‘Make Time for Me-Time’ and make self-care a priority this 2023

The sandwich generation – individuals who are taking care of both their aging parents and own family simultaneously – are often overwhelmed and pressured to provide for their family’s needs. This may lead them to neglect their own needs, leaving them no room for the most important person in their lives – themselves.

Self-care is an integral part of maintaining our overall health. In a study, self-care is defined as the ability to care for oneself through awareness, self-control, and self-reliance in order to achieve, maintain, or promote optimal health and well-being.

AXA Philippines, through the “Make Time for Me-Time” campaign launched late last year, aims to be a partner in addressing the challenges faced by the sandwich generation in achieving holistic health. As they say, “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” as such, here are some reasons why you need to put yourself first more this year:

Managing how your emotions affect your loved ones.  Emotions are contagious. Your loved ones, especially people close to you, can sense it when you’re happy, upset, or angry—and your feelings may be transferred to them. Being healthy and happy on your own first is a way to share the positive energy. Radiating positive thoughts will help draw in good things to you and the people around you.

Having mental space for happiness. When you are rested, you feel happier in doing fun activities, compared to when you’re overworked, anxious, or stressed. When you're burned out, you lose the mental capacity to be happy just being, let alone enjoy whatever other fun pastime you've planned. You must take breaks to make room for the things that are meant to be enjoyed.

Treating resting as a necessity, not an option. When you live to please everyone around you, just to stay polite and avoid issues, you tend to sacrifice "me-time" to meet everyone's needs. When you push yourself past your limit, your body goes into survival mode, and burnout turns into a vicious spiral. You need rest and you must allow yourself time to recalibrate, reset, finding time to make sure that your focus is on yourself, even if this could be in the form of saying “no.”

Keeping yourself healthy. Stress can be beneficial at times, but only when necessary.  Based on research conducted by associates from the University of California, some amounts of stress are good to push you to just to the level of optimal alertness and performance. But you need to know your limits. Working too hard causes too much stress, which can weaken your immune system and invite sickness and disease to come along. When you are sick, your body is telling you to rest—and no one can listen to that other than you.

"When we choose ourselves, we are often afraid to come off as selfish. However, we need to understand that we also need to take care of ourselves in order to care of our loved ones even better,” said AXA Philippines Chief Marketing Officer Nandy Villar. “It is time to leave behind this guilt and commit to making time for me-time. We at AXA Philippines are here as your partner to support you in achieving holistic health this year and beyond.”

To be worry-free in 2023, you need a partner who can help you feel safe. AXA Health Care Access is a comprehensive health insurance plan that covers all potential healthcare needs, from prevention and diagnosis to hospitalization and treatments. Select plans even include teleconsultation and mental health services, to truly cover your holistic well-being.

AXA Philippines also has health plans that cover exams to diagnose critical illnesses that must be dealt with immediately. AXA's Health Start plan covers critical illnesses, including cancers that affect women. This is especially favorable for mothers because they can also choose to share the coverage with their child. AXA also has other health insurance options, such as the Health Start Lite plan. This already covers the top three critical illnesses, namely cancer, stroke, and heart attack, as well as nine minor critical illnesses to which women may be predisposed.

AXA also offers Global Health Access, a health plan which offers best-in-class global health coverage of up to PHP 100 million and comprises the diagnosis and prevention of illnesses through extensive medical checks and outpatient benefits, cancer coverage, reimbursement supplements, as well as cash benefits for pregnant women.

Taking care of your family entails taking care of yourself as well. Making time for me-time is an essential component of self-care and overall health and well-being. With an AXA health insurance plan, you can also be financially healthy and have an additional layer of security against health issues, allowing you to truly enjoy having time for yourself and your family as you move forward in life this year.

For more information about AXA Philippines’ health offerings visit axa.com.ph/health-protection.