The A to Z Self Care Handbook

The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals

Self care can be hit or miss for many people. They want to make things better for themselves, but they get overwhelmed by the options and don’t fully know how to implement a plan for overall more enjoyment out of life.

What’s worse is when you’re in a career or life where caretaking for others is your primary focus. You’re so attuned to other peoples’ needs that your own get lost in the chaos of everyday life.

Enter The A to Z Self Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Professionals by Erlene Grise-Owens. This book is specifically for those whose career or life situation is all about taking care of the needs of other people.

While other individuals need self care to support their family, and themselves, for a caretaker, it’s even more vital that you have the skills and tools available to maintain energy and a positive outlook on life.

Your entire day revolves around making sure someone else’s needs are met. Usually, it’s in a physical sense – but we all know there’s a mental element of support that you give to the people you’re caring for.

The A to Z method is about taking care of your awareness to your own needs and your sleep to fulfill your energy requirements and give you the strength to get through each day.

Any kind of career or situation where you’re tasked with looking after the well being of another human can take its toll. It’s not stressful from a physical energy standpoint, but draining as you navigate the ups and downs of health and human suffering.

The author goes into detail about how to make a strategic plan that helps you realistically find time and energy to take care of your own needs. You’ll be reflecting on what’s most important to you – something you probably push to the side on most days because you give all you have to someone else.

You’ll be working on building a better life – both for yourself and as a caretaker. The self nurturing skills you acquire from this book will turn you into a better caretaking professional.

You’ll want to set goals to work on so that you maintain momentum in achieving a new life. Without goals, you might be tempted to put your self care on the backburner and not pay attention to them.

There’s a reason caretaking professionals have a high turnover rate. It’s because the job is stressful and it can wear you down. To combat that, you have to take your role as a caretaker and apply it to your own needs first and foremost.