- Hey everyone, in this video,
I'm gonna be talking a little bit more
about what self-care looks like
when you're living with schizophrenia
or a schizoaffective disorder.
So there's been a bit of a trend lately
for self-care images to be of bubble baths
or of indulgences or treating yourself.
But self-care goes so much beyond this.
Self-care can look different for each individual,
but there are a few important examples to strive toward.
These examples are important for everyone to work toward,
but it is especially important
for people living with a serious mental illness,
such as schizophrenia or a schizoaffective disorder.
So the first component of self-care
that I wanna talk about,
and probably one of the most important ones
is making sure that you're getting adequate sleep.
So it's really important to make sure
that you're getting the recommended amount of sleep
per night, as well as practicing good sleep hygiene
in order to do this.
When I'm struggling with my sleep, after a few days of this,
it can really start to affect my mental health,
and some of my symptoms can become more pronounced.
So in order to counteract this,
sometimes I take over-the-counter
or prescription sleeping medications
in order to get my sleeping back on track.
Another really important component of self-care
is making sure that you're taking your medications.
So this is something that I struggle with quite a bit.
Some of the ways I use to help myself along with this
include setting an alarm on my phone
for when I have to take my medications
as just kind of another reminder
that I need to do so.
Another one is putting them in a pill box.
So they're already laid out for me,
and I'm sorted by morning and evening,
and it just becomes a little bit more of an easier motion.
Another really helpful thing for me
was that my boyfriend created a poster for me,
like I mentioned in a previous video,
where he outlined reasons for me to take my medications.
So that's a really easy thing for you to do as well,
is just to create a poster or a reminder of some sort
with the reasons why it's important
for you to take your medications.
Another really important component of self-care
is proper nutrition.
Weight gain is a common problem
for people living with schizophrenia
and schizoaffective disorder because of multiple reasons
such as the medications lead to weight gain,
or just stress from living with this illness
leading to weight gain.
So ensuring that you have proper nutrition
and staying away from things like junk food,
fast food, alcohol, and things like that
can be really helpful in terms of taking care of yourself
with proper nutrition.
Another important component that goes
kind of hand-in-hand with this is making sure
that you're getting enough exercise and being active.
People with schizophrenia are at higher risk for diabetes,
heart disease and other medical conditions.
So for me, physical exercise
is a really grounding thing in my life,
and it also helps to deal with different stressors
that I'm experiencing.
So physical exercise is just really good
for my mental health and for my self-care in general.
Another important component of self-care is making sure
that you're attending medical appointments regularly.
Oftentimes if you're struggling with your mental health,
you may not have the best insight
into how you're actually doing.
So having that third party medical professional,
such as a therapist, doctor, or psychiatrist there
to just kind of check in with you regularly
and to see how things are going,
can be really, really helpful
and a good component of self-care.
Having these regular check-ins can also be really beneficial
in terms of catching any problems or concerns
as early as possible and making sure
that you have access to treatment
as early as possible as well.
Another important component of self-care
that goes along with this is making sure
that you have a good relationship
with the people who are involved in your care.
Having a good relationship
with these health care professionals
that you're working with,
can foster open communication, which is really pivotal
in terms of a good therapeutic relationship,
as well as just good mental health care in general.
And beyond just having positive relationships
with your health care professionals,
it's really important to strive
to have these good, positive relationships
with people in your social circle as well.
Having nurturing, positive social relationships
can be really beneficial to your mental health
and is really important,
and is a really important component of self-care.
Another important component of self-care is getting help
or support with work or study when you need it.
There are going to be times when you need additional help
or support in order to deal with your mental health issues.
It can be difficult sometimes within the workplace
or the school context to accept this help
or accept these concessions that are being made.
But it's really important to understand
that these benefits are for the purpose
of helping your mental health
and will help you with your self-care.
And lastly, another really important component of self-care
that I wanna talk about
is recognizing your own warning signs and triggers.
It can be a really helpful coping strategy
to identify some of your warning signs
and triggers early on.
So what I've done is I've kind of made a list,
and you can make a mental list,
or you can literally write it down,
of different warning signs, as well as triggers
in order to just kind of be more self-aware
of what's going on with you
and in order to kind of check in
and provide a little bit more reflection with yourself.
So one of my main warning signs is a lack of sleep.
So when I realize that my sleep is disturbed in any way,
it provides an opportunity for me
to just kind of check in with myself
and see what kind of adjustments I can make
in order to mitigate this.
Another common warning sign is the deterioration
of personal hygiene.
So if I find myself having difficulties
getting up in the morning and getting ready,
if I find it harder to take a shower,
or if I'm showering less,
it can also be another warning sign
and another area for me to kind of reflect on
and make adjustments where needed.
So these are just some of the components of self-care
that I find to be the most important.
But if you have any more
that you would like to add to the list,
feel free to comment below.
Hopefully this video was helpful
in terms of learning a little bit more
about what self-care looks like
when living with schizophrenia
or a schizoaffective disorder.
So if you like this video or you found it helpful,
please give me a thumbs up
and make sure to subscribe for future videos.
Thanks so much for watching and have a great day, bye.