19 Apr Wellness and COVID19
What is Wellness?
Wellness has been defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices towards a healthy and fulfilling life.
A major part of wellness is preserving and improving one’s mental and emotional health. While our priority in fact remains staying free of COVID-19, many of us may find ourselves feeling increasingly stressed, lonely or anxious during this time. To feel well requires action on our part to treat our bodies minds and spirits as part of a whole and understanding that when one part is off balance the rest will be affected.
COVID-19 and Wellness
Wellness in the time of COVID-19 Life is quite different now than it was a few weeks ago when the nation was celebrating Carnival. Now we are being warned to practice social distancing and to take many measures to preserve our physical health. Well there has been a missing key to this discussion; How can we preserve our mental and emotional well-being during such a tenuous, uncertain and stressful time. Wellness has become quite the buzzword within the last few years and several people have adopted lifestyle practices such as yoga, mindfulness and meditation in their bid to become healthier and happier. Well there is no greater time than now in the midst of COVID-19 to discuss what wellness really means and how we can practically apply some
of these tools to our everyday lives.
Here are some practical ways we can
enhance our emotional and mental well-being
during this pandemic
- Go out into nature- many studies are confirming what we’ve always known; that being out in nature helps us to feel grounded and to stay in the present moment. If you can, go out for a walk, sit in your backyard or do some gardening daily.
- Manage your consumption of news and social media accounts which are spreading fake news or which do not contribute anything new to what you already know.
- Daily Gratitude Lists -When you first wake up or just before bed begin the habit of listing all the things you are grateful for. This will help you to focus on the positive and not feed into fear.
- Call friends and loved ones and continue to stay connected even if you cannot physically be together.
- Slow down and check in with how you feel and find activities to support this such as yoga, meditation or journaling.
- If you are feeling extremely overwhelmed, seek help and express your feelings. Many therapists are conducting sessions via telephone or online and there are many free online resources providing support.