Self-Care and its Effect on Mental Health
Faculty Sponsor
Rachel Murray
College
Arts and Sciences
Discipline(s)
Social Work
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 3-26-2021
Abstract
Self-Care is an extremely important facet of maintaining mental health and reducing the effects of burnout, but it is widely underused and not prioritized. It is well established that setting aside even just 30 minutes a day for self-care can drastically improve mood, burnout, reduce stress levels, and increase productivity. This study aims to determine the effect of self-care rituals on overall mood. Specifically, this investigates whether scheduling 30 minutes out of the day dedicated to self-care positively effects mood. In this context, self-care is defined as dedicated time to personally enriching content. To test this hypothesis that 30 minutes of self-care per day enhances overall mood, I created a single-subject design and surveyed myself daily to get a baseline, then surveyed myself after adding the intervention of 30 minutes of daily self-care. I had created a survey that I answered daily in order to track my feelings and overall mood. The results suggested that the hypothesis was correct, and self-care creates a positive effect on mood.
Recommended Citation
Magee, Emma, "Self-Care and its Effect on Mental Health" (2021). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 1009.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/1009
Biographical Information about Author(s)
Emma Magee is a senior Social Work major at Valparaiso University, originally from Guilford, Connecticut. She interned at Porter County Juvenile Detention Center during the spring semester of her junior year, and is currently an intern at PACT’s Recovery Connection. In the fall Emma will be attending Loyola University in Chicago where she will receive a Master’s in Social Work, concentrated in children, youth, and family.