Keep personal hygiene in mind : Take a shower when you need to, and make sure you feel comfortable with your levels of personal hygiene. Studies show that even something as simple brushing your teeth first thing in the morning helps promote wakefulness.

Recognize the Many Sources of Stress

  Pinpointing exactly what is stressing us out isn’t always easy, but it’s a highly advantageous form of self-care. Stress management is so is actually as critical to exam success as studying. This is because stress can consume and distract us, even subconsciously.

You owe it to yourself to eliminate as much stress from your life as possible. Start by taking a quick stress screener to figure out where stress may be hiding in your life. From there, develop a stress reduction plan. Remember: In many ways your stress is as unique as you are.

An interesting stress management technique, highlighted by in a TED Talk by health psychologist Kelly McGonigal takes on the following, insightful approach:

“While stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.”

Embracing stress may prove to help you win the daily battle it presents for the majority of people in this world. Rather than stigmatizing stress or letting it manifest into another emotions, face it head-on in a positive manner. And reach out to loved ones or a counselor if your stress levels become unmanageable.

  Ditch Tech for a Day

Our smartphones and other tech devices can frequently be the source of our stress. Modern students are swimming in a tech-heavy sea daily. A tech cleanse can also segue into other positive forms of self-care, because too much technology use has been shown to increase fatigue, stress, and depression.

Consider taking a break from your smartphone for even one day on your weekend—it can truly clear your head!

Overcome Creative Blocks Through Self-Care

As students, we may experience roadblocks in our creative processes quite frequently. An article titled But I Have Nothing to Write About! Strategies for Overcoming Writer’s Block points out some ways that being mindful of your own needs can help you get past creative blocks:

• Just walk away : Give yourself a cognitive break, even if just for a moment.
• Change your format : Are you sick of typing all day long? Take a break and read for a while, or consider writing some of your work out the old-fashioned way—with pen and paper.
• Remove distractions : Headphones (especially over-ear style) can certainly go a long ways, but if distractions become too prevalent, consider another location to work or study from.
• Change your scenery : A simple change to your studying space or work location can boost motivation and moral significantly!
• Do something that inspires you : This is unique from person to person, but it is always worth injecting some inspiration into your day to day life.

If you want to succeed as student you must start by taking care of yourself each and every day. You can’t expect to function to your fullest potential if you are drinking from a dry well. So keep these self-care tips in mind and develop your own plan to address your needs. You owe it to yourself!

Robert Parmer is a freelance web writer and student of Boise State University. Outside of writing whenever he has spare time, Robert enjoys creating and recording music, caring for his pet cat, and commuting by bicycle

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Suggestions

Why Is Self-Care Important for Students?

Self-care is essential, not only for students but for everyone. Putting yourself first might seem challenging. The world we live in is very competitive, and this can be seen in every university and college.

What Is Self-Care?

As a student, you want to get the best education possible. You go to school, attend classes, and learn. However, some moments can be more overwhelming than others. You may have a lot of tasks to do and assignments to write. On top of this, you might have to study for some exams too.

Practicing Self-Care

Getting enough sleep.

Getting enough sleep is something that does not happen during college. Students have hectic schedules; they run from one activity to another. Apart from their academic life, they also have their personal life . Meeting with friends and going on dates and parties is something all students do. So, getting enough sleep is not among their priorities.

Even though you might feel that while you sleep, you do nothing, you should know that this is not true. Indeed, your body’s resting and so is your brain. During sleep, you replenish your energy levels and create the opportunity for your brain to fix the information you have learned in memory.

You can get the help of an essay writing service to support you in achieving academic success. It’s up to the writer how they approach your orders, but you should be sure you will get a top-notch paper. And meanwhile, you can go jogging or do any other physical activity. It boosts your mood, improves your sleep quality and helps you fight diseases and pain.

Final Thoughts

Self-care is essential for students. However, many of them skip it or do not even consider it. Academic life is tumultuous and sometimes it can become overwhelming and stressful. Having some ways you can cope with this helps you care for your mind, body and spirit. Self-care improves your productivity, emotion management and creativity. So, why not incorporate self-care habits into your daily routine? You will feel better, more energized, focused and productive.

Daniel Reed

Leave a reply, the wonders of weeki wachee, taylor swift and the maritime superstition of football fans, by the way, the universe is always singing, what’s the obsession with ‘bluey’, exploring the “obsessed artist” trope in film.

The importance of self-care in graduate school

If you have made it to graduate school, you realize that the further you progress on your educational journey, the more the workload intensifies. As work becomes more time-consuming, you begin to engage in poorer habits to ensure deadlines are made and program requirements are met. Many of us have spent endless nights of working past our bedtime and overworking our brains and bodies. Although research tells us that self-care is important and that we must take care of ourselves to take care of others, we struggle to put in the time needed for ourselves in order to excel in school. The works of Carolyn Licht (2012), Marsha Linehan (1993), and Kristin Neff (2011a, 2011b, & 2013) all support that taking time for self-compassion, mindfulness and self-care increase productivity and positivity. Using their suggestions and recommendations, below are ways to help us all become better students, therapists, friends and colleagues by being more efficient in our studies and jobs.

• Breaks are okay . Many of us work more than 12 hours a day trying to cram in school, work and home life. Taking time to eat the right foods, get sleep and exercise often moves off our to-do lists. This can leave us without energy, overweight and burned out. In turn, our work quality declines. You can increase self-care by taking short 1-minute mindfulness breaks throughout the day. During these times, focus on mindfulness exercises and living in the moment. Taking the time to do this helps clear, calm and refresh your mind. If you have trouble remembering, there are many apps and calendar reminders that can help you. One app that works great is called “Stop, Breathe, Think.” It will remind you to take a break and offer meditations to help increase mindfulness.
• Set limits and goals for self-care . Schedule self-care times. If you like to exercise, put it into your calendar and make a commitment to yourself. Take a day off once a week to focus only on you. Keep track of your goals; bullet journaling is a great way to relax and keep track of your goals. Make sure you spend no less than an hour a day on you.
• Remember your values . Although your imposter syndrome regularly kicks in, remember that the real you made it this far. Your values, whatever they may be, will be regularly challenged. Make sure to take the time to prioritize what is important to you. If helping others is important to you, make sure you are including this in your week. Staying true to ourselves can help keep us grounded in prioritizing tasks.
• Acknowledge you are not alone . You are one of the few earning a higher degree. These can be very challenging, yet very fulfilling years. There will be many bumps along the way, and many things may not work out exactly how you planned. Although everyone’s graduate school experience is different, remember that you are not alone.

The journey to self-care is not easy. As Neff has said, it is important to treat ourselves the way that we would treat our best friend. Be mindful of how you are feeling and behaving. Forgive yourself and allow time to process what you need. Remind yourself to take breaks, set limits, focus on your goals, spend some time engaging in activities that make you feel good, revisit your values, and remember that you are not alone in this chaotic world that is called graduate school.

Germer, C. K., & Neff, K. D. (2013). Self compassion in clinical practice. Journal of clinical psychology, 69 , 856-867

Godfrey, C. M. (2011). Self-care: A clarification of meaning and examination of supportive strategies.

Linehan, M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioural therapy treatment for borderline personality disorde r. New York, NY: Guilford.

Licht, C. A. (2012). Self-care in graduate school: Finding your optimal balance. In P. J. Giordano, S. F. Davis & C. A. Licht (Eds.), Your graduate training in psychology: Effective strategies for success; your graduate training in psychology: Effective strategies for success (pp. 101-113). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781452240527.n11

Neff, K. D. (2011a). Self‐compassion, self‐esteem, and well‐being. Social and personality psychology compass, 5 (1), 1-12.

Neff, K. (2011b). Self-compassion: The proven power of being kind to yourself . New York, NY: William Morrow.

How to Practice Self-Care: 10+ Worksheets and 12 Ideas

But while it persistently grabs headlines, it also remains a fuzzy concept.

Though a relatively new phenomenon in the West, self-care has a much older tradition in Eastern cultures, reaching back to antiquity. Marked by a preventive rather than reactive approach to health, many Asian cultures seek to manage our energy economies before they become depleted.

The therapeutics of Traditional Chinese medicine, for example, revolve around preventing the exhaustion or blockage of “qi,” our vital life energy. Qigong, meditation, and yoga are all techniques designed to restore our inner balance and prevent us from burning out.

Combining self-soothing and relaxation with resilience-enhancing strategies, Western-style self-care, too, promotes a proactive approach to our physical and mental wellbeing (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2011).

