Happy Social Work Month!
I follow some pretty hilarious social work accounts on Instagram (find me @theolivetreecounseling and @onecraftysocialworker). One of my favorites is a British social work site (@socialworktutor) who suggested that on World Social Work Day (which was yesterday, March 19, 2019) instead of doing one more training or watching one more video about how to help our clients, we should instead eat cake. I couldn’t agree more. Now, I love a good training and a video or webinar, I’m signed up for one tomorrow actually, but as social workers we tend to take care of EVERYONE ELSE first instead of taking care of ourselves, which is NOT SUSTAINABLE. Sorry for the “yelling”, but this is actually a real problem in our profession. We are not encouraged to really and truly take care of ourselves. Sure, getting a massage or a pedicure on occasion is nice (when we have the funds for it or if our mom gave us a gift certificate for a holiday), but real self care is ongoing, intentional, and sometimes not fun.
Self Care that is absolutely important and not at all fun:
- Going to the Doctor- hate it
- Getting blood work- hate it
- Going to the dentist- don’t mind it too much because they have netflix now
- Saying “No” to things, people, clients, supervisors- We must learn how to identify our own limits and boundaries and speak up when then are being violated. This can be SUPER challenging, just like it is for our clients.
Self Care that is super fun and we need more of:
- PTO- take your vacation time. Use a sick day for a mental health day if you can. A day off every now and then can be just what I need.
- Spending time with people outside of our profession. I love my mental health friends, but we can “talk shop” too much at times and we all need a break from this work over dinner.
- Get a hobby! Have an interest that has nothing to do with social work. I enjoy all the hobbies of a retired lady- gardening, cooking, sewing, crochet. Old Age, I’m ready for you!
- Read a book for fun, not for work. I’m working my way through the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, which has made for a great mental escape.
- Get out in Nature (apply your sunscreen, bugspray, and take your allergy meds if you live in Houston) and look all around you. It’s beautiful this time of year to look for those flowers and trees blooming.
- And finally… eat some cake and celebrate you and the awesomeness you bring to this world.
If you are looking to improve yourself as a social worker and get support through supervision, contact me for individual and group options.