Self Care Saturday (UBC day 5)

By now, everyone has probably heard how important self care is to health and wellness.

The general definition of self care is about taking general care of your health, including eating and sleeping well and getting medical help when you need it.

An expanded definition could be, the practice of taking care of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life to promote health and wellness.

Anyone whose ever been on a plane knows that one needs to put the oxygen mask on themselves before attending to another who needs help (a child or anyone infirmed). The reason is if you are not in good shape (passed out from lack of oxygen) you are no shape to help anyone else. Before the stroke, I thought I would able to help anyone at anytime. I thought I was super human. Of course I was not. Now I know I have to take care of myself.

GENERAL SELF CARE

So what are some things we can do to stay healthy? Probably all obvious.

Eat healthy foods. Doctors and others will suggest various diets, but I believe we should really listen to our bodies and do what you can to feel good. I know if I eat too many processed foods or consume too many carbs, I don’t feel as good as I do when I eat whole foods and stick with a low carb diet. But that's just me.

Hydrate. Every body needs water. Drink as much filtered water as you are able.

Get enough sleep. The recommended time is between 8 and 10 hours, I believe.

Exercise regularly. According to the Mayo Clinic adults should get atleast 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week.

Know your numbers. It is important for adults to know their blood pressure numbers, their cholestoral numbers and blood sugar levels.

Of course these are just some recommendations and there is more activities which will make you healthy.

SELF CARE AFTER STROKE (OR OTHER MEDICAL TRAUMA)

Sleep and nap time. Sleep is vital for recovery. Even doing limited physical activity can cause fatigue and limit the brain's ability to heal.

Hydrate properly. I find out the hard way, that not getting enough water can affect blood pressure adversely. After the stroke I had trouble regulating my blood pressure. It began dangerously low.

Eat healthy foods. Stroke survivors are told to eat healthy foods to heal the body.

Know your numbers. Untreated high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes are three of the risk factors of stroke. After having a stroke, doctors will tell you that in order to try to avoid another stroke is to reduce these factors as well as eat a healthy diet (mediterrean or plant based).

SELF CARE WITH APHASIA, APRAXIA OF SPEECH AND DYSARTHRIA

Of course, all the information above is appropriate, but I have additional advice for people who have aphasia, apraxia of speech, and dysarthria and I will share next week.

Until next time....