Self-care is a sustainable and holistic investment in our minds and bodies. It includes taking good care of our physical health, most notably by eating healthily, exercising, and sleeping well. But it also entails looking after our minds and emotions, which can take the form of setting time aside for activities that nourish our spirits and learning to understand how we can best replenish our energies.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Self-Compassion Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will not only help you increase the compassion and kindness you show yourself, but will also give you the tools to help your clients, students, or employees show more compassion to themselves.

This Article Contains:

Why is self-care so important, our 5 favorite self-care worksheets, 3 worksheets for youths, the self-care assessment wheel, self-care activity ideas, emotional intelligence tools, a take-home message.

If we do not practice basic self-care, we may quite simply burn out. We will be unable to decompress or find outlets for our stressors. The worse we take care of ourselves, the less we will have to give. As the saying goes: ‘from an empty cup, we cannot pour.’

Often, self-care advice takes the form of prescribing specific relaxation activities to clients. But this misses the point. The true essence of self-care is twofold: it involves self-knowledge and positive self-talk .

First and foremost, we need to understand our true needs. What does and does not restore us differs substantially from person to person, depending on our tastes and preferences. Our key task is to stimulate our clients to reflect on what it is that they need – their own unique and special sets of self-care activities.

The second core part of self-care is about managing the way we talk to ourselves. Riegel and colleagues (2017) rightly highlights the importance of adjusting our self-talk as a crucial component of self-care. For there is nothing more energy draining and destructive than our inner critic, the bullying voice that tells us we are lacking.

To take better care of ourselves, we need to work on cultivating a kinder, more compassionate voice. Awareness raising and self-compassion (Neff, 2004), then, are the central features of self-care.

A solid starting point for embarking on a self-care journey is to take an inventory of how good we are at it already. This Self-Care Checkup breaks self-care down into physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and professional self-care. Checking how we score in each domain provides a good first indication for what we should prioritize.

An even better first calling point is PositivePsychology.com’s Self-Care Check-in , which invites us to see where more attention is needed to ensure we are addressing our self-care needs. It reminds us of the importance of taking active steps to maintain our mental wellness, and helps us identify where we should focus our attention to satisfy our unmet needs.

A few example self-care domains listed on this sheet are listed below:

• Quality time with family
• Friendships
• Opportunities to engage in pleasurable activities.

Given that self-compassion is such a vital part of any self-care regime worth its salt, another great stock-taking worksheet is PositivePsychology.com’s Letter of Self-Compassion. It reminds us that we are often too hard on ourselves and it is sometimes necessary to take a more forgiving, accepting, and caring attitude to ourselves and others.

An excellent resource for self-compassion-based self-care exercises is Kristin Neff’s website . Her How would you treat a friend? worksheet is particularly significant. It urges us to remember how we would interact with a struggling friend. What would we say to them? What tone of voice would we use?

Next, we are invited to think of how we speak to ourselves when we are struggling. Is there a difference between the way we talk to ourselves and the way we would speak to a friend we care about? If so, why? The aim is to treat ourselves with as much care and kindness as we would treat our friends.

In her Changing Your Critical Self-Talk  exercise, Neff invites us to notice when we are talking to ourselves in a critical voice. Whenever we feel bad, we are asked mindfully to notice that voice – what it says, which phrases it uses, its tone, and whether, perhaps, it reminds us of someone in our past.

As a next step, Neff asks us to soften this inner judge and to reframe the observations it makes in a friendlier, more positive way. We may even want to supplement endearing and understanding self-talk with warm physical gestures.

These three exercises are designed to help youths think about how they can incorporate more self-care activities into their daily lives, for increased mental and physical wellbeing.

Self-Care Vision Board

PositivePsychology.com’s Self-Care Vision Board is particularly well suited for younger clients. This tool is available for free as part of our three Self-Compassion Exercises Pack, which you can download here .

Designed to increase self-care and self-compassion in creative ways, it adopts a playful and intuitive approach to the topic.

Clients are invited to create a self-care vision board. It can be drawn or combine cut-out images, photographs, and words. Clients are asked to brainstorm as many positive self-care activities as possible – both activities in which they are already engaging and those they would like to develop.

They are asked to work intuitively rather than rationally, to discuss their representations with their therapists, and then to place the vision board in a prominent place where it reminds them of all the great things they could do to take better care of themselves.

My Self-Care Promise

Another fantastic exercise, for both the young and the old, involves making a simple self-contract.

Self-care is one of the first sets of activities that get neglected when suffering from symptoms of anxiety or depression, and planning pleasant activities can encourage us to reflect on our strengths.

My Self-Care Promise invites the reader to consider times they may be vulnerable to waning self-care. It includes space for a re-affirming mantra to remind them to treat themselves compassionately and invites some ‘if–then’ thinking for when obstacles arise.

Nurturing vs. Depleting Activities

The things we do each day can either enhance or take away from our wellbeing in the long run. While we all find ourselves doing things we ‘need’ to do (e.g., work, looking after others, or running errands), it can be particularly easy to neglect the things that give us life and energy.

The goal of this Nurturing vs. Depleting Activities worksheet is to help the reader become more aware of what adds to or takes away from their mood and energy.

To complete the exercise, the reader is invited to list their daily tasks from morning to evening.

Next, they decide whether each activity is nurturing (energizing, positive, and restorative) or depleting (draining their energy and happiness).

Download 3 Free Self-Compassion Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will equip you to help others create a kinder and more nurturing relationship with themselves.

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Self-care assessment wheels are excellent tools for several reasons.

• First and foremost, they powerfully visualize the different domains of self-care.
• Secondly, they show us, at a glance, a more holistic picture of how we are faring in caring for ourselves.
• Thirdly, they remind us that all of the domains of self-care are interconnected, and that as a person, we are defined by how we do in all the relevant areas.

Frequently, the areas covered in self-care assessment wheels include the physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, personal, and professional spheres.

Assessment wheels are particularly useful for illustrating the importance of balance between these areas in our lives. The best and most widely used self-care assessment wheel is Olga Phoenix’s Self-Care Wheel . It consists of two sheets, one in which general relevant topics have been inserted into the wheel, as inspiration and prompts, and one empty wheel for the client to fill out.

If we want to be less directive and allow our clients to use this wheel more intuitively, we can simply present them with the empty wheel only.

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The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises , activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.

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“The best positive psychology resource out there!” — Emiliya Zhivotovskaya , Flourishing Center CEO

The list of commonly recommended self-care rituals tends to be topped by nutritional and sleep hygiene advice, and also features walks in nature, taking up hobbies, scheduling “me-time,” various relaxation techniques, and making more time for friends.

It also frequently includes sensual rituals such as bathing, pampering ourselves with luxurious beauty products, and lighting scented candles.

But prescribing specific activities to our clients misses the point. For self-care is all about finding out what we need – what our unique energy-draining and energy-boosting strategies are. They will differ in each case, often substantially. What reenergizes an extrovert, for example, may well drain an introvert even further.

The clue, then, is to draw up our unique list of our favorite things. We may take inspiration from the famous Sound of Music song:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings These are a few of my favorite things

To paraphrase Julie Andrews, when life stings, and we are feeling sad, we can simply remember our favorite things, and then we won’t feel so bad.

My personal list of favorite self-care things includes the following 12 items:

• Practicing balanced breathing for 10 minutes. All you need to do is sit comfortably, with an upright spine, and breathe in on your count of six, and then breathe out on your count of six. It is one of the most simple and powerful exercises I know for changing one’s state.
• Drinking in the colors of all the beautiful flowers and trees when walking in nature.
• Standing with my feet in the shore, where the waves break and foam, looking out to sea and filling my lungs deeply with salty air.
• Remembering all the things I am grateful for.
• Watching my two cats practice self-care; they are the true masters of the art. All day long, they sleep, clean, and groom themselves. They play, seek the sun, stretch, purr, and demand cuddles whenever they feel like it.
• Going for a run along the river listening out for birdsong.
• Playing Pachelbel’s Canon in D major on the piano.
• Singing along at the top of my voice to songs I used to love as a teenager (I won’t tell which ones 😉 ).
• Watching films that make me cry.
• Having coffee with a friend.
• Cuddling my daughter.
• Applying my favorite body lotion all over my skin. Its orange-infused cedar-almond scent reminds me of a holiday in Tuscany when we were all serenely happy. There is nothing as significant as smell for activating memories and associated positive emotional states.

