Rethinking self-care through an Indigenous lens—the importance of community

Western self-care tends to centre on practices that are aimed at supporting the health of individuals. Activities such as self-medication, rehabilitation, and accessing healthcare services are all generally focused on preventing disease and managing health in an individual. Indigenous self-care, on the other hand, includes these practices but also engages in a continuum of healing that supports the collective wellbeing of communities and the environment. The holistic, collective, and relational approach to health and wellbeing that underpins Indigenous self-care can enrich the understanding of self-care taught by mainstream medicine and improve public and environmental health.Relational self-care is a practice that aligns with the Indigenous ethical principle of collective flourishing or “living well.” To take one example, the Yawuru people of west Kimberley, Australia use the health and wellbeing term “mabu liyan,” which refers to “relationships beyond the individual” and “is a model of living well in connection with country, culture,…
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