Small Acts for Big Impacts
Author: Andrea Swallow, Amputee Coalition of Canada
Life with limb loss is learning to adapt and expand our ideas of what we are physically capable of every day. It’s understanding that constant change requires an enormous expenditure of physical and mental energy.
Overall good health demands that we look at the body as a whole. We cannot exist in a state of well-being without prioritizing mental and emotional health with the same attention and care. By incorporating self-care practices in our daily routines, we expand our capacity to live healthy and happy lives with limb loss.
So, what does self-care mean and how can we ensure that we’re taking the best possible care of ourselves as amputees? Self-care is defined as “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” It’s more than what we eat and how we move our bodies – it is time, grace and compassion for our physical, mental and emotional needs, and a daily refueling and recharging of our body. It is supporting our overall well-being with intention and responsibility. In other words, self-care is an active and compassionate process of self-preservation.
Supporting self-care habits is about finding what works best to support your individual needs and this can include:
Consistent sleep habits and rest. An amputee’s body expends more energy than a typical body and needs to be rejuvenated properly. Good sleep habits help regulate mood, decrease stress hormones, and contribute to healthy coping skills. Rest is a natural way for our bodies and minds to recover and recharge. This goes for parents and caregivers too.
Daily routine and goals. Helpful for starting the day, established routines reduce stress and bring needed structure to our lives. Keep goals small to start, meaningful to you, and take a moment to celebrate the victories.
So, what does self-care mean and how can we ensure that we’re taking the best possible care of ourselves as amputees? Self-care is defined as “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” It’s more than what we eat and how we move our bodies – it is time, grace and compassion for our physical, mental and emotional needs, and a daily refueling and recharging of our body. It is supporting our overall well-being with intention and responsibility. In other words, self-care is an active and compassionate process of self-preservation.
Supporting self-care habits is about finding what works best to support your individual needs and this can include:
Consistent sleep habits and rest. An amputee’s body expends more energy than a typical body and needs to be rejuvenated properly. Good sleep habits help regulate mood, decrease stress hormones, and contribute to healthy coping skills. Rest is a natural way for our bodies and minds to recover and recharge. This goes for parents and caregivers too.
Daily routine and goals. Helpful for starting the day, established routines reduce stress and bring needed structure to our lives. Keep goals small to start, meaningful to you, and take a moment to celebrate the victories.
Advocate for yourself. The ability to determine goals and communicate what you need is a right. Self-advocacy and self-support are ongoing processes and we often have to educate others about our needs. Be patient with yourself as you build self-esteem.
Community and social inclusion. Feeling connected to others is one of the most powerful pieces of healing that we can prescribe to. Meeting these needs requires time, effort and intention to cultivate meaningful and positive connections. Seek face to face interactions. Be open to meeting new people.
Pay attention to the depth and quality of these connections, whether it’s sharing a warm greeting with a stranger on the street, meeting someone for coffee, catching up with family and loved ones, or volunteering or participating in a formal support group. Connection and belonging are natural human needs that contribute to long-term health and happiness. Learn more from the Canadian Alliance for Social Connection and Health (casch.org/guidelines) and The Human Connection Movement (genwell.ca).
Movement. In any form, movement will benefit your mind and body, with the ability to create a powerful shift in mindset. Simply getting off of the couch to make yourself a healthy snack or do household chores, or leaving the house to collect the mail or do some gardening, can reset a negative thought cycle which is sometimes exactly what our brain needs.
Physical activity. A powerful outlet to boost the body’s endorphins, physical activity also deals with stress, maintains function and stable weight for prosthetic fit and prevents/manages disease. Set small goals, build slowly, and experiment with what feels enjoyable. You will soon come to recognize the correlation between exercise and stress relief. Many physical activities are easily adapted. The War Amps of Canada has helpful “Healthy Living for Amputees” online resources (waramps.ca/ ways-we-help/living-with-amputation/#Health).
Volunteering. Benefitting our communities and strengthening social bonds by giving back to others helps us find purpose and meaning. It builds confidence, grants opportunities to develop new skills, and increases greater resilience for managing our own health. We all have something to offer!
Pay attention to the depth and quality of these connections, whether it’s sharing a warm greeting with a stranger on the street, meeting someone for coffee, catching up with family and loved ones, or volunteering or participating in a formal support group. Connection and belonging are natural human needs that contribute to long-term health and happiness. Learn more from the Canadian Alliance for Social Connection and Health (casch.org/guidelines) and The Human Connection Movement (genwell.ca).
Movement. In any form, movement will benefit your mind and body, with the ability to create a powerful shift in mindset. Simply getting off of the couch to make yourself a healthy snack or do household chores, or leaving the house to collect the mail or do some gardening, can reset a negative thought cycle which is sometimes exactly what our brain needs.
Physical activity. A powerful outlet to boost the body’s endorphins, physical activity also deals with stress, maintains function and stable weight for prosthetic fit and prevents/manages disease. Set small goals, build slowly, and experiment with what feels enjoyable. You will soon come to recognize the correlation between exercise and stress relief. Many physical activities are easily adapted. The War Amps of Canada has helpful “Healthy Living for Amputees” online resources (waramps.ca/ ways-we-help/living-with-amputation/#Health).
Volunteering. Benefitting our communities and strengthening social bonds by giving back to others helps us find purpose and meaning. It builds confidence, grants opportunities to develop new skills, and increases greater resilience for managing our own health. We all have something to offer!