As my list hopefully shows, our self-care lists will be highly specific and will not work for others. Our aim always has to be to stimulate our clients to draw up their own unique lists.

To understand what drains and what replenishes us, we also need to have a basic understanding of our dominant emotional patterns.

In Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ , the American psychologist Daniel Goleman (1995) defines the core components of emotional intelligence as self-control , persistence, and the ability to motivate ourselves; combined with the ability to empathize and read emotions in others; and, crucially, an understanding of our core emotional processes.

Insights into our emotional habits yield greater self-mastery.

The keystone of emotional intelligence – and a crucial prerequisite both to self-understanding and the ability to care well for ourselves – is knowing our emotions. It is a form of meta-self-awareness that is manifest in “recognizing a feeling as it happens.”

For the “ inability to notice our true feelings leaves us at their mercy ,” Goleman writes (1995, p. 43). Those of us who know our feelings are generally better pilots of our lives. There is a crucial difference between simply being caught up in a feeling and developing a metacognitive awareness that we are being submerged by this feeling.

Objective self-observation is, therefore, the key to knowing our emotional selves. Such self-observation entails stepping back from our experience and cultivating an awareness of our conscious thought that hovers above rather than becoming entangled in it.

Two great emotional intelligence tools for enhancing emotional self-knowledge are Emotional Awareness and Emotional Expression . The first exercise allows you to log your emotions throughout the day to improve awareness and become more attuned with your triggers and emotional responses.

The Emotional Expression exercise helps clients to walk through their emotional responses to imagined experiences. It gives clients a helpful and practical way to practice expressing their feelings to others, which is a helpful strategy for coping with stress.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others develop self-compassion, this collection contains 17 validated self-compassion tools for practitioners. Use them to help others create a kinder and more nurturing relationship with the self.

17 Exercises To Foster Self-Acceptance and Compassion

Help your clients develop a kinder, more accepting relationship with themselves using these 17 Self-Compassion Exercises [PDF] that promote self-care and self-compassion.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

The art of taking good care of ourselves includes some basics; eating and sleeping well, getting regular exercise, and paying attention to our breath are among them, and ensuring that our self-talk is kind is also key.

Other than that, we should refrain from prescribing specific activities to our clients. Self-care means very different things to different people. As the ancients in Asia knew well, self-care is essentially about managing our energy wisely.

Truly understanding what drains us and what restores us is crucial in this process. Our task as psychologists and coaches is to create awareness in our clients about what works for them.

Self-knowledge, including emotional intelligence, is thus a crucial precondition for self-care. It may be that yoga or knitting will help us to refuel, but it can just as well be kickboxing or kitesurfing.

Introverts will cherish alone-time activities, while extroverts may reenergize by being with others. So let us not recommend that people light scented candles or take bubble baths, but rather encourage them instead to understand their unique needs and how to meet them – whatever these may be.

We hope you found this article useful. Don’t forget to download our three Self-Compassion Exercises for free .

• Goleman, D. P. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ for character, health & lifelong achievement. New York, NY: Bantam.
• Kashdan, T. B., Barrett, L.F., & McKnight, P. E. (2015). Unpacking emotion differentiation: Transforming unpleasant experience by perceiving distinctions in negativity. Current Directions in Psychological Science , 24 (1), 10-16.
• Neff, K. (2004). Self-compassion and psychological well-being.  Constructivism in the human sciences ,  9 (2), 27-37.
• Riegel, B., Dickson, V. V., Garcia, L. E., Creber, R. M., & Streur, M. (2017). Mechanisms of change in self-care in adults with heart failure receiving a tailored, motivational interviewing intervention.  Patient Education and Counseling ,  100 (2), 283-288.
• Schwartz, T. & McCarthy, C. (2007, October). Manage your energy, not your time.  Harvard Business Review . Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2007/10/manage-your-energy-not-your-time
• Skovholt, T. M., & Trotter-Mathison, M. (2011). Counseling and psychotherapy: Investigating practice from scientific, historical, and cultural perspectives. The resilient practitioner: Burnout prevention and self-care strategies for counselors, therapists, teachers, and health professionals (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

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What our readers think.

There are so many positive things to take in from this website. I have completed a couple of the exercises. My aim is to take on board my observations about myself and learn about self care. I’m looking forward to discussing this with my friends. Thank you.

Thank you very much ,itcame at the right time as we had a training yesterday emphasising on what are we doing daily to derailt ourselves.This activities will be valuable daily for one to use inoder to look forward to the next day

Good article. Thanks

Appreciate the worksheets.

Thank you for the worksheets!

Really great knowledge I have gained. I learned so much about self compassion.

Hi Meenu, So glad you found these resources helpful. Thanks for being a reader! – Nicole | Community Manager

Greetings Dr. Schaffner! Wonderful article! Thank you so much for sharing all the amazing self-care resources available for us to use, especially during these times. Thank you for sharing the Self Care Assessment Wheel as well and your kind words! I greatly appreciate it. I wanted to reach out and request Self-Care Wheel to be linked to my Self-Care Wheel website page: http://www.olgaphoenix.com/key-offerings/self-care-wheel/ . It contains additional information, Self-Care Wheels translated in other languages, downloadable resources, etc. The current link mentioned in this article is to 3rd non-affiliated party website. Thank you so very much for all your work! In deep gratitude, Olga Phoenix

Hi Olga, Thanks for reaching out to us. Yes, it certainly makes sense to link your original source. I’ll notify our editing team and get this link amended 🙂 – Nicole | Community Manager

Hi Nicole! Thank you so very much! Your time and work is greatly appreciated! Olga Phoenix

I really liked the way the video was put together…I understand the importance of a self-care

Hi Yvette, So glad you enjoyed the resources here. We offer a tool on the topic of self-compassion (which is an important part of self-care) which may be of interest to you. This tool is available for free download here . – Nicole | Community Manager

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Knowledge for nurses to better care for themselves so they can better care for others during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond

Anne hofmeyer.

a Anglia Ruskin University, UK

c Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre, UniSA Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

d UniSA Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, Australia

Ruth Taylor

b University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, United Kingdom

Kate Kennedy

1. introduction.

Viktor E. Frankl (1945, p. 165) declared, “The meaning of life is to help others find the meaning of theirs”. Arguably, the need for empathy, compassion and meaning in the lives of our patients, families, colleagues and ourselves has never been greater.

To care for others with compassion is why we became nurses ( Vachon, 2016 ). The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is an international public health event without precedent in any of our lifetimes. Not everyone will be affected physically by the virus, but every one of us will be affected psychologically. It is critical that nurses do not neglect their mental health during this pandemic. The global nursing and healthcare community is at the forefront of this unprecedented public health outbreak. The World Health Organization is one of many trusted public health organisations to provide comprehensive guidelines for the protection of front-line healthcare workers ( WHO, 2020 ). But there are alarming reports of ongoing global shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), for example: clinical staff in Chinese hospitals wore their raincoats or plastic garbage bags as protection ( Smith et al., 2020 ). There are courageous stories, but also reports of resource rationing decisions, ongoing PPE shortages, and unrelenting pressure and grief. But nurses have experienced significant occupational stress, pressure and burnout prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

To spark debate about these ‘contemporary issues’, we present a series of three papers for different audiences (i.e., nurse educators; front-line nurses; health system leaders and managers) to explain how empathic healthcare cultures and constructs such as empathy, emotion regulation, compassion, and self-care could sustain wellbeing, resilience and effectiveness in these volatile times. In this second of three papers, we explain how nurses, midwives and students can better care for themselves (e.g., self-care strategies such as kind self-talk; emotion regulation) so they can better care for others during the Covid-19 pandemic, and beyond.

First, we provide an overview of caring for ourselves and resilience in uncertain times. Next, we discuss empathy and compassion and explain why emotion regulation (‘self-other’ distinction) is an essential self-care strategy that nurses must learn so they can sustain care for others. Next, we explain how the practice of self-compassion can safeguard mental health, wellbeing, regulate emotions and reduce vulnerability. We then describe tips to support self-care and list trusted online resources that are providing regular updated information about Covid-19. Keeping strong in body, mind, and spirit to cope with ever-changing circumstances is vital.

