Winter Self Care
by Erlene Grise-Owens, Ed.D., LCSW, MSW, MRE, lead co-editor of The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals
Self-care isn’t static. It’s refined by deepening self-awareness and increased understanding of wholistic self-care. As Donia Addison discovered, self-care changes with circumstances and life phases.
I’ve come to appreciate that self-care needs to be adapted by the seasons, as well. Even if one’s geographic location doesn’t have nature’s signs to indicate the change of seasons, seasonal self-care variations are beneficial. With the winter solstice upon us, I offer Rest, Reflect, and Reconnect as key emphases for this season.
Rest
Self-care is a lifestyle. Natural rhythms of life include time for rest. Winter season, with waning daylight and often colder weather, beckons us to imitate wildlife and hibernate. Embrace it! (I’m not suggesting we ignore clinical depression.) Denmark, with long winters, has gained global attention for its culture’s hygge, which translates to “cozy living.” This winter season, let’s get hygge!
Obviously, sleep is an essential form of rest. Burgeoning research and common sense experience reveal ramifications of sleep deprivation. Winter is ideal for recalibrating sleep and allowing bodily rest.
However, rest is much broader than physical sleep. Rest is a form of resisting toxic systems. The Nap Ministry promotes rest as a “form of reparations and sleep deprivation as an issue of racial and social justice.” Notably, the Nap Ministry has wonderful resources and recommendations for all in helping professions—not just religious folk.
Also, rest takes many forms. Following the lead of Shika Tamaklo, Winter is an excellent time to explore the nine types of rest. Do you need: More time away? Alone at home? In nature and/or art? More stillness? Solitude? A break from responsibilities, being helpful, being productive? Time in your safe space? Or, some combination of all these!
In music, a rest is a pause, a silence. Rests are part of the musical score—not optional or inconsequential. Rest is essential to creating meaningful music. Similarly, incorporating rest is essential for a self-care lifestyle.
Reflect
Similarly, wholistic self-care requires intentional and informed reflection. The winter season is ideal for deeper reflection—personally and professionally. Personal reflection may be simply dedicating time and space for critical consideration. It may involve structured exercises, such as constructing vision boards or journal-writing.
Critical reflection is foundational to competent social work practice. As such, many resources support development of this professional skill. Siobhan Maclean’s The Social Work Pocket Guide to…Reflective Practice is a personal favorite. This accessible book offers comprehensive information and strategies for structuring professional reflection. Reflection is an essential part of professional self-care!
As a graduate program director, I routinely held student forums in which we reflected on “What’s working? What needs work?” From those reflections, I met with student representatives and other pertinent parties to craft action plans (with SMART goals). This winter, I’m adapting that format to reflect on my self-care plan, and more broadly, my professional and personal life. Join me! Let’s connect!
Reconnect
I’m convinced much of our dysfunction stems from disconnection. Everything from addictions to the climate crisis is embedded in disconnection. As humans, we’re disconnected from our own bodies, minds, and spirits. We’re disconnected from nature and each other. In this disconnection, we’re—literally and figuratively—having trouble breathing, at personal and planetary levels. Breath—a basic aspect of connection—is an apt metaphor for self-care.
So, this winter, let’s consider: How can I breathe better? How can I reconnect with my breath, with myself—body, mind, spirit? How can I reconnect with nature, loved ones, colleagues, and even strangers in ways that support my well-being—and theirs?
All these facets are connected (wink)! Reconnection can begin with any aspect and simultaneously include all of them—nature, community, self. In some ways, however, perhaps the starkest need is reconnection with self. As Sheridan Chanel found, this reconnection may require disconnecting.
Reconnection may simply be coming home. Martha Beck writes a compelling piece, with wonderful insights and particular advice, on what she calls “homing.” Although Beck’s essay focuses on the holidays, it applies beyond that time-frame. Winter is an ideal time for homing. More broadly, homing incorporates resting, reflecting, and reconnecting.
In resting, we’re better able to reflect. And reconnecting requires intentional reflection. In this self-care season of winter, may we find rest, deepen reflection, and experience reconnection.
Peace, Love, and Self-Care,
Erlene
Dr. Erlene Grise-Owens, Ed.D., LCSW, MSW, MRE, is a Partner in The Wellness Group, ETC. This LLC provides evaluation, training, and consultation for organizational wellness and practitioner well-being. Dr. Grise-Owens is lead editor of The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals. As a former faculty member and graduate program director, she and a small (but mighty!) group of colleagues implemented an initiative to promote self-care as part of the social work education curriculum. Previously, she served in clinical and administrative roles. She has experience with navigating toxicity and dysfunction, up-close and personal! Likewise, as an educator, she saw students enter the field and quickly burn out. As a dedicated social worker, she believes the well-being of practitioners is a matter of social justice and human rights. Thus, she is on a mission to promote self-care and wellness!