Is it time for an anti-self care revolution?!

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:

• "promote and maintain our own health"
• "be active agents in our own healthcare"
• "relieve pressures on health systems". (WHO, 2024. 'Self Care Month').

Core pillars of an anti-self care revolution recognise:

• The issues worker ill-health in healthcare are cultural and systemic, as well as individual.
• The commodification of self care has gone way too far
• A need to unshame (an internalised viewpoint that something is wrong within you for not coping) health professionals
• That many health professionals struggle to prioritise themselves and require collaborative and collective supports to be well in themselves and in making decisions with their clients.

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 emphasis on the need for collaboration, community, collective ethics and collective care
• looking after yourself as best you can
• taking responsibility for your needs and seeking support when needed
• calling for systemic change
• lobbying for a sufficiently trained workforce
• psychoeducation and the development of practical skills in interpersonal neurobiology and compassionate practice
• developing skills in self soothing
• building pathways to connection with yourself, your colleagues and community and where you are

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.