Health and Wellness
Health and wellness are related to your overall physical, mental, and emotional well-being. When your body, mind, and emotions are balanced, the ability to engage in daily activities, pursue goals, and interact with others is increased. It is not uncommon for individuals who struggle with physical issues such as substance abuse, body image concerns, or mental illness to struggle to meet the typical demands of the day. It is easy for many people to neglect basic self care… the cost can be quite high when the choice is made to put basic physical, mental, and emotional needs on the backburner. Maintaining adequate levels of health and wellness involves gaining the awareness, knowledge, and motivation to make meaningful changes in daily living. For some people, this might mean attending to basic nutrition needs or proper sleep hygiene. For others, optimal health and wellness involves seeking help for a substance abuse issue from friends, family, and mental health professionals. For those struggling with mental illness, maintaining health and wellness typically involves seeking the services of a psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor and adhering to their individual treatment plan. Depending on the particular mental health issue, following treatment guidelines may involve psychotherapy, psychiatric medication, or another intervention recommended by your provider.
The application of mindfulness to your overall health and wellness involves attending to the cues provided by your mind, intuition, and emotional experience. When you observe and accept your overall well-being with an attitude of mindfulness, it can become easier to identify what aspect of your life is out of balance. When you become mindfully attuned to potential imbalances between physical, mental, and emotional wellness, you are naturally better equipped to make informed decisions about how to take action to stabilize your health and wellness.
Feeling Disconnected & Homebound? Online Mental Health Communities Offer Support
“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” – Khalil Gibran If you’re like a great deal of people in the world right now, you may find yourself engaging in “social distancing” by staying at home and away from crowds. It’s natural…
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Building a Self-Care Toolkit
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. ” – Thich Nhat Hanh How often have you found yourself thinking, or even saying aloud, that you’re simply too busy to slow down and take care of yourself? After all, there are so many…
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11 Ways to Make Your Life Infinitely Better in 2017
“Despise no new accident in your body, but ask opinion of it…. There is a wisdom in this beyond the rules of physic. A man’s observation, what he finds good and of what he finds hurt of, is the best physic to preserve health.” – Francis Bacon The following article is written by guest author…
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Jump-Start New Year’s Resolutions & Healthy Habits
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not come. We have only today. Let us begin.” – Mother Teresa Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year? Many people view the beginning of a new year as an opportunity to make positive behavioral changes and let go of unhealthy habits. According to research conducted at the…
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Loving-Kindness Meditation Improves Health & Wellness
“Joy and Temperance and Repose Slam the door on the doctor’s nose.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Most people recognize the multitude of connections between nutrition, exercise, and physical health. It’s easy to see how the nutrients we put into our bodies and the activities we perform impact our overall physical wellness. Perhaps it’s simpler for…
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Improve Your Well-Being: “Quality of Life” Checkup
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James What factors do you think contribute to your overall well-being? Perhaps the concept of well-being conjures images of health, happiness, and vitality. Consider how well your current lifestyle choices are improving or thwarting your optimal state of well-being. This type of…
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Start the Morning Right: 10 Mood Boosters – Part Two
“This is a wonderful day. And I have never seen this one ever before.” – Maya Angelou What type of attitude do you bring to the dawn of each new day? The way that you choose to look at the world around you has a significant impact on your overall mood. Imagine the difference between…
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Start the Morning Right: 10 Mood Boosters – Part One
“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh Each morning offers the opportunity to start the day with an attitude of hopefulness, gratitude, and mindfulness. The way that you choose to greet the morning and move through your…
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Rise Above Stigma: Increase Awareness of Mental Health Issues
“These pains that you feel are Messengers. Listen to them. Turn them to sweetness.” – Rumi Today – May 16, 2012 – is the American Psychological Association’s (APA) “Mental Health Month Blog Day.” The idea behind this day is to increase awareness of the importance of good mental health and the impact of stigmatization on those who…
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Choose to Have a Better Day: 10 Simple Tips
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” – Buddha Sometimes life feels…
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