In our daily lives, we tend to focus on evaluating ourselves in terms of what we’ve accomplished at work and at home, which is why we create schedules and to-do lists. However, it’s equally important to analyze how well you take care of yourself: you can’t fulfill your responsibilities or support people who depend on you if you’re burned out or neglect your own needs. This is especially true for parents and caregivers of IDD individuals. Here’s how self care assessment works.
Self care assessment involves thinking about your overall health with regard to all of your regular activities, from sleeping and socializing to diet and personal interests. Evaluating your self care patterns in various categories can help you see what you’re doing successfully to keep yourself healthy as well as areas in which you could benefit from more self care. Critiquing your own habits also helps to make you more aware of them as habits, which makes it easier to live your life more mindfully.
How To Do Self Care Assessment
If you’re wondering how to get started, consider starting with a free self care assessment tool developed by health experts. Some are more extensive than others and focus on various aspects of wellness. Here are a few worksheets you can use to get started:
“How Well Do You Take Care of Yourself?” by Johns Hopkins Medicine
“Self-Care Inventory” by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
“Self-Care Assessment” by Literacy Minnesota
Things To Consider in Self Care Assessment
Try to rate yourself honestly in your assessment, but keep these things in mind:
Focus on the things you can control and change
Create realistic goals for taking care of yourself
Set boundaries between your caregiving responsibilities and time you’ve allotted for self-care
Remember that self care assessments exist to help you achieve holistic well-being, not to make you feel guilty or inadequate
The more enjoyable and fulfilling your self care activities are, the better you’ll be able to support the IDD individual in your life
Progressive Lifestyles Supports Parent and Caregiver Self Care
Progressive Lifestyles, Inc. is dedicated to providing innovative support services for people with disabilities. Our mission is to provide supportive and caring residential opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout Oakland County, Michigan.
A primary focus of our organization is to interact with the individuals we support through the “Culture of Gentleness” model. We seek to create a positive environment to help them feel safe and valued while maximizing praise, limiting demands, maintaining consistent structure, and reducing stress during transitions. We support wellness for all of our employees and encourage self care for family caregivers.