Emotional Wellness–How do You Rate?
October is Emotional Wellness Month, noting an aspect of health we may not always consider. Emotional wellness refers to both general happiness and mental resilience. While we can’t always be free of emotional challenges, we can control how we deal with them. In fact, effective coping techniques are a primary aspect of healthy stress management, which is, in turn, tightly linked to emotional wellness.
We should all consider our top stress factors─which may include family problems, overextending personally and/or professionally, financial troubles, or illness. The healthy position is to change what we can, and gracefully accept what we can’t alter. We all have the power to improve our coping abilities. That’s where emotional resilience comes in.
Emotional resilience refers to your ability to adapt to stressful situations, to manage life’s challenges without being crushed by them. Some of us are naturally more emotionally resilient than others, but it’s a skill that can be acquired. These tips can help:
Feed your nervous system
Emotional stress can deplete nutrients, especially B-complex vitamins. Consuming a diet rich in protein and supplementing key nutrients can measurably strengthen your reserves. Research suggests that essential vitamins and minerals can combat stress and fatigue while also improving mental health as well as cognitive performance.1
Stay aware
It’s to your advantage to stay tuned in to current or future factors that could cause you stress or emotional upset. You may be able to minimize problems by preparing yourself logistically, mentally, physically and emotionally to deal with events/issues as they arise.
See the glass half full
In any situation, you can take a dim view or a bright one, and either can be habit forming. What’s beautiful about staying positive through thick and thin is it enables you to really appreciate both the grand and simple joys in life─like your wellness for example. Remember Maria in The Sound of Music? Now there’s an optimist to emulate.
Count your blessings
To risk another cliché, you will be amazed at the mileage you get out of taking a moment each day to reflect on all the gifts in your life─from your home environment, to your family/friends, your work, etc. Give yourself some kudos if things are looking up for you, as you are largely responsible for that!
If any aspect of your life feels unsatisfactory, think positively about how you would like to change it, and enact a constructive, viable plan to do so. And celebrate the rest─every day.
References
1 Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2010 Jul;211(1):55-68. Epub 2010 May 8
