Self Awareness: The Importance as a Caregiver & Self Awareness Activities
The art of understanding your emotions in certain experiences and intentionally making better choices in that moment or when that experience presents itself again is known as self-awareness. It is a journey that never ends, as the urge to know yourself more and strive for improvement keeps getting stronger. Come along as we learn what Self-Awareness means, Types of Self-Awareness, The Importance of Self-Awareness as a Caregiver or Care Worker, and Activities that promote Self-Awareness.
What is Self Awareness?
Self-awareness can be defined as the ability to recognize and understand the things that make you who you are as an individual. It is the ability to understand you personality, values, beliefs, emotions and thoughts and how they relate to your actions. In simple terms, Self-awareness means understanding how your thoughts and feelings affect your behavior.
Self-awareness is necessary because it helps you understand yourself, properly manage your emotions when relating with yourself and others, and helps you become a better version of yourself. People can become self-aware at a young age while some at an older age, which is also fine. The longer you are self-aware, the deeper understanding of yourself you have as you grow older because it gives important insights into your growth as an individual and contribution to society. It reveals who you are at different points depending on your situation and personality type. Self-awareness helps you build on areas of strength and identify areas that need improvement.
Types of Self Awareness
There are two types of Self Awareness:
Internal Self Awareness
Internal Self Awareness is being aware of your inner thoughts and feelings. Being in tune with your emotions and reactions as a caregiver/ care worker helps you stay calm under pressure and provide the best care. Internal Self Awareness can be achieved through Journaling, meditation and practicing mindfulness.
External Self Awareness
External Self-awareness means being aware of your feelings and behaviour toward others. It involves approaching situations from other people's perspectives and improving your reaction. Being externally aware as a caregiver allows you to recognize how your behaviour and reactions affect those you care for, foster better relationships, and improve how you care for them.
Why is Self Awareness Important as a Care Worker or Care Giver?
Being self-aware is important for care workers. Understanding who you are, your values, and your reason for being a caregiver can help you find joy in providing care even during uncomfortable situations. Self-awareness is crucial as a Care worker or Caregiver because it helps you become more empathetic in handling the feelings of those you care for with love while not letting what they say or how they treat you affect you.
Let’s look at this scenario: If a family member of the person you care for keeps correcting everything you do, even when done correctly, your automatic response might be to take offence, feel unappreciated, or be upset. In the same situation, you might take a pause, assess the family member's concern, and realize he or she wants their relative to be taken care of properly. Their behaviour might not have anything to do with you.
This is not to say that caregivers getting treated unfairly is appropriate, but with self-awareness comes boundaries, and with boundaries comes limits. Being self-aware helps you know how to respond and react to situations from a place of power, not automatic responses you are familiar with while providing quality care. Your words, thoughts, beliefs, and experiences have an effect on how you respond to those you care for, so being self-aware makes you emotionally intelligent and intentional in your actions towards those you care for. Therefore, developing self-awareness is an important skill for becoming a competent care worker or caregiver.
Can Self awareness be taught?
Self-awareness requires intentional practice as it is a continuous cycle that can be taught only to those willing to learn. To be self-aware, you must first accept that you must know who you are. Be eager to learn about yourself, your triggers, your weak spots, strong spots, and healthy and unhealthy habits. It requires you to focus the light on yourself internally.
You also need to understand the cycle of what goes on in your mind. According to Neuroscientist and philosopher Dr Deepak Chita, we have an average of 60,000 thoughts daily. Daily experiences make us have different thoughts; these thoughts create feelings, which could be positive or negative. These feelings create behaviours that influence our actions, creating more thoughts or affirming old ones. This means that a positive thought creates positive behaviour; likewise, a negative thought creates negative behaviour. So, understanding your thoughts and feelings and how they affect your behaviour is practising self-awareness.
Self Awareness Activities for Care Workers / Care Givers
1. Recognizing Personal Triggers:
Acknowledge your triggers or indifferences that may arise during interactions with the person you care for. Being aware of these triggers can prevent the quality of care you provide from being affected.
2. Managing Stress Levels:
Be aware of how stress impacts your interactions and your breaking point, then practice self-care techniques that help you manage your stress levels effectively. These techniques could include meditating during breaks, listening to a podcast, taking a walk, etc. They would help you stay calm and focused while caring for those in need.
3. Reflecting on Interactions:
Keep a journal to jot down your thoughts and feelings after your interactions with the person you care for. Take time to reflect on how you communicate with them, your emotions during the period, and your responses. Reflecting would help you identify patterns in your behavior, communication, and apprehension style. It would show you areas that need improvement in future interactions and lead to growth and personal development.
4. Seeking Feedback:
Ask for feedback or reviews on your caregiving performance. Ask questions on what they like about your techniques, what they don’t like and how you can do better. Being open to receiving feedback would help you improve your skills and help you provide quality care.
5. Setting Boundaries:
Know the limits to what you can allow and establish clear boundaries while being polite to maintain a professional relationship with the person you care for. This could mean not engaging in conversations, speaking on topics that are personal or offensive, or not taking calls after work hours. Setting boundaries helps you preserve your mental and emotional health while providing quality care.
To become self-aware, you have to be intentional, or else there won’t be progress.
