Online Self-Care

Self-care involves activities that promotes enhanced well-being & healthy functioning. It aims at holistic caring for the self to fulfil needs in the various life aspects.

With multiple stressors arising from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as increasing cost of living & looming economic recession, it will be important to exercise self-care to ensure effective coping with the upcoming challenges.

Physical self-care: Promotes sleep, diet, exercise, & physical health.
Emotional self-care: Incorporates healthy processing of emotions into daily living.
Mental self-care: Promotes mental stimulation and mental health preservation.
Social self-care: Promotes interpersonal interactions and relationship maintenance.
Spiritual self-care: Promotes a deeper sense of meaning in life.

Cybertechnology has become so intertwined with our daily living that it is almost impossible to live without it. Yet, it has provided us with lots of conveniences at just one click/tap of the button. Hence, incorporating online self-care activities into our self-care routine can be a feasible option to consider as we move towards an increasingly digital world.

Resource accessibility: Information / Resources are more readily accessible online
Personalization: Digital Apps formulate personalized self-care plans based on personal needs.
Logistics: Saves on time & travel costs.
Anonymity: Some platforms allow safeguarding of anonymity when seeking help.
Universality: Feelings of belongingness among users with similar situations.

Internet self-care day (21st August) promotes leveraging on online resources for better self-care.

Physical self-care: E.g., Use phone apps that track/feedback physical status.
Emotional self-care: E.g., Block negativity of unhealthy followers/connections on social media.
Mental self-care: E.g., Source for online learning activities through search engines (e.g., Learning a new language from language learning sites).
Social self-care: E.g., Join online support group(s) on global community chatgroups (e.g., Facebook, Healthful chat)
Spiritual self-care: E.g., Register as virtual volunteer for virtual community events.

Now, knowing about the boundless possibilities of online self-care, we can consider committing to online self-care activities on a more consistent basis to attain an enhanced overall quality of life.

Determine stressors & personal needs: In physical, emotional, mental, social, & spiritual aspects.
Devise online self-care strategies: Select online self-care activities based on stressors/ personal needs.
Plan for challenges: Increase self-care for neglected life aspects accordingly.
Begin by taking small steps.
Schedule time to focus on personal needs: Prioritize self-care to enhances productivity.
Ensure you enjoy your online self-care activities.
Ensure activities do not pose harm to self and others.

Example: Here’s an example of how you can plan and practise self-care:

Step 1a: Identify stressor(s)	Work stress
Step 1b: Identify personal need(s)	Better stress coping strategies
Step 2: Devise online self-care strategies	Learn relaxation techniques on YouTube
Step 3a: Determine challenge(s) faced	Too much focus on work; neglected family time
Step 3b: Plan adaptation	Watch one movie with loved ones over Netflix every weekend.
Step 4 & 5: Execute your self-care plan – start small.	Work stress: Start by learning/practicing just one simple relaxation technique. Family time: Start with brief conversations with loved ones every day.