2. Caring for ourselves so we can care for others

How do you talk to yourself when you are having a difficult time or have made a mistake? Are you kind and understanding and talk to yourself as you would talk to a good friend who is upset, or are you critical and judgmental? Studies show harsh self-talk and self-criticism activates the sympathetic nervous system that stimulates the stress response, so is harmful to our mental health and wellbeing ( Singer and Klimecki, 2014 ). As nurses, we understand the importance of self-care strategies (e.g., adequate sleep, healthy eating, regular exercise, social connections, mindfulness) to foster our resilience ( Mills et al., 2018 ; Cusack et al., 2016 ). Another important self-care strategy is kind self-talk which is a component of self-compassion ( Neff, 2011 ). We must first practice self-compassion and be aware of our own needs, before we can help others with theirs ( Vachon, 2016 ). When we talk kindly to ourselves, we strengthen our pro-social behaviours (e.g., altruism, kindness, empathy) toward others ( Singer and Klimecki, 2014 ). When we are empathic, we communicate better with patients, families, and colleagues. This process can lead to a deeper understanding of what matters to patients, and how to act with kindness and compassion to relieve their suffering and distress ( Vachon, 2016 ).

Nurses can use self-care strategies such as emotion regulation and self-compassion to lessen their vulnerability to caregiving fatigue and to improve their wellbeing and resilience.

2.1. Resilience in uncertain times

Everyone differs in their need for control, ability to tolerate uncertainty, and capacity to be resilient ( Hanson, 2018 ). Control is vital for our wellbeing, but our plans and sense of normality are being threatened and disrupted by forces beyond our control. Resilience starts with self-awareness, understanding how you are being affected by the uncertainty, powerlessness and difficult events. Fear, anxiety, anger, sadness and grief are normal feelings in the current crisis. We need to acknowledge our feelings of vulnerability, grief and worry, rather than telling ourselves we shouldn't have those feelings because other people are worse off ( Berinato, 2020 ). “When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves” ( Frankl, 1945 , p. 112). Instead of focusing on negativity and uncertainty, we need to accept what we are going through and work out what we can do. Resilience is our capacity to maintain our wellbeing and respond effectively in the face of uncertainty. Psychological resilience is based on self-efficacy, coping and mindfulness ( Cusack et al., 2016 ).

3. Empathy, self-awareness, emotion regulation and compassion

Clinical teams are more effective, morale is higher, patient satisfaction is higher, and safety improves when empathy and compassion are present in healthcare cultures ( Lown, 2018 ). Empathy is the ability to ‘feel with’ others and our empathic response is caused by the activation of neural networks in the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex that processes first person (our personal) experiences ( Singer and Klimecki, 2014 ). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies show that similar circuits of the brain are activated in both the person who is suffering and the person who is witnessing the suffering. It is vital we understand our empathic emotions are in response to seeing the other person suffering. In other words, it is not our suffering ( Singer and Klimecki, 2014 ).

This understanding that the suffering is external to ourselves is called the ‘self-other’ distinction. The ability to distinguish between our own and the emotional pain of others firstly requires self-awareness and then regulating our emotions to develop a protective ‘self-other’ boundary ( Vachon, 2016 ). The ability to regulate our emotions is key to avoid experiencing the distress of others. fMRI studies show that inadequate emotion regulation (i.e., blurring ‘self-other’ distinction) leads to individuals being unable to tolerate distressing emotions when confronted with another's suffering, so become overwhelmed. Nursing calls this debilitating condition ‘compassion fatigue’ which manifests as distress, emotional detachment from patients, feelings of isolation, and inability to care for self and others ( Hofmeyer et al., 2019 ). However neuroscientists have proven it is ‘empathic distress fatigue’ ( Singer and Klimecki, 2014 , p. 875).

In sum, exposure to the distress and suffering of others can lead to two different emotional responses. Empathic distress results from inadequate emotion regulation that triggers detachment and personal stress. In contrast, compassion is characterized by empathic concern and motivation to relieve others' distress and suffering ( Singer and Klimecki, 2014 ). Our ability to be self-aware and to regulate our emotions is key to our wellbeing and capacity to act with compassion. fMRI studies show compassion activates the medial orbitofrontal cortex related to positive affect, affiliation, maternal love, and reward leading to feelings of compassion for self and others ( Vachon, 2016 ). Compassion training includes strategies (e.g., meditation) to ease distress and strengthen resilience and attachment ( Vachon, 2016 ). Self-compassionate people are more likely to engage in ‘perspective taking’ which contributes to better mental health rather than ruminating about problems ( Neff, 2011 ). Acting with compassion is predicated on self-awareness and self-care including emotion regulation and self-compassion.

4. Self-compassion

Psychologist Kristin Neff was the first researcher to define and measure self-compassion two decades ago. As illustrated in Table 1 , self-compassion involves self-kindness, common humanity (understand that everyone makes mistakes and suffers), and mindfulness ( Neff, 2011 ). On the other hand, uncompassionate behaviour toward ourselves is expressed as self-criticism: self-judgement, isolation, over-identification ( Neff, 2011 ) as summarised in Box 1 .

Self-compassion and self-criticism.

Self-compassion affects our everyday lives and is expressed in how we relate to ourselves in times of perceived failure, inadequacy, or personal suffering ( Neff, 2011 ). Practicing self-compassion means we care with the same kindness and understanding toward ourselves when we fail, as we would care for a good friend ( Neff, 2011 ). Examples of actions that constitute self-compassion and actions that constitute self-criticism (that we need to lessen) are explained by Neff (2011) in Table 1 .

Learning to respond compassionately to our own distress requires self-awareness which, in turn, can strengthen our ability to activate our self-regulation systems so we feel safe (i.e., self-soothing activities stimulate positive emotions like contentment, more secure attachment) rather than feeling under threat ( Vachon, 2016 ). Self-care practices to develop self-awareness include mindfulness meditation and compassion training.

4.1. Benefits of self-compassion

Self-compassionate individuals have better psychological health, motivation, perspective-taking, better relationships and happiness ( Vachon, 2016 ). They experience less rumination, anxiety, depression, shame, and fear of failure. Self-compassion is an altruistic act that prepares us to cope with life stressors. Self-compassion is about ‘being with’ ourselves in a compassionate way – comforting, soothing, respecting and validating. This, in turn, prepares us to make self-compassionate choices about how to act in the world, such as:

• • Protecting: we feel safe from harm, and say no to people and factors that cause us harm;
• • Providing: we identify and give ourselves what we need to be well;
• • Motivating: we encourage ourselves to act with kindness and support ( Neff, 2011 ).

Self-compassion is a personal resource that can potentially help us live with greater ease by responding to our suffering and shortcomings in a supportive and balanced manner. Self-compassion promotes emotional stability, wellbeing and thriving. As we explained, self-criticism activates our sympathetic nervous system and elevates stress hormones ( Singer and Klimecki, 2014 ). Whereas when we practice self-compassion and remain calm in the face of failure, rejection or criticism, we de-activate the threat system and activate the care system so oxytocin and endorphins are released which helps reduce stress and increase feelings of safety ( Vachon, 2016 ).

5. Tips and resources for self-care

In this section, we list practical tips and online resources (i.e., organisations) providing regular updates to get you started so you can better manage in these uncertain times. However, this is by no means an exhaustive list. It is vital to be strong in body, mind, and spirit and courageously face the ever-changing circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. Self-care fosters greater self-compassion because it includes positive approaches to building resilience and regulating anxious emotions.

5.1. Self-care practices

Self-care is an intentional: “proactive, holistic, and personalised approach to the promotion of health and wellbeing through a variety of strategies, in both personal and professional settings, to enhance capacity for care of patients and their families” ( Mills et al., 2018 , p.1). The Schwartz Centre (2020) reminds us to accept that it is normal to feel sad, stressed, confused, and angry so it's important to monitor our stress levels. Develop a daily self-care routine to meet your basic needs: nutrition, hygiene, exercise, virtual social contact, and work to keep anxiety at bay. In addition:

• • Take breaks, go outside (even for short periods), adequate sleep, good nutrition, exercise.
• • Intentionally build moments of happiness, gratitude, and everyday pleasure in your life.
• • If you feel overwhelmed, seek support from a therapist (via telehealth).
• • Stay connected with colleagues, friends and relatives. Maintain social interaction and supportive networks in creative and safe ways. Practice ‘physical distancing’ during Covid-19, NOT ‘social distancing’. Our relationships with people and pets support our mental health.
• • Limit media exposure and access only trusted sites to minimise becoming overwhelmed.
• • Write a letter to yourself as if you were talking to a friend who was struggling with similar concerns. Read it later when the words can soothe and comfort you as you struggle.

