Is it time for an anti-self care revolution?
Did you know that today marks the fifth anniversary of ‘International Self-Care Day’? (The first global World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on self-care interventions for health and well-being were launched in 2019).
To be clear, the way that the WHO talk about self-care is a little different than the way that you or I might, as they describe "self-care interventions" that can:
- "empower individuals and communities to manage their health and well-being
- strengthen national institutions with efficient use of domestic resources for health
- improve primary healthcare and contribute to achieving universal health coverage"
It has an important, humanitarian and equity-centred focus, highlighting accessibility for marginalised countries and peoples, and looking at evidence-based interventions and tools that support access to "medicines, counselling, diagnostics and/or digital technologies which can be accessed fully or partially outside of formal health services".
Further, the WHO outlines the difference between:
- self-care actions (based around routines, habits and lifestyle choices)
- self-care interventions (focusing on the evidence-based tools and interventions described above)
(I would say that, in general, the way that self-care is encouraged here in Australia, is more along the lines of self-care actions).
The 'Self-Care Month' initiative invites all of us to:
What an anti-self care revolution is AND is not
What might an anti-self care revolution involve?
An anti-self care revolution does include:
An anti-self care revolution does NOT include:
- placing the responsibility of worker wellness solely on the individual
- blaming without taking responsibility
- governmental failure to address workforce shortages and fiscal responsibilities
Of course we all need to look after ourselves when and where we can.
However, no amount of ‘self care’ is going to fix a broken, underfunded healthcare system, or find an adequately trained and resourced workforce: it’s time we stop applying surface level, shaming solutions to systemic problems.
If you would like to know more about these ideas, you may be interested in this free resource: