Take Care of Yourself

Goal

To take care of yourself and meet your personal needs and desires.

Domains of Living (Zamore & Leutenberg, pp. 63; 66)

When people are mourning, it is easy to overlook personal needs and desires in the five domains of living: physical (body), intellectual (mind), emotional (psychological), social (relationships), and spiritual. Most people tend to do a reasonable job of taking care of themselves in a few areas while neglecting others.

Domains of Living Exercise (Zamore & Leutenberg, pp. 67-68; 71-72)

Instructions: Consider the following questions to evaluate how well you are taking care of yourself and identify things you may be willing to try:

• Are you eating three healthy meals per day?
• Do you belong to a support group or a social group that meets at least once a month?
• Do you do something to relax at least three times a day?
• Are you keeping your mind stimulated?
• Do you exercise at least three times a week?
• Are you keeping your appointments and obligations?
• Do you sleep 6-8 hours each night?
• Are you kind to yourself?
• Do you take your medicines as prescribed?
• Do you say NO when you need/want to?
• Are you forgiving yourself?
• Do you enjoy poetry and/or spiritual readings?
• Are you engaged in social activities?
• Are you journaling?
• Are you balancing between “being” (feeling your feelings) and “doing” (keeping busy)?

Here are some additional ideas of things you can do to take care of yourself. Commit to doing at least two this week: