Importance of Self-Care in the Field of Social Work
In highly emotional fields, burnout is a serious problem. Self-care is essential in social work, where most practitioners tend to experience compassion fatigue or burnout. One needs to set limits to prioritize their work: sleep, drink and eat well, maintain boundaries with clients, create time for oneself and indulge in leisure activities that will help restore the strength and energy needed to care for clients, indulge in constant physical activity which is known to boost the happy-hormones and lessen stress, manage stressful events and emotions, speak to a trusted professional about the feelings, and take time off to rejuvenate (FSU Online, 2020). The ability to self-care makes it possible for social workers to manage stress well and be less prone to burnout. As a result, they are able to offer better care to their clients.
One of the best ways to help me in my self-care management is exercise and meditation. I like to work out for at least 30 minutes about three times a week, which leaves me feeling less stressed and relaxed. Meditation also helps me be at par with my emotions and feelings and learn my weaknesses and areas that I need to improve on. However, I know that sleeping well is an excellent strategy to enhance self-care, but I do not always sleep well. There are times that I indulge in activities that take up my sleeping time, and this is likely to leave me drained the next day. Therefore, one of the changes I can make is my sleeping time and pattern. This would mean cutting back on unnecessary activities and spending at least 7 hours sleeping.
References
FSU Online. (2020). Social Worker Burnout: 8 Self-Care Tips. College of Social Work. Retrieved from https://onlinemsw.fsu.edu/blog/social-worker-burnout
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Question 
After reviewing the readings and video for this lesson
Importance of Self-Care in the Field of Social Work
Please share your thoughts on the importance of self-care in Social Work.
How do you currently manage your self-care, and what changes could you make to improve your self-care?