Self-care is about looking after yourself, living a healthy lifestyle and focusing on what you can do, rather than things you cannot. It’s also about taking responsibility for your own health and wellbeing with the support of the people involved with your care.
It starts with simple things like brushing your teeth regularly, taking medicine when you have a cold, or making time to exercise.
General health
Staying in good health is important to all of us and can become particularly important as you get older. Whatever your abilities, there are many things you can do to lead a healthy life, such as:
- Stay healthy by eating well and being active
- Make time to spend with friends
- Get a flu jab each year if you’re in a vulnerable group
- Wrap up warm when it’s cold, add more layers of clothing and wear correct footwear
- Learning to manage your condition is a good thing, it puts you in control, improves your quality of life and helps you to stay healthy. Information and support is available to help you to do this
- Talk to your healthcare professional and pharmacist about the services and support available to help you live with your long-term condition
- Exercising and moving more reduces your chance of getting a range of health problems including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and even dementia.
- If you’re older, moving more helps to improve your balance and mobility and reduce the risk of falls. Exercise also increases your chance of living longer and has a positive impact on your mental health and mood.
- For more information, visit the NHS
Visit NHS health checks or our public health pages, for more advice on how to achieve a healthy mind and body.
5 ways to wellbeing (mental health)
The Five ways to wellbeing video (Mental Health) has been brought together through the Mental Health Partnership Board working in collaboration with the Voluntary Community Groups.
- Five ways to wellbeing (Mental Health steps)
- If you would like to find support groups to offer more advice and support please see entries in the Resource Directory .
- Healthy Enfield information on Mental Health and Wellbeing.
- For more information on our Specialist support Mental Health information page.
Keeping up with friends, family and the local community
Getting out and about and keeping up relationships will help you stay happy and healthy for longer and give you a network of support:
- Community groups and activities - visit the Resource directory and find out what is gong on locally.
- Local libraries
- Volunteering in Enfield (Enfield Voluntary Action Group)
See more ideas on activities and things to do in Enfield for 14-25 years old, please visit the main Council's website.
View our Resource Directory to search for things to do which you may be interested in.
See more information on reducing social isolation/loneliness
Ageing well guide
Looking after yourself or someone you care for - Ageing well guide
Warm, well and safe this winter
There’s a lot of things you can do to prepare for the winter months, such as looking after yourself and your home.
If you know an elderly or vulnerable person, someone who lives alone or has poor health, then ask if you can do something for them this winter. Quite often, older and vulnerable people will struggle along, even when things are getting too much, and be reluctant to ask for help. This can lead to them restricting their lifestyle as they worry about being unable to cope, and they can end up isolated and depressed.
Sometimes something as simple as someone popping in for a cup of tea and a chat, so they have someone to talk to, picking up prescriptions, helping with shopping or putting out the rubbish is enough. Not only will you be doing something practical to improve their life, but they’ll know that somebody is looking out for them, which can boost their confidence.
For more information see the Winter Warmth Booklet
Emotional health and wellbeing
You are not alone. 1 in 4 of us experience problems with our emotional health and wellbeing at some point in our lives.
Help is at hand in many forms to support you through tough times, use the search bar to find some local support in the Resource Directory .
You can also view the guidelines in the leaflet.
Eat well – Healthy eating and drinking
Keep hydrated – This is important for maintaining good health. Dehydration (takes you to the NHS webpage on dehydration) is a frequent cause for hospitalisation of older and vulnerable people. If you are having problems getting out to the shops to buy food, or preparing food for yourself at home, then our page on help with meals offers some ideas on how you can overcome these problems.
Healthy eating – Eating a varied and balanced diet is important as this will reduce the risk of malnutrition. By making small changes to your diet you can improve your wellbeing and reduce the risk of developing illness and serious disease. The key to a healthy diet is eating the right amount of food for how active you are and eating a range of foods to make sure you’re getting a balanced diet. Visit NHS choices for more information.
Eating well can reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers. If you have a specific health condition, your doctor will advise you on the best diet. For more information, see:
When we eat well we sleep better, more energy and better concentration.
When we eat well we are less likely to develop:
- tooth decay,
- heart disease,
- Type2 diabetes,
- high blood pressure,
- some types of cancer
When we eat well we are less likely to be seriously ill from some infectious diseases such as coronavirus.
