Self Care Planning Tool

​Essential Self Care Planning for Mental Resilience in a Climate and Nature Emergency 
 
​Most people who are gripped by fear, sadness, anger, confusion, powerlessness and other strong emotions are vulnerable to episodes of burnout or hopelessness. Strong emotions drive change and Earth and society are undoubtedly made better by compassionate activists and campaigners. But constructive progress can often seem out of reach. 

Self Care Planning Tool

​At times like these, making time for self care, and connecting with resilient peers, will be among the most effective ways to re-empower yourself to continue striving for the just and enlightened society you aim to help bring about.

Self care planning is a proven and empowering wellbeing tool used by many people with lived experience of mental health issues.  It's a tool that helps you work out what you can do to help yourself when you're struggling, and where to access the right support.  It's also a tool to help you have constructive wellbeing conversations with people you know are struggling.

This particular self care planning tool was developed by people with lived experience of severe mental health issues and the Paisley based organisation ACUMEN (part of the charity Recovery Across Mental Health [RAMH]) during the Covid 19 Lockdown in 2020.  There are many other more detailed self care planning tools you could use and one of the best known is WRAP. 

Give yourself a hand

The ACUMEN self care plan is based on five questions to help give yourself a hand (see attachment) when you, or someone you know, is struggling to cope.
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Five key questions

​1. How am I feeling today?
2. What can I do if I'm not feeling like myself today?
3. What has helped me in the past if I have been struggling?
4. Who can I call/speak to if I'm really struggling?
5. What do other people need to know about me to help me if I'm really struggling?

More information

• Download guidance PDF about how to approach the five questions constructively

• More on ACUMEN Supported Self Care Planning (please note - SSCP service is no longer running but some of the content on the web page is useful).