As Catherine Cook-Cottone, professor in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology and a yoga instructor, sees it, in this time of quarantine and social action, the front line includes us all. Now more than ever, Cook-Cottone says, everyone is responding to urgent needs. This means “self-care”—taking care of one’s own physical and mental health—is paramount.
Cook-Cottone, whose research includes yoga, mindfulness and self-care, says the things that relieve stress and fortify are unique to the individual. To help consider healthy possibilities, she and Wendy Guyker, a clinical associate professor, designed a Mindful Self-Care Assessment with six categories and suggestions—from physical activity and supportive relationships to relaxation. Since launching the Mindful Wellness Assessment website last spring, between 10 and 100 people from all over the country take it every day.
“It’s to get you thinking ... Looking at where you’re at and seeing where you are, can inspire you to get creative about it,” she said of the self-assessment. “We’re taking back self-care from the media and from the marketing.”
The practice can also be a political act, said Cook-Cottone. To make the point, she offered this quote from the late activist and poet Audre Lorde: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
Catherine Cook-Cottone is a licensed psychologist, a registered yoga teacher and a professor in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology. Her new book “Embodiment and the Treatment of Eating Disorders: The Body as a Resource in Recovery,” published by Norton Professional Books in September, reflects her private-practice work in anxiety-based disorders and self-regulation skills.