Dr Alka Patel
GP (general practitioner)

What is self-care?

Written by: Dr Alka Patel

Published: 13/06/2023

Edited by: Carlota Pano

Self-care can improve our mental and physical health, helping us to feel better in our mind and our body. While self-care is different for everyone, it all comes down to one practise: looking after and taking care of our own health.

Here to provide an expert insight into self-care is Dr Alka Patel, leading lifestyle medicine physician, longevity coach and general practitioner. She explains what self-care involves in practice, why it can seem challenging and how can a specialist help, among other important points.

What do you mean by self-care?

Let me start by telling you what the problem with self-care is. The problem is that self-care has become synonymous with bubble baths and massages. It is seen as a self-indulgent luxury, which is why self-care needs to be strategic.

Strategic self-care means caring about yourself using a strategy that involves a no guesswork approach to your health. This requires taking a pulse check on your own trajectory, to steer your life and your lifestyle exactly in the direction that you decide.

When I talk about self-care, I mean strategic self-care that is precise, personalised, and predictive.

Why is it so important? Can self-care really benefit our health?

Around 80 per cent of medical illness are preventable, reduceable and reversible. You may wonder how can these illnesses can be avoided and managed? I will tell you how: by zoning in on the root of health which is your lifestyle.

To prevent, reduce or reverse heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout, you have to place a macroscope and a microscope on how you style your life, how you self-care. Self-care has been shown to impact many different ailments, including migraine, irritable bowel, joint pains, and thyroid problems.

However, self-care exists not only to prevent illness - I do not want you to live in fear of illness. Instead, I want you to live with the freedom of health, so that you can optimise your health, increasing mental clarity, increasing energy, enhancing focus, and reversing ageing. As you can see, the benefits of self-care are wide and deep.

Why do some people find self-care challenging?

The amount of health and wellness information has risen exponentially, with six out of 10 people saying that the sheer volume of health-related content available on the Internet is overwhelming.

The problem is that with access to so much uncensored health information, health-related decision-making becomes incredibly difficult. What is better? Do I run or do yoga? Do I eat brown bread or no bread? Do I meditate or make affirmations?

The result of information overload is that you end up doing what most people do. You end up making decisions that follow the latest fads and trends on Instagram, meaning that you end up with off-the-shelf care instead of strategic self-care. It can feel so overwhelming that you either feel more pressured by self-care as another thing to add to an already overflowing to-do list, or you end up doing nothing because there is too much to do.

How can people improve their wellbeing through self-care?

Self-care involves a 360-degree approach to your lifestyle that puts your lifestyle first. I have made this easy by identifying the 10 key elements of your lifestyle that contribute to your health, and as luck would have it, they spell out the word ‘Lifestyle First’. These are: life's purpose, identity, food, exercise, sleep, time out, your connections, learning habits, and emotions. Above all, however, are motivation and mindset.

These are some of my tips for living longer and healthier lives:

Wake with a purpose each morning
Make a daily declaration that connects to your identity
Eat within the 8AM to 10AM hour window
Keep moving and stand more than you sit
Do not sacrifice sleep to get more things done - seize the day, not snooze the day
Take time out for regular resets - annually, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, or on the hour
Slow down your breathing to switch of your stress nervous system
Create meaningful relationships
Automate habits
Allow yourself to experience all emotions
Have a growth mindset steeped in curiosity

The LQ (lifestyle quotient) test on my website (dralkapatel.com) can also help you figure out where to start on your wellbeing journey. Just like with your IQ and your EQ, your LQ tells you how smart you are about your lifestyle and what areas are calling out for your attention.

How can a specialist help?

A specialist is valuable for many reasons, including:

To minimise the overwhelming emotions
To provide a clear strategy
To provide expertise in data interpretation
To ensure accountability to keep you on track
To be your cheerleader!

This is exactly what I do, and I look forward to meeting you and guiding you on your onward health optimisation journey.

If you are looking to start self-care practice and wish to receive expert coaching, make sure to visit Dr Patel’s Top Doctors profile today.

By Dr Alka Patel

GP (general practitioner) in London

Dr Alka Patel is a sought-after lifestyle medicine physician, longevity coach and general practitioner who sees all private patients online from the comfort of their own home through a remote e-Consultation. She is renowned for her expertise in age reversal, longevity therapies, stress and burnout and sleep and is also an expert in lifestyle optimisation and data-driven health as well as DNA and metabolic testing. Dr Patel’s Lifestyle First approach centres on empowe...

By Dr Alka Patel
GP (general practitioner)

Dr Alka Patel is a sought-after lifestyle medicine physician, longevity coach and general practitioner who sees all private patients online from the comfort of their own home through a remote e-Consultation. She is renowned for her expertise in age reversal, longevity therapies, stress and burnout and sleep and is also an expert in lifestyle optimisation and data-driven health as well as DNA and metabolic testing.

Dr Patel’s Lifestyle First approach centres on empowering and informing her patients about how to adapt and optimise their lifestyle with a clear strategy to achieve their health goals.

Dr Patel qualified in medicine from the University of London in 1995 and went on to specialise in family medicine, completing her general practitioner training with distinction in 1997. She is a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners and has also been awarded post graduate diplomas in family planning, obstetrics and gynaecology, child health and dermatology. Throughout her esteemed career, Dr Patel has amassed a wealth of clinical experience through her work as a GP and lifestyle medicine physician and continually expands her expertise through her commitment to professional development and her love of learning. In 2013, she was awarded a postgraduate certificate in teaching in primary care from the University of Westminster and in 2019 she obtained a diploma in advanced primary care management from the National Association of Primary Care. That same year she also completed a diploma in lifestyle medicine with both the British Society and International Board of Lifestyle Medicine and additionally achieved health coach certification.

Passionate about her belief in lifestyle changes that boost health, wellness and longevity, Dr Patel created the Lifestyle First Method and Health Hacktivator Code, incorporating blueprints that prioritise data-driven lifestyle prescriptions over the use of medicines. She helps her patients minimise medication and reverse disease by focusing on the roots of health and areas such as genetics, hormones, metabolism, and energy. Dr Patel uses a combined approach of medical expertise and cutting-edge science and technology, along with expert coaching and therapy to allow individuals to live better, stronger and longer. The methodology is highly personalised and each patient’s care is tailored to their individual needs and health goals.

Additional to her clinical responsibilities, Dr Patel has held a number of senior coaching and training positions, including as a peer supporter for the British Medical Association and London Medical Committee, as well as a practice development GP adviser and coach for the Royal College of General Practitioners. She has also been a member of the Royal College’s wellbeing committee and a specialist appraiser for Health Education England since 2019. For several years, Dr Patel served as the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine’s regional director and also formed part of the Care Quality Commission’s inspectorate. She additionally undertook voluntary work with Pallium India, an end-of-life palliative care charity in rural areas of Kerala, India.

Dr Patel is a celebrated global speaker and is renowned for her 2021 TEDx talk, ‘Health is a verb, not a noun’. She regularly appears in the media, sharing her expertise in health and wellness in media outlets such as Marie Claire and The Daily Express and on podcasts, including The Universe Within Podcast. She also hosts her own podcast, The Lifestyle First podcast, and blog, where she shares her expert insight on the key areas of health and longevity.