Skip to main content

EMOTIONAL WELLNESS

SO….

Last week I was all up in my feelings about my sons going to college. While I am THRILLED that they have this opportunity to branch out of their comfort zones, grow, and find their way in the world, I am also TERRIFIED of what cruel and vicious surprises may be lurking out there.

I’m a mom. It comes with the job description.

BUT….

I’m also pleased to say that as the last two weeks have gone by, I am adjusting. It might not be as quick or as easy as I would like for it to be, but I’m getting there.

This entire experience got me to thinking about another one of the Six Dimensions of Wellness that I posted about earlier – EMOTIONAL WELLNESS.

As described by Dr. Bill Hettler and the National Wellness Institute:  

“The emotional dimension recognizes awareness and acceptance of one’s feelings. Emotional wellness includes the degree to which one feels positive and enthusiastic about oneself and life. It includes the capacity to manage one’s feelings and related behaviors including the realistic assessment of one’s limitations, development of autonomy, and ability to cope effectively with stress. The well person maintains satisfying relationships with others. Awareness of, and accepting, a wide range of feelings in yourself and others is essential to wellness. On the wellness path, you’ll be able to express feelings freely and manage feelings effectively. You’ll be able to arrive at personal choices and decisions based upon the synthesis of feelings, thoughts, philosophies, and behavior. You’ll live and work independently while realizing the importance of seeking and appreciating the support and assistance of others. You’ll be able to form interdependent relationships with others based upon a foundation of mutual commitment, trust, and respect. You’ll take on challenges, take risks, and recognize conflict as being potentially healthy. Managing your life in personally rewarding ways, and taking responsibility for your actions, will help you see life as an exciting, hopeful adventure.” 

Emotional wellness follows these tenets:

• It is better to be aware of and accept our feelings than to deny them.

• It is better to be optimistic in our approach to life than pessimistic.

It is very specifically the last two tenets that I am focusing on: being aware of and accepting my feelings, and being optimistic.

Awareness and acceptance was my greatest challenge up until this point. I was raised in a “culture” where we control our emotions, we don’t talk about our emotions, and we certainly don’t put our emotions out there for the world to see.

But I have learned that it’s okay to put your emotions out there. In fact, you might actually be helping someone else out by letting them see that you’re struggling, too.

When I started my health and wellness journey, emotional wellness was something I deliberately DID NOT focus on. I didn’t want to examine my feelings about my husband being diagnosed with a chronic, incurable illness. I didn’t want to think about the financial hit we took while he couldn’t work. I didn’t want to share the emotions eating me alive as we struggled to adjust to his new normal and the impact it had on every single aspect of our lives.

But, as I learned more about general health and wellness and began to focus on ALL the aspects of a well-rounded life, I FINALLY understood “it is better to be aware of and accept our feelings than to deny them.”

So, as I am adjusting to this new life situation – my sons off to college – rather than spend months, or even a year or more, fighting my emotions, I have been working on AWARENESS AND ACCEPTANCE and it has made this transition so much better.

It doesn’t mean I don’t miss them. It doesn’t mean I don’t still have my moments, but that’s all they are at this point – moments. Not an entire day wrecked, physical symptoms like headaches, upset stomach, or anxiety attacks, or severe mood swings.

Awareness and Acceptance can also help you realize when NOT being okay is something more serious and needs to be addressed by a professional.

Not everyone wants to put their feelings out there. Not everyone wants to sift through their thoughts and emotions. Sometimes people don’t even want to acknowledge that they feel ANYTHING at all.

But if you want to experience greater health and wellness, maybe taking a closer look at your emotional wellness is a good place to start.

Until next time….

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

QUICK WINS WEDNESDAY

While we may not have all the time in the world with back-to-school creeping in, last minute vacations before summer is officially gone, and dealing with the ridiculous end of summer heat (at least where we’re located), as Busy Moms we still have daily opportunities to get Quick Wins for our health and wellness that don’t require an entire rearranging of our lives to get them. So, here’s my list of five Quick Wins you can implement TODAY with little to no extra effort or going out of your way to make them happen. Eat a Piece of Dark Chocolate Every Day . I know it’s not everyone’s favorite, and to be honest it can be an acquired taste. I didn’t like it years ago, either. But if you get 70% or higher, you’re giving yourself a mini-health boost with vitamins and minerals like copper, manganese, zinc, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, selenium, calcium, and almost all the B vitamins. From CHOCOLATE! And an added bonus, your kids probably aren’t going to want it because it’s not a...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE WELLNESS INDUSTRY IS EXHAUSTING. IT'S YOUR HEALTH & YOUR RULES - EVERYONE ELSE CAN TAKE A SEAT!

I’m probably going to get some backlash from this, but my give a cares are pretty much gone at this point in my life. I check social media platforms pretty frequently to see what topics are trending in health and wellness. I feel like it’s not only important for me to keep up with my formal continuing education but to also see what people are thinking outside of a course or a classroom. To say we have problems in this country, and as a society, would be an understatement. We have huge SYSTEMIC issues around healthcare, wellness, disease management and prevention, weight loss, etc. The list is utterly exhausting. Every person has their own ideas and opinions on what health and wellness look like to them. It might mean the absence of disease (ex. heart disease) or no chronic health concerns (ex. high blood pressure). It might mean a certain number on the scale, the range of your biometric markers (blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels), or your ratio of body fat to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

ARE YOU ACTIVELY TRYING TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH? Or Are You Simply Trying to Hang On?

This is the question I asked myself this week as I cried over going to a school event for my daughter. She’s a senior this year and I am already struggling with my “baby” about to fly the nest. But the truth is, I wasn’t crying for sentimental reasons. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I was crying because I didn’t want to go . I felt obligated to go and support her because it’s her senior year and that’s what I’m supposed to do as her mother, but honestly, I’ve been feeling the burnout for WEEKS now. I didn’t want to go and socialize. I didn’t want to interact with people. And I LIKE people. We’re incredibly fortunate to live in a supportive and active community with people who are very nice and get along. Most of the time. (Let’s be real – everyone has their moments.) But 99% of the time our little town works together and supports one another and they are ESPECIALLY encouraging to the kids. So, there I was, crying and trying to hide it from my daughter and husband because...
Post a Comment
Read more