5.2. Mindfulness meditation and compassion training

• • The Buddhist practice of mindfulness is about quietening and calming the mind by staying in the present moment, practicing gratitude in the midst of difficulties, breathing deeply, paying attention to sensations around you, and has proven benefits when practiced regularly. Mindfulness increases our psychological flexibility to regulate our emotions. fMRI studies show that mindfulness meditation regulates the anterior insula activity that is roused when we empathise with others' suffering, so can increase capacity for self-soothing. Meditation practices strengthen perspective, compassion, self-compassion and emotion regulation ( Klimecki et al., 2014 ).
• • Deep breathing takes us from the flight or fight mode (that stimulates the sympathetic system) into the calming parasympathetic system.
• • Caring touch such as placing your hand over your heart when feeling upset releases oxytocin that makes us feel safe and connected ( Neff, 2011 ).
• • Through compassion training, we increase our self-awareness, learn to regulate our emotions and strengthen our resilience. This, in turn, reduces empathic distress and increases our prosocial, kind, compassionate behaviour toward ourselves and others ( Klimecki et al., 2014 ).

5.3. Online resources

You can access local and international public health and professional websites for regular updated information about self-protection and coping during the Covid-19 pandemic. Various online resources provide ideas for self-care plans and supportive rituals. For example:

• • Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare is supporting healthcare professionals to cope with the ever-changing challenges presented by Covid-19 pandemic. Visit their COVID-19 resource page that is regularly updated with tips and information to help caregivers support each other and care for themselves and maintain resilience.
• • WHO COVID-19 https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
• • International Council of Nurses COVID-19 resources https://www.icn.ch/
• • RCN COVID-19 resources https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/covid-19
• • RCN resources and tips in RCNi newsletters to improve nurses' wellbeing and readiness to provide compassionate care. Take breaks, rest, rehydrate, refuel.
• • RCN Six steps to mindfulness: https://www.rcn.org.uk/magazines/bulletin/2019/june/mindfulness-meditation-tools-june-2019
• • Kristin Neff: 10 Self-Compassion practices for COVID-19: http://self-compassion.org/
• • Germer & Neff: Center for Mindful Self-Compassion: https://centerformsc.org/
• • Chris Germer: Mindful Self-Compassion program: https://chrisgermer.com/
• • SAHMRI Wellbeing and Resilience Centre https://www.wellbeingandresilience.com/

6. Conclusion

In the midst of the constantly evolving Covid-19 pandemic, it is vital that frontline clinicians have the support and essential resources they need to “reconnect with the purpose that drew them into healthcare so they can continue to experience, and offer, compassion” ( Lown, 2018 , p. 219). Knowledge and competence are as equally important as kindness and compassion in front-line nurses and responders to the Covid-19 pandemic. This unprecedented public health crisis is impacting every aspect of our daily life. Resilience, patience and kindness is needed to cope with the grief, distress and fear as we worry about the wellbeing of our patients, colleagues, our families and ourselves.

We have outlined tips and links to regularly updated information and self-care resources to safeguard our mental health, wellbeing and resilience as we work long hours caring for acutely ill patients and distressed families. Taken together, self-care and compassionate cultures are key ingredients to sustain wellbeing and resilience, contribute to nurses' career longevity, and compassionate practice now, and into the future beyond the Covid-19 crisis. In these moments of collective vulnerability and grief, let us all lead with hope and kindness toward others. As we continue to do the best we can in the days and months ahead, we can be encouraged by Ken Schwartz's words that simple acts of kindness can make the ‘unbearable bearable’ (Schwartz Centre, 2020 ).

CRediT author statement

Anne Hofmeyer: Conceptualisation, writing – original. Ruth Taylor: Conceptualisation, writing – review and editing. Kate Kennedy: Writing – review and editing.

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• Student Success
• Life After College

Funding Student Success: Expanding Early Childhood Education Pathways

To meet a growing demand for early childhood educators, states and institutions are investing in scholarship programs to cover student expenses.

By  Ashley Mowreader

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Early childhood educators are in high demand, but new credential requirements are forcing many to return to higher education.

Nimito/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Early childhood education (ECE) professionals are in high demand across the nation, and child care is a growing economic crisis for parents due to rising costs and limited availability of services. Credentialing ECE staff, however, can be a challenge because they often earn significantly lower wages than other workers with the same level of education—meaning the cost of higher education doesn’t always pay off in their work.

New changing requirements within ECE roles requires upskilling or reskilling among those who are already in the field, as well, which can disproportionally affect some student groups, including low-income learners, women and students of color, according to a July report from The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) and the Georgetown University Center on Poverty and Inequality.

To encourage learners to pursue postsecondary education and credentials in ECE, colleges, systems and states have provided funding to offset student costs.

Dollars in the classroom: In 2021, Illinois established the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program, which covers the total cost of attendance for an academic year, including the summer, to improve the ECE workforce in the state. Southern Illinois University used a $937,000 grant from the state to provide $31,000 scholarships annually to students studying early childhood and host a three-day conference for ECE professionals.

Mercyhurst University received a grant from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education in July to upskill current employees of licensed childcare centers. With the grant, qualifying individuals (Pennsylvania residents, working full-time and with limited income) will receive a scholarship that covers tuition, fees and books for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education at the university.

The Colorado Community College System received $38.5 million from the state to cover tuition, fees and other expenses for students enrolled in seven training programs starting fall 2023, including early childhood education. Career Advance Colorado’s free early childhood program is offered at 15 community and technical colleges across the state.

The University of Arkansas’s College of Education and Health Professions received funding from the Arkansas Department of Education to provide scholarships for certified practicing educators who want to specialize in supporting students with disabilities. With the funding, the university will award 25 scholarships for the Online Early Childhood Pre-K Special Education Academy, covering students’ tuition, books and fees. The specialization can also be applied to a Masters of Education in special education from the U of A for educators interested in continuing their studies.

Promoting equity: TICAS’s report highlights structural barriers in higher education institutions that can limit equitable access to ECE career development.

Credential requirement policies should be accommodating to the experiences of ECE professionals, including flexible class times, competency-based pathways and culturally responsive classrooms (recognizing the majority of ECE staff are women and/or people of color).

Community colleges are uniquely positioned to meet the workforce need, having lower credit costs and more widely available programs, but four-year institutions can also consider ways to make ECE bachelor’s degrees affordable and accommodating to interested learners.

The University of Delaware announced in May it would create an associate degree in early childhood education. This program will be primarily online and flexible, allowing students to enroll part- or full-time and select if they will meet online, in the evenings or on weekends.

Neighboring Delaware State University, Delaware Technical Community College and Wilmington University will award current and incoming students who hold Child Development Associates (CDAs) 12 credits for prior learning at no charge to accelerate their time to degree.

If your student success program has a unique feature or twist, we’d like to know about it. Click here to submit.

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-attacks-on-walzs-military-record-by-vance-and-other-republicans

Fact-checking attacks on Walz’s military record by Vance and other Republicans

This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact .

Republican vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance sought to negatively frame the 24-year military career of newly minted Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, Minnesota’s current governor.

“When the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America, asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it,” Vance  said  Aug. 7 at the Shelby, Michigan, police department. Vance  served  as a combat correspondent for the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007 and deployed to Iraq for six months in 2005 but  did not experience combat .

Vance continued, “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, do you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. … I think it’s shameful.” At a different event, Vance used the phrase “ stolen valor ” to describe his accusations against Walz.

On X, Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, made a  claim similar to Vance’s,  writing, “Tim Walz TURNED HIS BACK on the soldiers in his unit because he was TOO afraid to deploy to Iraq!!”

READ MORE: Democrats defend Walz’s military record as Vance, GOP begin attacks

Walz retired from the Minnesota National Guard in May 2005. He had submitted retirement paperwork five to seven months beforehand, Fox News  reported , citing the Minnesota National Guard.

In March 2005, Walz’s battalion had been notified about a possible deployment to Iraq within two years, Walz’s congressional campaign said in a  news release  that month, citing the National Guard Public Affairs Office. The Minnesota National Guard said the battalion then received an official order about mobilizing for deployment to Iraq in July 2005, after Walz retired.

Vance’s statement misleads by distorting the timeline. Walz had not been “asked by his country to go to Iraq,” as Vance said. He had been given a two-year window for a potential, not definite, deployment. And the official deployment notice came after Walz’s retirement.

Walz has said since before his Army retirement that he left to run for Congress. He filed his candidacy paperwork in February 2005, before the March 2005 notification about the potential deployment.

