Self Care Week - mind and body

Self Care Week takes place this year from 18-24 November. It is the annual, UK-wide awareness week run by the Self Care Forum, a charity aiming to further the reach of self-care in the population, making it everyone’s everyday habit and culture, to think and practice self-care. The theme for this year is mind and body.  

Taking care of yourself or self-care has many benefits for short term and long-term health. This self-care week we’re encouraging everyone to make self-care a life-long habit. 

So, what is self-care? It’s something people practice every day without even thinking about it - when they brush their teeth, choose to exercise or eat healthily. It can include simple tasks such as reading a book, listening to music, making time for friends or getting outside and increasing your daily steps. 

There are also several simple self-care tasks you can do to improve your health and wellbeing: 

• Eat a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and fruit 
• Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption 
• Keep physically active 
• Try to maintain a healthy weight 
• Understand how to manage minor and long term health conditions 

Self-care is also about understanding when you can look after yourself, when a pharmacist can help, and when it’s better to get advice from your GP or another health professional. If you have a long-term condition, self-care is about understanding that condition and how to live with it.

Your local pharmacist is a valuable resource. They are fully-trained medical professional who can advise you on the right medicine to help with many ailments, such as sore throats, colds, asthma, eczema, hay fever, period pain and diarrhoea and vomiting. 
 
Where it’s not possible to self-care, the NHS is here for you but there are several ways that we can all be prepared for common illnesses and injuries by keeping our medicine cabinet stocked with a number of over-the-counter medicines that you can buy from your pharmacist. 
 
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health and there are a number of services available for you if you feel that your mental wellbeing is not as good as it could be. You can call 111 and select option 2 anytime to speak to a mental health advisor.

Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System has lots of information and advice on its website and will be sharing messages during Self-Care Week to highlight specific areas.

You can find out more on fhac-archive.frimley.icb.nhs.uk or by following them on social media:

• X: @FrimleyHC
• Facebook: FrimleyHealthandCare

• Instagram: frimleyhealthandcareics