I’ve been hearing a lot about emotional wellness lately, and for good reason - hitting the 2-year mark in a pandemic, many are feeling emotionally frazzled and quite simply burned out. In fact, you might even be feeling emotionally unwell, but what does that really mean? That there is something wrong that needs to be repaired or fixed? Or does it simply mean that emotional wellness needs attention so you can cope better with the craziness that life throws?

Emotional wellness is the ability to cope with stresses, handle life changes, and adapt to difficult times. It is the component of wellness that exists when we are able to manage our reactions and feelings about our experiences. It is a depth of wellness that grows from developed resilience.

So, what if you aren’t feeling so emotionally well right now? Maybe coping with stress is challenging or you are struggling with big emotions that are hard to control. Perhaps you’ve lost a sense of perspective that helps you feel resilient despite hardship. Does that mean that you are destined for emotional unwell-ness?

Hardly.

Having a difficult time with stress, emotions, and feeling resilient doesn’t equate to emotional unwell-ness any more than having a runny nose definitively means that you have COVID. It does mean, however, that it is time to pay attention to what you might be feeling and build supporting strategies to bring emotional wellness back into focus.

How to get started? Here are a few strategies to try:

1.      Hold onto the positive.

Being able to hold onto positive emotions is a sign of resiliency, and we need to exercise our positivity muscles in order to build emotional wellness. Acknowledging personal strengths, knowing what we value, finding the silver lining are all ways to hold positive emotion. When we appreciate the good times, hold happy memories, and surround ourselves with positive people, we are also building the muscles for emotional wellness.

2.      Address stress.

It seems like we all know we need to manage stress but we plan to get to it later. Just like a runny nose in a pandemic, though, when the stress makes it difficult to cope with emotions, it is time to pause to assess the situation. Whether it’s taking some deep breaths, finding 10 minutes for a walk, talking to a friend, or getting enough sleep - uncovering strategies and habits to manage stress is critical. Emotional wellness requires care and attention - finding a way to calm the crazy is essential.

3.      Strengthen connections.

Our social connections can have powerful effects on our emotional and physical health so it stands to reason that we need to connect with others in order to build our emotional wellness. Maybe you feel drawn to developing relationships you already have or perhaps you are interested in finding a new group that shares something in common. Regardless of how you go about it, notice your social connectedness and build the ties that will positively impact your wellness.

How you feel can have a pretty big impact on overall health and wellness. We are accustomed to addressing physical symptoms of illness as they arise but we often forget that our emotional wellness needs attention too. This next week, take a moment to notice the state of more than your physical health - take assessment of your emotional wellness and then use one of the strategies above to give it a little boost.