This is not a new line of attack. When Walz ran for a second term as Minnesota governor in 2022, his Republican opponent, who did not serve in the U.S. military,  criticized  Walz for leaving the National Guard before his unit deployed to Iraq.

Two retired Minnesota National Guard command sergeant majors also  penned a paid letter  to a Minnesota newspaper in 2018 claiming Walz “embellished and selectively omitted facts” about his military service. This letter resurfaced on X after Vice President Kamala Harris tapped Walz as her running mate. Other  guard   members  who served with Walz have defended him.

Walz’s spokesperson in the Minnesota governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment, and the Harris-Walz campaign declined to comment.

When reached by  The New York Times , a Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson didn’t provide new details about Walz’s retirement timeline and instead highlighted Walz’s record advocating for veterans and their families.

When contacted for comment, Vance’s campaign spokesperson sent links to the 2005 Walz campaign news release about the potential deployment and several news stories that quote former members of Walz’s battalion who were upset with him for not deploying to Iraq.

Walz’s military timeline

Walz enlisted in the Nebraska National Guard on April 8, 1981, two days after his 17th birthday. In 1996, Walz transferred to the Minnesota National Guard, where he served in the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery until he retired May 16, 2005, Army Lt. Col. Kristen Augé, Minnesota National Guard’s state public affairs officer, told PolitiFact in a statement.

During his service, Walz responded to floods and tornadoes, specialized in heavy artillery and was recognized for his proficiency in sharpshooting and hand grenades, Minnesota Public Radio  reported .

On Aug. 3, 2003, Walz and his battalion were deployed to Italy to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom. Walz returned to Minnesota in April 2004, Augé said.

WATCH: A look at Walz’s record and how he could bolster Democratic support in the Midwest

In May 2005, Walz, then 41, officially retired from the Minnesota National Guard to campaign for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. He  filed  his statement of candidacy paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Feb. 10, 2005. Walz was elected to Congress in November 2006.

Al Bonnifield, who served with Walz in the Minnesota National Guard, told  Minnesota Public Radio  in 2018 that Walz weighed his retirement from the guard and congressional run “very heavy.” Bonnifield reiterated this to  The Washington Post  on Aug. 7.

“Would the soldier look down on him because he didn’t go with us? Would the common soldier say, ‘Hey, he didn’t go with us, he’s trying to skip out on a deployment?’ And he wasn’t,” Bonnifield said in 2018.

Doug Julin, who served as a more senior command sergeant major in Walz’s battalion, said Walz went over his head to get retirement approval before the unit’s deployment was official, because Julin would have “analyzed it and challenged him,” the  New York Post  reported Aug. 8.

Others who served in Walz’s battalion have said he “ditched” them and his actions were “dishonorable,” Fox News  reported .

Battalion’s deployment to Iraq

Walz’s unit received an “alert order” for mobilization to Iraq on July 14, 2005, Army Lt. Col. Ryan Rossman, Minnesota National Guard’s director of operations, told PolitiFact in a statement.

The unit received the official Department of the Army mobilization order Aug. 14, 2005, and mobilized Oct. 12, 2005, Rossman said.

The unit deployed to Iraq in March 2006 and was deployed for 19 months, according to an October 2007  congressional resolution .

The two retired Minnesota National Guard command sergeant majors who wrote the 2018 letter said the battalion received a “warning order” in early 2005 “to prepare to be mobilized for active duty for a deployment to Iraq.” They did not specify the warning letter’s date. Augé of the Minnesota National Guard told PolitiFact the agency doesn’t have information about any unofficial orders that might have been sent to the battalion.

An  archived March 20, 2005, press release  from Walz’s congressional campaign website said the National Guard Public Affairs Office announced March 17, 2005, “a possible partial mobilization of roughly 2,000 troops from the Minnesota National Guard.” The announcement said a portion of Walz’s battalion could be mobilized to serve in Iraq within the next two years.

Walz said in his campaign’s press release, “As Command Sergeant Major I have a responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on. I am dedicated to serving my country to the best of my ability, whether that is in Washington, D.C., or in Iraq. I don’t want to speculate on what shape my campaign will take if I am deployed, but I have no plans to drop out of the race.”

Although Walz had been  promoted  in 2004 to command sergeant major, he retired in 2005 as a master sergeant,  one rank below  command sergeant major, “for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy,” Augé said.

Joseph Eustice, a 32-year military veteran who served in and led the same guard unit as Walz, told  The New York Times  and  NewsNation  in Aug. 7 interviews that when Walz decided to retire in May 2005, their unit had heard rumors of a potential deployment to Iraq, but had not received official orders.

Vance said, “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, do you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him.”

Vance’s statement ignores that Walz’s unit was not officially ordered to go to Iraq until July 2005, two months after Walz officially retired.

After 24 years of military service, Walz said he retired from the Minnesota National Guard in May 2005 to run for Congress. He had submitted retirement paperwork five to seven months beforehand. He filed candidacy paperwork in February 2005.

READ MORE: 5 things to know about Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ VP pick

There’s an element of truth in Vance’s statement because in March 2005, before Walz officially retired, his battalion was notified of possible deployment to Iraq within two years. Walz was aware at the time of his retirement that deployment could be possible and one of his fellow guard members described Walz’s retirement decision as “very heavy.”

But the March 2005 notification gave a time frame of two years for a possible — not definite — deployment that would not occur immediately, which is the way Vance’s statement framed it.

At PolitiFact, the burden of proof is on the speaker, Vance, who did not provide details to support his statement. We rate it Mostly False.

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

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• Open access
• Published: 12 August 2024

The impact of a nutrition course on self-epistemic authority, professional meaning as mediating factors on professional identity among nursing students

• Miriam Theilla 1   na1 &
• Dorit Weil-Lotan 1   na1  

BMC Nursing volume  23 , Article number:  549 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

63 Accesses

Metrics details

The professional competence of nursing personnel is integral to the efficacy of nursing procedures. Educational endeavors, especially those encompassing professional training programs, are critical in fostering a professional identity among nurses. The role of nurses within a multi-disciplinary nutrition team has the potential to enhance professional identity and improve the quality of care provided.

This study aimed to explore the potential impact of knowledge acquisition and practical nutrition education on the development of professional identity among nursing school students. Furthermore, we hypothesize that professional autonomy and self-epistemic authority mediated the relationship between a sense of meaning, professional mission, and professional identity.

A cross-sectional survey compared nursing students who had completed a practical nutrition course with those who had not. The study measured professional identity, professional autonomy, self-epistemic authority, and sense of meaning. Data collection was conducted using validated questionnaires, with questions tailored to suit the study demographic. Mediation analysis was conducted on the combined sample of both groups.

Participants

The study included 98 nursing students, divided into a study group (57 students who completed a nutrition course) and a control group (41 students who did not complete the course).

Significant differences were found between the groups in measures of professional identity (t = 3.42, p  < .001), professional autonomy (t = 2.93, p  < .005), and self-epistemic authority (t = 2.78, p  < .007). There was no significant difference in the sense of meaning (t = 1.45, p  = .150). Mediation analysis on the combined sample revealed that self-epistemic authority mediated the relationship between professional meaning and professional identity, while professional autonomy did not.

The findings suggest that practical nutrition education enhances nursing students’ professional identity, autonomy, and self-epistemic authority. Future studies should include larger and more diverse samples to further explore these relationships.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Nurses possessing a strong professional identity and awareness of their unique contributions to the healthcare system play a crucial role in acknowledging the importance of professional identity [ 1 ]. Professional identity is defined as the self-perception of nurses within their occupational realm. It represents a critical element across professions, with the nursing sector actively engaging in dialogues to affirm its status as an independent discipline.

Nursing is an old profession but relatively new in the academic field. It became an academic profession at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century [ 2 ]. There is a clear link between nursing as a scholarly profession and developing one’s professional identity. According to Findlow (2012) [ 3 ], establishing a nurse’s professional identity becomes challenging when academic subjects prioritize nursing values over those of academia. In New Zealand, a study conducted among nurse teachers [ 4 ]. revealed that academia plays a vital role in the professional discipline of nursing and the cultivation of their professional identity. Researchers have additionally endeavored to ascertain whether nursing qualifies as an academic profession [ 5 ]. Despite a consensus among nursing professionals regarding their fundamental duty to deliver care, a disconnect persists between the theoretical principles and their practical implementation [ 6 ].

