Case Management Focus: Taking Care of YOU: Exploring Well-Being

Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) -- Workers' Compensation is a stressful business. Professionals who work in workers comp have a responsibility that not many people have in their daily jobs – taking care of people when their health is interrupted by an injury or illness.

If you are a claims adjustor, a workers' compensation nurse case manager, a physician, or another healthcare provider on the care team, you must take care of your health. If you have ever flown in an airplane, you have heard as part of the instructions from the flight attendant that if we lose altitude, an air mask will drop from the ceiling. Put on your mask first and then help the person you are traveling with.

His instruction is because to help someone else, you have to take care of yourself to help someone else.

As healthcare professionals, we need to be conscious of our well-being. Well-being is not just the absence of disease or illness. It is a complex combination of a person's physical, mental, emotional, and social health factors. Well-being is strongly linked to happiness and life satisfaction. In short, well-being is how you feel about yourself and your life. Well-being includes the following area:

--> Physical well-being
--> Economic well-being
--> Social well-being
--> Development and activity
--> Emotional well-being
--> Psychological well-being
--> Life satisfaction
--> Engaging in activities and work
--> Factors that influence well-being include:
--> A happy intimate relationship with a partner
--> Network of close friends
--> An enjoyable and fulfilling career
--> Enough money
--> Regular exercise
--> Nutritional diet
--> Enough sleep
--> Spiritual or religious beliefs
--> One or two fun hobbies and leisure pursuits
--> Healthy self-esteem
--> Optimistic outlook
--> Realistic and achievable goals
--> A sense of purpose and meaning
--> A sense of belonging
--> The ability to adapt to change
--> Living in a fair and democratic society

As you review these lists, think about your life. This is about how YOU feel. Only some people will be able to check every one of these points. We all have struggles, and we all have downtimes; how we cope with those downtimes makes the difference.

Just as you would advise an injured worker, a friend, or a family member, you must look at your own well-being and make the necessary changes to help yourself. Healthcare professionals need to improve at this. It is widely reported that the nation's healthcare workforce is suffering from stress, trauma, burnout, and behavioral health challenges.

Be mindful of how you are doing and take the time to address those issues that can cause you stress and unhappiness. Try to make the changes and ease the strains you are facing. Your well-being is important, so put yourself first to be your best self for others.

For all of us, achieving our well-being is a lifelong endeavor. Here are some references that I find helpful as I look at my well-being, and I hope they will help you work on your well-being.

Better Health Channell: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/wellbeing
Australian Family Practice: https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2009/june/using-meditation
Mental Health America: https://mhanational.org/taking-good-care-yourself
Everyday Health: https://www.everydayhealth.com/self-care
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201812/self-care-12-ways-take-better-care-yourse HYPERLINK "https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201812/self-care-12-ways-take-better-care-yourself"lf
American Hospital Association: https://www.aha.org/toolkitsmethodology/2022-06-22-strengthening-health-care-workforce-digital-toolkit

Thank you for reading this article. I hope it provides some insights that allow you look at you can work on your own well-being.

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