Healthy eating is not about cutting out foods – it’s about eating a wide variety of foods in the right amounts to give your body what it needs. There are no single foods you must eat or menus you need to follow to eat healthily. You just need to make sure you get the right balance of different foods.
The pyramid in the Eat well leaflet helps you know what foods you should eat more of and what their environmental impact is.
If you would like to find support groups to offer more advice and support, see entries in the Resource Directory.
For more information on Eating Well and Staying Active, visit Healthy Enfield.
Keeping active
Being physically active is easier than you think, especially if you make activity part of your daily routine. For a great starting point to find out what sort of activity would benefit you - visit NHS - get active your way
Active Enfield offers a range of sports and physical activities such as: Badminton, bowls, exercise and dance classes, swimming and walking football.
Being active can improve your physical and mental wellbeing reduce your risk of disease. Being active doesn’t necessarily mean exercise. It could be anything you do in your daily life from running errands to doing housework. Start small. Gardening or chores can be a start. Finding a friend or a pet to walk with can make being active easier.
You can view the guidelines in our Be active leaflet.
If you would like to find support groups to offer more advice and support please see entries in the Resource Directory.
Other useful links:
Giving up smoking
You are 4 times more likely to quit smoking with help than if you try and give up on your own. There is support available to help you stop smoking.
The many options that are available means that you can find the service that is right for you. Stop smoking service advisors are there to support you to quit.
They can also provide information on different methods to quit smoking such as electronic cigarettes, carbon monoxide readings, literature and advice.
We encourage residents to use the following services to help them quit smoking:
- Stop Smoking London: you can get free specialist, personalised help from health advisers over the phone to quit smoking - call 0300 1234 1044
- your local GP will be able to provide you with a treatment programme
- you can receive support from your local pharmacist who can assist you without you having to wait for a GP appointment
Be smoke free
Smoking is one of the biggest causes of illness and death in the UK. Smoking around other affects their health too. Tobacco smoke is lethal for the environment as well as for people.
View What smoking does to the body leaflet.
If you would like to find support groups to offer more advice and support please see entries in the Resource Directory.
For more information visit Healthy Enfield - Stop smoking.
Sexual health
Good sexual health is an important part of being healthy. It is vital that everyone is able to make the right choices so they can build fulfilling relationships and protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections, and unwanted pregnancies.
Tips for your sexual health
View Tips for your sexual health factsheet.
For more information, visit Healthy Enfield - sexual health.
Alcohol and substance awareness
Alcohol
Drinking above the lower risk guidelines affects your body in many ways, from gaining weight to reducing the quality of your sleep. It increases your risk of developing health problems such as high blood pressure, liver problems, heart attack and some types of cancer. It can also make you vulnerable to accidents and injury.
To reduce health risks from drinking alcohol, men and women would not exceed 14 units per week and it is advisable to spread your drinking.
This is what 14 units look like:
- 14 single measures of spirit - (25ml) 40% ABV
- 6 glasses of wine (175ml) 13% ABV
- 6 pints of ordinary strength beer/lager/cider (568ml) 4% ABV
View the Alcohol guidelines leaflet.
If you would like to find support groups to offer more advice and support please see entries in the Resource Directory.
Substance misuse
For information on Substance Misuse, visit Healthy Enfield - Substance misuse support.
Oral health (mouth care)
Taking good care of your mouth, teeth and gums is a worthy goal in and of itself. Good oral and dental hygiene can help prevent bad breath, toot decay and gum disease.
View Top tips for a healthy mouth
If you would like to find support groups to offer more advice and support please see entries in the Resource Directory.
Financial health
Money can be a headache. Bills piling up or falling into debt are likely to harm wellbeing. This stress could lead to sleep problems, low mood and possibly even physical illness.
- Do not put off dealing with debt
- Take control of your finances using budgeting and planning
- If you can’t manage, get advice. There’s plenty of support available locally.
View guidelines in the Financial health factsheet.
For more information on our Financial Advice page
Housing
Having a suitable home is important for your health and wellbeing - look after it and it’ll look after you.
Damp houses have more mould spores in them, which can cause or worsen existing respiratory diseases, including asthma.
There may be other things to look out for in homes, for example overcrowding, fire hazards, overheating, very old or broken boilers, noise, inadequate lighting and hoarding.
View guidelines in the Housing health factsheet.