Wellness is a very popular term these days. Some people think that in order to be a “wellness guru” it means drinking green smoothies every day, and waking up at 6am to do yoga. While those things sound great, I’m here to tell you that there is SO much more to wellness than that stereotype. Wellness translates into emotional and mind wellness, rather than just the typical physical wellness.
1. What is emotional wellness?
2. Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Emotional Wellness
Emotions are a key factor in how we go about our everyday lives. We’d be lying to ourselves if we thought that we could roll out of bed each morning with a glass half full attitude, and never feel any emotion besides happiness. This is why, especially in today’s world, understanding your emotional wellness is so so so important to becoming and staying a sane human being.
So what is our emotional wellness? Well, the National Institute of Health describes emotional wellness as “the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times.” We need to be able to form a strong awareness of our feelings in order to adapt and function well. This starts with not bottling up emotions and keeping your feelings to yourself all the time. Talking about your emotions to a strong support group can help alleviate unwanted emotions, and also bond you with others who may be experiencing the same things.
Just because people are emotionally “well” doesn’t mean that they don’t experience negative emotions, such as sadness or anger. According to Dr. Barbara L. Fredrickson, a psychologist and expert on emotional wellness at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, says how it is all about finding a balance between your positive and negative emotions and adapting to them.
If you’re thinking to yourself that you bottle up your emotions, and shut down in difficult times, that’s completely ok. Over 25% of the population deals with mental health issues due to a lot of causes such as stress and anxiety. You are not alone, and I myself have had to learn through years of bad stress and anxiety to find ways to be more aware of my emotional wellness and tricks to help. We will be sharing many ways you can strengthen your own emotional wellness, so you can stay strong to get through tougher times.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with life at the moment, or even just looking for more mindfulness practices to improve your overall well being? We got you covered! Here are eight ways you can go about improving your emotional wellness and mental health:
As cliché as this may sound, don’t stop reading just yet. We know it’s not possible to just turn a switch in your brain that makes everything look like butterflies and rainbows. However, studies have shown that journaling has had a massive impact on people who struggle with their mental health.
For example, writing down five positive things that happened in your day, each night can slowly start to shift your mindset to more positive. This allows people to hold on to positive emotions longer, which in return allows them to develop a sense of meaning and purpose in life.
Just like journaling about what went well in your day, also try journaling every time you feel a strong emotion. Recording your feelings and what triggers them can help you to recognize triggers and help you to learn how to control these feelings.
Reflecting on your journaling can help you to think clearly and organized when trying to resolve your problems and control your stress.
Speaking of stress, finding a way to manage your stress and prioritize your time can significantly help with strengthening your emotional wellness.
There are a lot of different ways to manage stress, especially in high pressure times. One great way to do this is by structuring your time and being super organized. When times are busy, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and like there isn’t enough time in the day. When you plan your day and block off certain times for specific tasks, this can help give you a sense of control, therefore limiting your stress. Make sure you are realistic each day when writing in your planner and not to overbook yourself! Remember: you come first!
Other ways to manage stress include;
In a world of social media, we should have no problem keeping up with our relationships. Nurturing relationships in your life can foster a greater sense of wellbeing, as well as help you feel a stronger sense of purpose.
In a study conducted in 2002, the researchers found that out of 222 students they observed across the USA, the happiest of people had stronger social relationships than the less happy people. Forming and strengthening relationships can also provide you with a support system that can be of service in difficult times.
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Balance truly is key to everything in life! Just like when it comes to the saying about food, “everything in moderation,” this also applies to overall lifestyle.
In order to boost your emotional wellness, you need to have a healthy mix of work and play. This comes with setting boundaries when it comes to work and school, and being happy with your career choice. Sure, we might not all love our job, but you should be able to enjoy it enough and not allow your work to overtake your life. Your first priority should be to ensure you are happy and fulfilled in your personal life.
So, if you feel out of control with your emotions lately, try these tricks to help work on your state of emotional wellness. These practices can aid you in identifying triggers that cause negative emotions, as well as provide outlets to turn the negative feelings into more positive emotions. The ultimate goal of boosting your emotional wellness should be to feel less stressed and more aware of your moods. You deserve to be happy!
Written by Emma Carlson
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