The significance of appropriate professional education and clinical experience as a contributory factor to personal fulfillment within the nursing role is widely recognized [ 7 ].

A qualitative study revealed that the perceptions of nursing students regarding the knowledge gained through their academic journey, encompassing clinical training, are instrumental in the shaping of their professional identity [ 8 ].

A pivotal role of education is cultivating self- epistemic authority among students. The student’s perception of how their instructors receive nutritional knowledge and treatment advice significantly affects their sense of self -epistemic authority [ 9 ] In the context of professional knowledge, self-epistemic authority pertains to the degree of trustworthiness and credibility attributed to an individual’s expertise and knowledge within a particular profession or discipline [ 10 ]. Thus, it becomes apparent that the cultivation of specialized clinical knowledge areas, such as nutrition, is crucial among nursing personnel. Nurses serve as integral components of multidisciplinary teams in nutrition care. Providing nurses with both the knowledge and practical tools in this domain not only enhances their self-epistemic authority but also promotes cognitive adaptability. This quality is vital for the identification and critical assessment of their knowledge and convictions [ 11 ]. Furthermore, such empowerment supports nurses in executing informed and independent professional judgments, free from external influences [ 12 ].

Within the domain of nursing, professional autonomy is characterized by the authority to make decisions and the liberty to act predicated upon the professional knowledge base dedicated to human care [ 13 ]. Research within the medical field has illuminated the pivotal role that professional knowledge plays in promoting professional autonomy and nurturing professional identity across a spectrum of diverse disciplines [ 14 ].

This study investigated the potential impact of acquiring knowledge and receiving practical nutrition education on developing professional identity among nursing school students. Additionally, we hypothesize that professional autonomy and self-epistemic authority mediated the relationship between a sense of meaning, professional mission, and professional identity.

Research design and setting

This study employed a cross-sectional survey methodology, utilizing a convenience sample comprising 98 Nursing students drawn from various academic years at a prominent college located in central of the country. Recruitment and data were collected from December 2022 to September 2023. Data collection was facilitated via a structured questionnaire administered to participants who had either completed a nutrition course ( n  = 57) or had not yet enrolled in or completed such a course ( n  = 41).

The Health Promotion course in nutrition is a newly added course that is offered in the later years of study (semesters 6–7/8). The primary goal of this course is to build upon the knowledge gained in previous classes and apply it to specific populations. We built the learning outcomes including assignments according to Bloom’s taxonomy [ 15 ]. students in this course are expected to move beyond simply acquiring knowledge and understanding. They are encouraged to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the course material from a clinical perspective. This higher level of critical thinking enables students to explore concepts such as competence and self-epistemic authority, which play a crucial role in shaping their professional identity as nurses.

All nursing students enrolled at the college were invited to partake in the research, with 120 students consenting and volunteering to participate. However, 22 of these volunteers failed to complete the majority of the questionnaire items, resulting in the exclusion of their responses from the analysis. Of the 98 students who were included in the analyses, 28 were first-year students (28.6%), 38 were second-year students (38.8%), 11 were third-year students (11.2%), and 21 were fourth-year students (21.4%).

Demographic questionnaire

This questionnaire comprised six questions designed to gather data on participants’ age, gender, religion, marital status, academic year, and whether they had participated in and completed a nutrition course.

• Professional identity

The 41-item scale developed by Fisherman & Weiss (2011) [ 16 ]. for application among schoolteachers and subsequently modified for this study to suit the nursing profession probes into four different dimensions of professional identity. These dimensions include ‘confidence in the professional choice’, exemplified by statements such as, “I am certain choosing to become a nurse was the correct decision”, ‘feeling of self-efficacy’, with examples such as, “I believe I can be an effective nurse”, ‘sense of mission’, illustrated by, “I view the nursing profession as a calling”, and ‘reputation of education and teaching’, represented by sentiments such as, “when someone shows disrespect towards nurses, I take it personally.” Participants were instructed to assess the extent to which each statement accurately reflected their experience, using a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely untrue) to 4 (completely true). The overall score for professional identity was derived by computing the mean across all 41 items ranging between 1 (low level of professional identity) and 4 (high level of professional identity). The reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) for this scale in the present study was 0.95.

Professional Autonomy

The scale comprises seven questions grounded in the perceived autonomy support construct by Grolnick et al. (1991) [ 17 ], initially conceptualized within the context of children’s perception of parental support and subsequently modified for applicability to the present cohort. These questions explore the degree of professional autonomy perceived in the workplace, with items such as, “my opinions are acknowledged and valued at work”, “my colleagues are generally willing to consider my perspectives and insights on nutritional issues”, and “I have the autonomy to implement my decisions in the workplace”. Participants were prompted to evaluate how accurately each statement reflects their feelings using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (completely untrue) to 5 (completely true). The composite score for professional autonomy was determined by averaging the responses to these items ranging in a score between 1 (low level of professional autonomy) and 5 (high level of professional autonomy). In this study, the scale demonstrated a Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of .78.

Self-epistemic autonomy

Assessment of the nursing student level of self-epistemic authority was based on a scale developed by Raviv et al. (2003) [ 9 ]. We adjusted from a teaching context to a nutrition context. The questionnaire consisted of nine items, including affirmations such as: “I possess extensive knowledge in nutrition”, and “I am capable of providing accurate responses to questions about nutrition”. Notably three of these items required reverse scoring, for example, “my understanding of nutrition does not surpass that of others”. Respondents were instructed to express the extent to which each statement best resonated with their experiences, using a 6-point Likert scale that ranges from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). The final self-epistemic autonomy score was calculated by averaging the responses to these nine items ranging between 1 (low level of self-epistemic autonomy) and 6 (high level of self-epistemic autonomy). The reliability of this scale, as indicated by Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.90 in this study.

Sense of meaning

This scale incorporated five questions extracted from the 24-item Calling and Vocation Questionnaire CVQ; Dik et al., (2012) [ 18 ], which were adapted to fit the current sample. These questions aimed to capture the nursing students’ perceptions of meaning and their sense of professional mission, with examples including, “I perceive the nursing profession as my calling”, “I am engaged in defining and understanding my mission within the nursing profession”, and “my career is a significant component of my life’s meaning”. Participants were required to assess how well each statement reflected their sentiments using a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (completely untrue) to 4 (completely true). The composite score for sense of meaning. Sense of meaning was calculated as the mean of these five items, the score ranging between 1 (low level of sense of meaning ) and 4 ( sense of meaning ). The reliability of this measure, as indicated by Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.77 in this research.

The study commenced subsequent to obtaining approval from the ethics committee of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Academic College. Participants were approached in their classroom settings where they were provided with the research questionnaires alongside instructions requiring their signed consent for participation. These guidelines underscored the anonymity of the study and affirmed the participants’ right to withdraw at any point. The research team distributed the questionnaires to two distinct cohorts: one that had passed the clinical nutrition course and another yet to fulfill this requirement. Participants were instructed to fill out the questionnaire and ensure that no items were omitted.

Handling missing data

To handle missing data, we performed multiple imputation using SPSS (version 23.0). The pattern and extent of missing data were first analyzed, revealing that 2.5% (150 missing data values and 5926 complete data values) of the data were missing at random across the four questionnaires (professional autonomy, professional authority, self-epistemic authority, sense of meaning).

We used the Fully Conditional Specification (FCS) method to generate five imputed datasets, which is within the recommended range for reliable imputation. The imputation model used predictive mean matching and included all variables from the primary analysis to ensure that the relationships among the data were preserved. Each imputation underwent 10 iterations to ensure convergence.

Diagnostic checks, including trace plots, were used to assess the convergence of the imputation process. Additionally, we compared the distributions of imputed values with observed values to ensure the quality of imputations. For the analysis, we used Rubin’s rules to combine parameter estimates and standard errors across the five imputed datasets.

Statistical Analysis , All statistical analyses were conducted using JASP version 0.18.2, which utilizes R version 4.3 as its underlying engine. Descriptive statistics of means and SDs were used to describe age and the four measures (professional identity, professional autonomy, self-epistemic authority, and sense of meaning ) and Pearson correlation was used to describe the relationships between them. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe qualitative background characteristics (gender, religion, marital status, academic year, and whether they had participated in and completed a nutrition course). Independent samples t-tests were performed to compare the two cohort groups (had completed a nutrition course vs. had not) in the study’s four measures.

