Self-care for the sandwich generation

The sandwich generation consist of individuals who provide care for both their aging parents and their own family simultaneously. With such great responsibility, they often get overwhelmed and pressured to provide for their family’s needs.

While taking care for family is a benevolent act, the sandwich generation can’t neglect aside caring for themselves. As the adage says, “you can’t pour from an empty cup.

Know your limits — working too hard causes too much stress, which can weaken your immune system and invite sickness. PEXELS PHOTO 

Wanting to spread the message of self-care — defined as the ability to care for oneself through awareness, self-control, and self-reliance in order to achieve, maintain, or promote optimal health and well-being — to every generation, especially the sandwich generation, AXA Philippines launched the “Make Time for Me-Time” campaign.

One of the largest insurance companies in the country, AXA Philippines shared some tips how the sandwich generation can practice self-care through little, and free, activities they can do every day.

Sleep comfortably. Everyone has their own way of sleeping and relaxing. Despite having different body clocks, making sure you get a restful sleep can help you start your day feeling your best.

Know your goals for the day. When you start your day, having an idea of the things you want to accomplish — whether it be for work or personal things — will help give direction to your day making it less stressful and productive for you.

Make time for things that matter. Setting ahead a specific time for your daily activities helps keep you focused and can limit distractions. It also helps you balance your day, as you get to identify when you need to be productive and when to make time for me-time. Go ahead do what you love without feeling guilty.

Curate your space. Try having designated areas for your different professional and leisure activities at home and design them to be functional yet comfortable for you.

Stay open-minded. There are no specific musts and shoulds when it comes to planning your dav. But it is important for you to do what feels right for you. Adjust as needed and be open to accept when things do not go exactly as planned.

Take breaks when you feel the need to. The feeling of wanting to take a break differs from person to person, but what is key is listening to your body and allowing it to relax when you feel the need to. No matter how busy you get, try to squeeze in some me-time as needed.

Know your limits. Stress can be beneficial at times, but only when necessary. Based on research conducted by associates from the University of California, some amounts of stress are good to push you to just to the level of optimal alertness and performance. But you need to know your limits. Working too hard causes too much stress, which can weaken your immune system and invite sickness and disease to come along. When you are sick, your body is telling you to rest — and no one can listen to that other than you.

“When we choose ourselves, we are often afraid to come off as selfish. However, we need to understand that we also need to take care of ourselves in order to care of our loved ones even better,” said AXA Philippines Chief Marketing Officer Nandy Villar. “It is time to leave behind this guilt and commit to making time for me-time. We at AXA Philippines are here as your partner to support you in achieving holistic health this year and beyond.”

Taking care of your family entails taking care of yourself as well. Making time for me-time is an essential component of self-care and overall health and well-being. For more information about AXA Philippines’ health offerings visit axa.com.ph/health-protection. — Christina Alpad

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