January 2023 - Self-Care
Welcome back!
We, at Nelson Heights School, are thrilled to be back after the winter break, returning to our routines, and working with our fantastic students. I hope you were all able to find some time to relax and spend time with your families during the break.
This month at Nelson Heights we are focusing on self-care. Self-care can mean many things for different people, but at its core it is anything you do for yourself that feels nourishing. Practicing regular self-care regularly can help you improve both your physical and mental health.
Examples of Self-Care:
- Something that relaxes you.
- Focusing on your nutrition.
- Participating in physical activity
- Quality of sleep.
- Connecting with others.
- Getting a task done that has been weighing on you.
How to start a self-care routine:
- Determine which activities bring you joy, replenish your energy, and restore your balance.
- Start small by choosing one behavior you’d like to incorporate into your routine in the next week.
- Build up to practicing that behavior every day for one week.
- Reflect on how you feel.
- Add in additional practices/activities when ready.
- Get support through sharing practices from loved ones, a coach, a licensed professional (like a therapist or dietitian), or through your healthcare plan, community, or workplace.
Most importantly, self-care requires us to regularly check-in with ourselves and recognize our emotional state in order to implement the proper strategies. Try using a visual reminder or setting a timer for 5 minutes each day to do a self-check!
I recommend reading through this article by KidsHelpLine on self-care for teens. There is a lot of helpful information on the impacts of sleep, nutrition, and physical activity on our mental health.
https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/self-care
Building a strong self-care routine with our children early on will help them have the important coping skills needed to manage future problems and stresses, and in turn help them maintain a positive mental health.
For more resources, check out the Self-Care page of the NLPS website.
If you would like me to connect with your child or your family, you can contact me at the school at 780-639-3388 or kelsey.peterson@nlsd.ab.ca.
Self-Care
January Counselor Connection
