Health self-management consists of developing power over it, by knowing and mastering certain skills. Anyone can, through their decisions and behaviors, improve their daily health. Of course, health is not only determined by individual behavior. Many of other factors also influence it (see Social determinants of health for more information). However, our behavior has a significant influence on our health. Exercising power over your health involves making informed, independent decisions about it and implementing the strategies you chose.
Self-care consists of : 1) know ; 2) evaluate ; 3) choose ; 4) act.
1. Know : To successfully manage your health effectively, it is necessary to learn to know yourself well. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your warning signs that your stress level is too high or that your vague soul does not seem to want to calm down? We also need to know about health promoting behaviors and the resources available to help us when needed.
2. Evaluate : Self-care involves regularly assessing our health and observing changes in our mood, well-being and stress levels. This vigilance makes it easier to spot the appearance of signs of discomfort indicating that our health is threatened.
3. Choose : It is important to choose, on a daily basis, health promoting behaviors that promote our well-being and the maintenance of our physical and mental strength. However, in some circumstances, there may be warning signs that indicate a threat to our health. It then becomes necessary to choose, from a set of possible options, the course of action to be taken to avoid aggravation of your state. Using action plans for chronic illnesses or relapse prevention plans for depression can support decision-making in these difficult situations.
4. Act : Our choices have no effect on our health if we are unable to move from reflection to action. The ability to get moving is critical to self-care. You must know how to act every day to preserve your health, but also be able to take exceptional measures in the most difficult times to find it.
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