29 Dec, 2016

Try This: Identify Self Care Activities to Start, Continue, & Stop

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:59:24-04:00December 29th, 2016|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: self care, Try This|0 Comments

I recently shared a self care exercise you can use to identify your recipes, remedies, rituals, and resources for self care.

Today, let’s try another exercise taken from “The Revolution Starts with Me!: Recipes, Remedies, Rituals, and Resources”, a workshop I co-facilitate with Adaku Utah.

When I facilitated this exercise a few weeks ago with the staff at Reproaction, I adapted it to fit the organization’s self care needs, rather than have the staff complete the exercise individually. This exercise, adapted from the MS Society of Canada, is can found in our self care zine. If you already have the zine, pull it out and follow along, (or you can get a free copy when you sign up for my weekly newsletter.) Like the previous exercise, this exercise can be done individually or by a staff or group.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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15 Dec, 2016

Try This: Create Your Recipes, Remedies, Rituals, and Resources for Self Care

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:58:56-04:00December 15th, 2016|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: self care, Strategic Planning, Try This|1 Comment

I recently attended a staff retreat for Reproaction, one of my clients. During the two-day retreat, I led a few discussions on self care and goal setting in 2017 from an organizational viewpoint.

In particular, I led the staff through two exercises taken from my workshop “The Revolution Starts with Me!: Recipes, Remedies, Rituals, and Resources for Activist Self Care“. This workshop is typically co-facilitated with Adaku Utah, and is tailored to meet the needs of the primary audience. Over the years, the workshop has focused more on young activists as we’ve been asked to facilitate in mostly activist settings, but for Reproaction’s staff retreat, I adapted it to fit the organization’s self care needs. Today, I’ll walk you through one of the exercises. Whether you’re a staff or a group of students, this exercise will work for you, and there’s no right or wrong way to do it.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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10 Dec, 2014

What Do You Do When Self Care Isn’t An Option?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:42:13-04:00December 10th, 2014|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: self care|0 Comments

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare.” ~ Audre Lorde

Today is International Human Rights Day. First commemorated in 1950, International Human Rights Day brings attention to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the common standard of achievement for all nations. The 2014 theme, “Human Rights 365”, celebrates the fundamental principle that everyone is entitled to the full range of human rights at all times, that human rights belong equally to each of us, and these rights bind us together as a global community.

Given the pain, frustration, and unrest that have resulted in protests in recent weeks around the United States to bring awareness to the increase of policing tactics against communities of color, the constant attacks on women’s reproductive access, continuous news about hate crimes against members of the LGBTQ community, the debates surrounding immigration rights, and countless other stressors on marginalized communities, the state of basic human rights around the world is nothing short of dismal.

As social workers, counselors, and therapists, we are receptacles of our clients’ trauma. We encourage clients to work through a traumatic experience by giving voice to it, but what ends up hopefully being a cathartic release for our clients, leaves us literally holding our clients’ trauma in our hands.

As teachers, agency or nonprofit workers, or community activists, the well-being of our communities is a priority for us. We conduct needs assessments and speak to our students and community members about what needs to change within the school system, agency, or community. What ends up being a positive way for community members to voice their concerns can leave us drained because what needs to change—often at a systemic and policy level—can feel daunting.

When your communities are constantly under attacked, when there seems to be no end in sight, and when your fundamental rights are being taken away, what do you do when self care isn’t an option for you?

When times get tough, I rely on self care activities and rituals that I’ve developed for myself. I mention self care, especially to service providers and activists, because I believe that you can’t raise your voice for others if you’re not able to care for yourself.

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15 Aug, 2014

Self Care Corner: The Self Care Wheel

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:36:47-04:00August 15th, 2014|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: self care, Self Care Corner|0 Comments

In order to raise your voice for others, you have to take care of yourself first. If you like this and other posts, subscribe to the Raise Your Voice weekly newsletter to receive resources, advice, and tips to help you raise your voice for women and girls of color.

This is The Self Care Wheel, created by Olga Press Project: Healing for Social Change and adapted from the “Self Care Assessment Worksheet” in Transforming the Pain: A Workbook on Vicarious Traumatization. It’s a great graphic of how various aspects of our lives work in tandem to create wellness and balance. When one part of the wheel is not functioning, it affects the other parts. For example, when we decide to skip lunch, plow through to meet our deadlines, and decide to stay late at the office to finish some assignments, we may decide to grab an unhealthy snack to eat quickly, become more stressed, and lose out on spending quality time with others.

Take a look at the wheel and the recommendations given for optimal professional, physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, and personal wellness.

Download The Self Care Wheel

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RAISE YOUR VOICE: What you think about this week’s resource? Share your insights in the comments section below.

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8 Aug, 2014

Self Care Corner: A Seven Step Prescription for Self Love

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:35:20-04:00August 8th, 2014|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: self care, Self Care Corner|0 Comments

I recently came across an article from Deborah Khoshaba, Psy. D., a contributor for Psychology Today. Called “A Seven-Step Prescription for Self Love” Dr. Khoshaba shares seven ways to incorporate self love into your life.

Dr. Khoshaba’s says, “Self love is a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support our physical, psychological and spiritual growth. Self love is dynamic; it grows by actions that mature us. When we act in ways that expand self-love in us, we begin to accept much better our weaknesses as well as our strengths, have less need to explain away our short-comings, have compassion for ourselves as human beings struggling to find personal meaning, are more centered in our life purpose and values, and expect living fulfillment through our own efforts.”

Here are Dr. Khoshaba’s seven steps for self love:

*Become mindful

*Act on what you need rather on what you want

*Practice good self care

*Set boundaries

*Protect yourself

*Forgive yourself

*Live intentionally

RAISE YOUR VOICE: What you think about this week’s resource? Share your insights in the comments section below. Do you have a self care resource or exercise you want to share? Contact me to have it featured in an upcoming Self Care Corner post.

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Try This: Identify Self Care Activities to Start, Continue, & Stop

Here’s what you’ll need:

Try This: Create Your Recipes, Remedies, Rituals, and Resources for Self Care

Here’s what you’ll need:

What Do You Do When Self Care Isn’t An Option?

Self Care Corner: The Self Care Wheel

Self Care Corner: A Seven Step Prescription for Self Love

RAISE YOUR VOICE: What you think about this week’s resource? Share your insights in the comments section below. Do you have a self care resource or exercise you want to share? Contact me to have it featured in an upcoming Self Care Corner post.

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