Dimensions of Wellness: Emotional Wellness
Emotional Wellness
Emotional Wellness is the component of wellness related to our ability to develop inner strength and learn and grow from experiences.
Let’s face it, 2020 was a year that tested our emotions. There were things we experienced that we could never have imagined. It was probably one of the more stressful times of our lives. We’ve gone through this year together, but apart. And we still don’t know when things will go back to the way they were. If ever.
If you are like many people, you experienced a whole range of emotions this year. And in some cases, a whole range of emotions in a single day.
As much as many of us are “tired” of 2020, we have to realize that we are not in control of anyone or anything but ourselves and our own environment.
We can mourn the loss of the vacation that didn’t happen. We can modify how we celebrate birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, holidays, and other milestones. We can do the best we can to support people and businesses in our community.
We can CHOOSE how we will feel and how we react to all of these things. But we cannot change the reality of what is going on in our world.
And, sure, we can be frustrated and angry at things, situations, and even people. Emotional wellness respects this feeling and then allows us to manage those emotions in a constructive way, such as “venting” and moving on. Remember: We cannot change anyone but ourselves.
Here are four things you can do to help support your emotional wellness even in the most challenging of times:
1. Manage stress. We cannot eliminate stress, nor is that the desired outcome. Managing stress, however, encourages you to find an outlet to help you cope. Some examples include doing a workout, having a hobby, or listening to music.
2. Reframe your thoughts. It easy to have negative thoughts because our brain automatically goes to negative thinking. But when this starts happening, stop yourself, redirect and focus on the positive things. If it helps, write positive affirmations down and repeat to yourself as necessary.
3. This too shall pass…it will! While 2020 has taught us a lot about patience and that sometimes things will pass at a snail’s pace, we can remember that the only constant thing in life is change. Sometimes things will go on much longer than we’d like but try not to dwell on the bad and look forward to the other side of this experience.
4. Accept (or ask for) support. Very often, getting things off your chest, just talking about it, or putting words to how you feel makes you feel better. Talk to someone about how you feel and let them know that you need them to listen and don’t need to fix things.
Today, list for yourself 3-5 things you can do to improve your emotional wellness, whether it is finding an activity for stress management, writing down positive affirmations, noting that person or people you can talk to, and/or finding a few things to be positive about today.
This was previously part of the 12 Days of Wellness 2020 – emailed to participants of that holiday email campaign in December 2020. Additional posts about the dimensions/pillars of wellness continue each week on #WellnessWednesday for six weeks in total.
