The Importance of Self-care...

According to The American Institute of Stress:

• About 33 percent of people report feeling extreme stress.
• 77 percent of people experience stress that affects their physical health.
• 73 percent of people have stress that impacts their mental health.
• 48 percent of people have trouble sleeping because of stress.

Unfortunately, for about half of all Americans, levels of stress are getting worse instead of better.

The Global Organization for Stress reports that:

• 75% of adults reported experiencing moderate to high levels of stress in the past month and nearly half reported that their stress has increased in the past year – American Psychological Association.
• Stress is the number one health concern of high school students.
• 80 percent of people feel stress at work.

People who tend to experience particularly high rates of stress include:

• P.O.C
• Women
• Single parents
• People responsible for their family’s health care decisions.

Source: www.therecoveryvillage.com

Now let's talk about Covid-19, specifically 2020 when it all went down.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession have negatively affected many people’s mental health and created new barriers for people already suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders. During the pandemic, about 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, a share that has been largely consistent, up from one in ten adults who reported these symptoms from January to June 2019.  A KFF Health Tracking Poll from July 2020 also found that many adults are reporting specific negative impacts on their mental health and well-being, such as difficulty sleeping (36%) or eating (32%), increases in alcohol consumption or substance use (12%), and worsening chronic conditions (12%), due to worry and stress over the coronavirus. As the pandemic wears on, ongoing and necessary public health measures expose many people to experiencing situations linked to poor mental health outcomes, such as isolation and job loss.

Source: www.kff.org

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After reading all of the above, now you see why Self-care is so important?

The definition of self-care includes:

the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.

There are 8 main areas of self-care:

Take a look at the meme below, what emoji are you?

If you are anything but the first emoji, we definitely gotta step it up, Fam.

Therefore, stayed tuned for tips on creating a self-care plan for your lifestyle.

Coming soon, in another Blog.

Until then...

Be well.🤎

Grace