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As I was reviewing the reading material, what stuck out to me the most was that lacking self-care can be an ethical problem in the mental health profession. I've never thought about it to that depth but I completely agree with and am thankful for the insight. If I am unable to take care of myself, then that will greatly impact my abilities to help others learn how to take care of themselves and navigate through hard life situations. Additionally, if I notice a coworker or professional who is experiencing burnout then it is my responsibility to lovingly confront them and help them get the help that they need so they can be the best version of themselves.

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The importance of self-care as a mental health professional is vital. When I think about the importance of self-care, I think about a flight attendant explaining that you need to put on your breathing mask first before helping those around you. We need to be able to take care of ourselves and our own mental health needs before we can help our students or clients navigate their own trauma and hardships. Additionally, when we practice our own advice that we give our clients, we can see what really works and provides us with an extra level of empathy for what they may be experiencing.

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As we have learned in the course reading, practicing self-care as a mental health professional is a vital part of being successful in our roles. One way of practicing self-care that I have found that works well for me, is running. When I was in college working on my undergraduate degree I began to get very overwhelmed and stressed with my class load. I started to run the trails around our campus and found that the time outside, listening to music or a podcast were really beneficial. I have continued running since then and can definitely tell when I have to miss a run or two. I typically run two to three times a week and even though it's hard sometimes to get out the door, I know that it's a vital part of my mental health. Over the summer we found out that I'm pregnant with our first baby. Running has been hard throughout my pregnancy and I've had to change the way I do things. I've had to come to terms with being okay in taking walk breaks and going a lot slower than I am used to. But keeping up the routine and sticking to my time outside listening to music or a podcast is extremely important and needs to continue to be a priority of mine.

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Another way of practicing self-care that I enjoy is spending screen free, one on one time with my husband. We love to make dinner or get take out and spend the evening playing board games with each other. This is a great way for us to reconnect after a busy week at work and provide a space for uninterrupted conversation. This has been hard for us recently because our work schedules often don't align very well and we typically have different off days. I would like to work on making this a higher priority for us once again, especially before our baby girl arrives at the end of February.