July 24th is the day set aside on the international calendar for recognizing and engaging in self-care. Self-care is the foundation of wellness and as such, people of all ages are encouraged to ensure that self-care is a priority and that they develop strategies to engage in self-care on a daily basis.

A self-care practice doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as going for a walk, taking time for self-reflection, listening to and enjoying favorite music or past time, or even savoring a favorite drink. However, it is a reality, that sometimes while these practices are simple, they may not always be easy to implement. Why you ask?

Because in our fast paced over-scheduled lives, we don’t necessarily take the time for self-care. We’re programmed to take care of others, for women, this is even more so true. If one thinks about it, from the fact that women carry a child in her womb, they are wired to care for and serve others. Their Relationships are about relationships with and for others, not a relationship with or for themselves.

Just as with other national or international recognition days: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Veterans’s Day, it is not simply on that day to recognize the importance of self-care.

Self-care is something we must engage in perpetually, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly,

especially as we desire to continue to age as healthfully and gracefully as we possibly can.

International self-care day was established in 2011 by the International Self-Care Foundation for creating awareness of the importance and need for individuals to develop self-care practices. These practices can be used at any time of the day or night, season or time of year and can be encouraged at any age, from the youngest to the oldest.

It may be the many mature adults think that the time for self-care has passed them by.

I say this is entirely not true. As with the adage: The Best Time to Plant a Tree was 20 Years Ago, the 2nd Best Time is Now.

Attention to wellness and wellbeing has brought self-care practices in greater focus. It includes a wide range of practices and choices that promote healthy longevity but can also be considered to be disease preventing strategies.

According to the Wall Street Journal, National health care spending was projected to increase 4.2% to $4.3 trillion in 2021, and according to CMS.gov 2021 National Health Spend Data, National health spending is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.4 percent from 2019 to 2028, reaching a whopping $6.2 trillion by 2028..

According to the cms.gov National Health Expenditure Fact Sheet, Medicare spending grew 3.5% to $829.5 billion in 2020, or 20 percent of total National Health Expenditure. . Average spending for women is calculated to be nearly twice that amount for men.

While most older adults don’t think about or consider that they will be in a Nursing home, the fact remains that approximately 40% of adult Medicare beneficiaries will spend at least some time in a nursing home and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau,10,000 people per day will be turning 65 between now and 2034. Nursing home costs are calculated on the average of $77,000 to $88,000 per year

One therefore could make the case that a personal commitment to health and well-being can be one’s civic responsibility and one of the greatest political statements one can make.

IMpathy ® is the basis of a self-care commitment letter and the strategies that go along with it are integral in Mindful Longevity Solutions, a program founded to guide people to develop Personalized Longevity Plans so they can continue to age as healthfully and gracefully as possible.

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Originally Published on https://www.phyllisaymanassociates.com/

Phyllis Ayman Ambassador for Conscious Aging Life Management and #1 WSJ and USA Today Best Selling Author, Podcaster

Phyllis Ayman is the Ambassador for Conscious Aging Life Management, and founder of Mindful Longevity Solutions. She coaches individuals to develop their Personalized Longevity or Wellness Care Plans so they can live as healthfully, happily ,and fulfilled as they possibly can. As an aging life careplanning coach and mediator, she guides families to make decisions and mediate challenging conversations around aging care issues. She conceived and owns the trademark IMpathy®, essentially the inner game of empathy, which the hallmark of her proprietary programs.

Ayman is a #1 WSJ and USA Today Best Selling author, featured speaker, panel moderator, trainer, advocate gerontological speech/language pathologist and dementia care specialist. She spent over 40,000 hours working with thousands of individuals and families in long term care. Her writings have been featured in Next Avenue, McKnight’s Long Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living, and the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioner Newsletters.