Why taking care of yourself is important

When you're living with a long term condition, you may spend less than six hours a year with your health professional or health care team. The rest of the time you'll be taking care of your health yourself or with the help of family and carers.

By understanding more about your condition and developing the skills and confidence to manage it yourself, you can make the most of living with your condition rather than avoiding or missing out on things because of it.

Your GP or healthcare team can help you with this. They’ll work with you to support and help you make decisions about your health that are right for you and how you want to live.

You'll have good and bad days as you face physical, social and emotional challenges. You'll probably need to learn some new skills and rethink how you do things. Your ability to manage your condition yourself may also change over time and as you reach different stages in your life.

We know from research that when you take control of your health you:

• feel more able to cope
• have better pain management
• have fewer flare ups
• have more energy to get on with your life

Watch the video below. Dr Cath Briggs, a GP at Bracondale Medical Centre, Stockport talks about self care and why it’s important for everyone.