Looking After Your Mental and Physical Wellbeing Should Be Expected and 'Normal'
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 5:46PM
By RedPR
537 views
“I haven’t got time”.
That’s one of the most common excuses Christchurch-based wellbeing expert Sarah McGuinness hears every day from people who know they need to look after themselves better.
With degrees in psychology and communications, complemented by qualifications in training, coaching and fitness, Sarah is about to launch the “Take Care Campaign” which focuses on looking after the individual – you – first and foremost.
Sarah says this shouldn’t be misconstrued as being self-centred or selfish. “Many of us have seen the airplane safety videos that say put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping younger people and those less able”, well this is very similar. If we are not well, if we are not able to function well, how on earth can we help and support others around us?”
“Self-care is one of the most important things you can do for your mental fitness and wellbeing for living a balanced life and having a satisfying life. But so many people say they just can’t fit it into their busy lives and they are the ones who could do with it most,” she says.
Part of the campaign and launched today, are videos of women talking about how they look after themselves, answering three questions on camera - How is life for you right now? How do you take care of you? What would you say to other women about taking care, and self-care? The videos focusing on women, is a nod to the 125th anniversary of achieving the vote in New Zealand.
Sarah says seeing and hearing others talking about real life situations helps normalise the challenges many of us think only we are dealing with.
“How many times have we heard stories from others and gone “oh, it’s not only me” and felt far less alone? I know I have. The videos help normalise the challenges we face by hearing about others real life experiences.”
Recognising there was a need for a resource that would make self-care easy and accessible, Sarah set about designing something she would happily give to friends and family during times of celebration, and times of stress and sorrow. “I wanted the resource to be compassionate, welcoming, thoughtful and practical, and something that could be used anywhere. After much thought, the pack of 30 self-care cards was born,” she says.
The self-care idea on each card is drawn from her psychology background and experience as a wife, mum, friend, colleague, sister, and daughter. “I hope they encourage people to reconnect and ask for help,” she says. “Self-care is about building strength, refuelling and taking care of one’s self first in this crazy, busy world,” she says.
The response to the cards (which were trialled before the Take Care Campaign was conceived), has been phenomenal with the first print run selling out in just under two months, and cards from a second run now available. There have been significant orders from Australia, the Netherlands and of course New Zealand.
Details on where to buy and cost:
$29.90 per packet. https://sarahmcguinness.co.nz/product/selfcarecards/
The cards are also available at selected retailers: https://sarahmcguinness.co.nz/stockists/
https://sarahmcguinness.co.nz/story-behind-self-care-cards/