Peer support. Finding others who share and understand similar lived experiences can bring both reassurance, peace and belonging. With supportive conversations and empathetic listening, we minimize loneliness, feel seen, make space for grief and nurture hope.
Unplug. The benefits of unplugging from technology are becoming more apparent every day; more restful sleep, decreased anxiety and depression, improved focus and increased presence. Limit passive use of technology. Instead, leverage it to facilitate meaningful social interactions/activities such as staying in touch with loved ones.
Medication. Sometimes there’s no way around this and there’s no shame in needing it. Remember, our bodies operate on individual levels with very different needs; the goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and promote and maintain health.
Look for inspiration. Pay attention to what or who stirs your soul, fuels your spirit, and watch how your body responds to it. Feed it more of those moments. Laughter, fun, play, nature and music feeds creativity, energy levels and improves brain functioning.
‘Feel’ your feelings. Healing can feel painful and overwhelming but emotional discomfort is a natural part of the human experience. The best way to effectively deal with difficult emotions is by facing them. Try allowing space and get curious. The less you avoid them, the more you will be able to recognize why they are present, making it easier to process and let go.
Forgiveness. A powerhouse of opportunity for personal growth indeed! Forgiveness allows us to release stored emotions and stress, allowing room for us to gain control over our responses instead of feeling like a victim. Whatever the circumstances, accepting the past for what it was and moving forward is a very strong act of self-care to help alleviate depression, anxiety, and improve relationships.
Mindfulness. Calmly taking note of your body, feelings, thoughts and surrounding environment through a gentle lens is scientifically proven to decrease stress and anxiety and to increase subjective perception and feelings. There are many ways to incorporate moments of mindfulness during the day such as meditation, breathwork, journaling, yoga, tai chi, etc.
Seek professional support. This is a healthy, transformative way to clarify your feelings in a safe space without judgment. You can learn new tools for coping, practice your communication skills and feel truly heard.
Accept help. Allow yourself to be vulnerable with others and accept help. By denying help, we deny ourselves an opportunity for emotional closeness and enriched relationships. Our support network may need directives on how to help and it’s okay to be clear and honest about this.
Protect your person. Although unavoidable at times, be as proactive as possible in safeguarding your psyche against mis-representations, online comparisons, everyday microaggressions and societal stigmas (including your own inner dialogues). By consciously choosing ourselves over a barrage of inequities, we build fortitude.
Embrace your humanity and reframe the narrative to messaging which supports personal growth, compassion and acknowledgement that our value remains exactly as we are now.
Small acts of self-care impact daily life in profoundly empowering ways. And by incorporating consistent, continuous and thoughtful practices into our routines and caring for our bodies and our inner self, we establish a reinforcing mindset which fuels our knowledge that we have worth exactly how we are. We’re perfectly human.
Do what feels right. Be open to addressing different needs at different times. Treat yourself with the same kindness you would someone else and have patience knowing that self-care is a learned skill for most of us.
Medication. Sometimes there’s no way around this and there’s no shame in needing it. Remember, our bodies operate on individual levels with very different needs; the goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and promote and maintain health.
Look for inspiration. Pay attention to what or who stirs your soul, fuels your spirit, and watch how your body responds to it. Feed it more of those moments. Laughter, fun, play, nature and music feeds creativity, energy levels and improves brain functioning.
‘Feel’ your feelings. Healing can feel painful and overwhelming but emotional discomfort is a natural part of the human experience. The best way to effectively deal with difficult emotions is by facing them. Try allowing space and get curious. The less you avoid them, the more you will be able to recognize why they are present, making it easier to process and let go.
Forgiveness. A powerhouse of opportunity for personal growth indeed! Forgiveness allows us to release stored emotions and stress, allowing room for us to gain control over our responses instead of feeling like a victim. Whatever the circumstances, accepting the past for what it was and moving forward is a very strong act of self-care to help alleviate depression, anxiety, and improve relationships.
Mindfulness. Calmly taking note of your body, feelings, thoughts and surrounding environment through a gentle lens is scientifically proven to decrease stress and anxiety and to increase subjective perception and feelings. There are many ways to incorporate moments of mindfulness during the day such as meditation, breathwork, journaling, yoga, tai chi, etc.
Seek professional support. This is a healthy, transformative way to clarify your feelings in a safe space without judgment. You can learn new tools for coping, practice your communication skills and feel truly heard.
Accept help. Allow yourself to be vulnerable with others and accept help. By denying help, we deny ourselves an opportunity for emotional closeness and enriched relationships. Our support network may need directives on how to help and it’s okay to be clear and honest about this.
Protect your person. Although unavoidable at times, be as proactive as possible in safeguarding your psyche against mis-representations, online comparisons, everyday microaggressions and societal stigmas (including your own inner dialogues). By consciously choosing ourselves over a barrage of inequities, we build fortitude.
Embrace your humanity and reframe the narrative to messaging which supports personal growth, compassion and acknowledgement that our value remains exactly as we are now.
Small acts of self-care impact daily life in profoundly empowering ways. And by incorporating consistent, continuous and thoughtful practices into our routines and caring for our bodies and our inner self, we establish a reinforcing mindset which fuels our knowledge that we have worth exactly how we are. We’re perfectly human.
Do what feels right. Be open to addressing different needs at different times. Treat yourself with the same kindness you would someone else and have patience knowing that self-care is a learned skill for most of us.
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