To investigate the mediation effects, we employed the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) method, implemented in JASP version 0.18.2. The GLS method was chosen due to its ability to handle potential issues of heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation in the data, providing more efficient and unbiased parameter estimates compared to Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression. GLS adjusts for variations in error variances and covariances, thereby offering a robust approach for estimating the relationships among the independent variable, mediator, and dependent variable. This method enhances the precision and reliability of the mediation analysis, ensuring that the effects are accurately captured, and the assumptions of the regression model are appropriately met.

To ensure the validity of our statistical analyses, we conducted assumption checks for Pearson correlations, t-tests, and mediation analysis. For Pearson correlations, we assessed linearity, homoscedasticity, and the absence of significant outliers using scatter plots and standardized residual plots. For t-tests, we tested normality using the Shapiro-Wilk test and inspected Q-Q plots, while Levene’s test was used to confirm homogeneity of variances for independent t-tests. In mediation analysis, we verified linearity and normality of residuals through residual plots and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and then assessed homoscedasticity via standardized residual plots. Multicollinearity was checked using variance inflation factors (VIF), ensuring all VIF values were below 10. All assumptions were satisfactorily met, validating the robustness of our findings. Mediation model estimates and path coefficients were adjusted for gender and age.

The cohort comprised 98 participants, with a gender distribution of 73 females (74.5%) and 25 males (25.5%) and an age range of 18–42 years ( M  = 26.6, SD  = 5.5). Among the 98 participants, 71 (72. 5%) were single, and 27 (27.6%) were married. A majority of 72 (72.5%) identified as Jewish Israelis, 21 (21.4%) as Muslim Israelis, with the remaining five affiliating with other religions. Table  1 shows the breakdown between the two cohorts (completed and did not attend a nutrition course) for these background variables and tests using chi-square for independent variables for any relationship with gender, marital status and religion and a t-test for independent samples for differences in age between the two cohorts. Groups were found to be significantly different in age and gender: 86% of nursing students who completed a nutrition course were female as opposed to 58.5% of students who did not attend a nutrition course. Students who completed a nutrition course were 2.5 years older than students who did not attend a nutrition course.

The study variables showed a high level of professional identity (M = 3.30, Sd = 0.45; max score = 4), moderate levels of professional autonomy (M = 3.28, SD = 0.73; max score = 5) and self-epistemic authority (M = 3.81, SD = 1.06; max score = 6), and a high level of sense of meaning (M = 3.47, SD = 0.58; max score = 4). Pearson correlations were performed between study’s variables, as having non-zero correlations between the variables in a mediation model are a pre-requisite for mediation model testing (Table  2 ).

As indicated in Table  2 , there is no significant relationship between age and any of the variables under study. The relationships between self-epistemic authority and sense of meaning are characterized by a weak positive correlation, whereas the correlations between ‘professional identity’, ‘professional autonomy’, ‘self-epistemic authority’ and ‘sense of meaning’ were moderate positive correlations. A subsequent analysis involved examining the differences between two cohorts of nursing students: those who had completed a nutrition course ( n  = 57) and those who had not ( n  = 41), utilizing student’s t-test for independent samples. The outcomes of the t-test analyses, detailed in Table  3 , reveal significantly elevated levels of Identity, Autonomy, and Epistemic Authority among nurses who participated in a nutrition course compared to those who did not. Conversely, no significant disparities in sense of meaning were observed between the two groups.

Mediation analysis

We then tested our hypothesis positing that professional autonomy and self-epistemic authority mediated the relationship between sense of meaning, and professional identity. This was accomplished through mediation analysis using Generalized Least Squares (GLS) standardized estimators. This mediation model clearly showed that professional autonomy did not mediate the relationship between sense of meaning, and professional identity Therefore, professional autonomy was excluded from the model (Table  4 ).

The final mediation model revealed that self-epistemic authority partially mediated (accounting for 21.1% of the total effect) the relationship between sense of meaning and professional identity, as depicted in Table  5 . Diagram  1 illustrates the path coefficients within the mediation model.

The mediation model

Path coefficients of the mediation model with Epistemic Authority (EpA) partially mediating the relationship between sense of meaning (SnM) and Professional Identity (Idn)

The present study reveals that nursing students who received a practical nutrition course showed a higher level of self-epistemic authority, professional autonomy, and professional identity than those in the control group who did not receive this course. However, the results show no significant disparity in the sense of professional meaning between the control and experimental cohorts. Furthermore, the study aims to assess the impact of the study variables on professional identity. Within the mediation model, professional autonomy was professional autonomy variable was identified as non-contributory and subsequently omitted from the model. However, in the mediated model, a sense of professional meaning emerges as one of the predictors of professional identity. The acquisition and application of clinical knowledge through appropriate training constitute fundamental aspects of nursing education, facilitating students’ capacity to retain and employ acquired knowledge in real-world scenarios [ 19 ]. The process of knowledge acquisition, coupled with the affirmation of one’s cognitive competencies, enhances one’s self-epistemic authority [ 9 ]. Studies show a significant relationship between self-epistemic authority and professional identity [ 14 , 20 ], which aligns with the findings of the present study. Increasing self-epistemic authority and obtaining knowledge is crucial for nursing as it increases nursing care, fosters a sense of professional mission, and facilitates retention, thereby mitigating workforce attrition [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].

Interestingly, our results, derived by performing t-tests to compare the two cohorts under study, revealed that nursing students who completed a nutrition course had higher levels of professional identity, professional autonomy, and Epistemic authority compared to nursing students who did not attend a nutrition course. However, the two groups showed no difference in ‘sense of meaning’. This discrepancy could potentially be attributed to the variability in the educational stages or academic year of the nursing students participating in our study. Research published by Vabo and Fossum [ 24 ]. Indicates variations in the perceptions of sense of professional meaning and professional identity among students at varying junctures of their nursing education journey, producing sustainable development goals and widening participation [ 25 , 26 , 27 ].

When constructing a predictive model for professional identity based on the variables in our study, we observed that ‘sense of meaning’ and ‘self-epistemic authority’ played significant roles. However, professional autonomy had no significant contribution to the predictive model. Conversely, ‘sense of meaning’ significantly predicted professional identity. However, it should be considered whether this finding could be attributed to item similarity in the ‘sense of meaning’ and ‘professional identity’ questionnaires.

Despite these significant findings, the generalizability of the study results is influenced by several factors. The sample was drawn from a single academic institution, which may limit the applicability of the findings to nursing students from other institutions or regions. Additionally, the study utilized a convenience sample, which can introduce selection bias and may not represent the broader population of nursing students. The relatively small sample size further restricts the ability to generalize the findings, as it may not capture the full diversity of experiences and backgrounds present in the larger population of nursing students.

Moreover, the specific context of the nutrition course within the curriculum at the studied institution might differ from other programs, affecting the transferability of the results. Future research should aim to replicate this study with larger and more diverse samples across multiple institutions to enhance the external validity. Including students from different geographic locations, educational backgrounds, and varying stages in their nursing education would provide a more comprehensive understanding of how nutrition education impacts professional identity and related constructs.

Overall, while the study provides valuable insights into the relationship between nutrition education and professional identity among nursing students, caution should be exercised in generalizing these findings beyond the specific context and sample of this study. Further research is needed to confirm these results in broader and more varied populations.

The findings in the current study show that the acquisition of clinical knowledge increases nursing students’ self-epistemic authority, instills a sense of mission in the profession, and enhances their professional identity. Accordingly, we advocate for further scholarly inquiry into this domain positing that such endeavors could substantially contribute to fostering professional pride, curtailing attrition rates, and promote retention of nurses within this paramount profession.

Data availability

The data have the reserch participents name . However, The datasets used and/or analyzed in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the nursing students participants for their part in the research.

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Miriam Theilla and Dorit Weil-Lotan contributed equally to this work.

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Nursing Department, Tel Aviv-Yaffo Academic College School for Nursing Sciences, Hever Haleumim 10, Yaffo -Tel Aviv, Israel

Miriam Theilla & Dorit Weil-Lotan

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M.T. made substantial contributions to the conception, design, analysis, and interpretation of the data, as well as to drafting the work or substantially revising it. M.T. also approved the submitted version. D.W.L. made substantial contributions to the conception, design, analysis, and interpretation of the data, as well as to drafting the work or substantially revising it. D.W.L. also approved the submitted version.

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Theilla, M., Weil-Lotan, D. The impact of a nutrition course on self-epistemic authority, professional meaning as mediating factors on professional identity among nursing students. BMC Nurs 23 , 549 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02220-4

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Received : 16 May 2024

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02220-4

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