People spend time and money going to gyms and eating healthy, organic food, there’s nothing wrong with that. The problem is most people do not pay attention to one of the crucial parts of our health, emotional wellness. Most people think that getting adequate exercise and eating nutritious food is the one way to maintain a healthy life, but that is not true. Our emotion plays a big role in our health and Emotional wellness is linked with both our physical and mental health.

October is Emotional Wellness Month and people don’t recognize or celebrate it like other prominent month-long celebrations. Sadly, in a world where we rely so much on what we see, we fail to see problems hidden from plain sight. We think just because someone has a well-toned physique we would assume he is perfectly healthy. We can never know if an individual is emotionally healthy by merely looking at them.

What is Emotional Wellness?

Emotional Wellness is a person’s ability to respond and adapt to life’s challenges. It is also being able to understand one’s thoughts and emotions. Emotional Wellness is not the same thing as Mental Health although they very much affect one another.

How does Emotional Wellness affect our health?

Emotions are linked with our health because emotion is one of the factors we take into consideration when making decisions. Our decisions and actions affect our overall physical and mental health. 

When we are distressed or sad we make irrational decisions. Some of our irrational decisions adversely affect our health one way or another.

For example, some people tend to cope with emotional distress, sadness, or even anger through eating. Sadly, it often involves an unhealthy diet like overconsumption of junk food. Some people also become lethargic and avoid physical activities when experiencing negative emotions. 

There is a very big chance that you are unhealthy or experiencing health issues because of what you feel. What are you going to do about it?

How do we improve our emotional health and maintain emotional wellness?

In a world filled with toxic relationships, a judgmental society, hardships, and challenges, how can one maintain good emotional health? The good thing about any form of health whether it is physical, mental, or emotional there are ways to improve it. 

Embrace your emotions and learn from them.

Take note of your emotions and pinpoint what is the source of it. How do you get sad, happy or angry? By answering that question you learn more about yourself and you can learn how to address your emotions. 

Let it go.

One of the biggest mistakes that lead to poor emotional health is keeping your emotions to yourself. Bottling up anger, sadness, and other negative emotions will just set you up for bigger problems that you might not be able to handle on your own. If you are sad, let it out and cry. If you are angry, express it. Pent-up emotions are ticking time bombs that are just waiting to explode.

Connect and reach out.

You are not alone. Always remember that there will always be someone you can turn to and all you need to do is to reach out to them. You don’t need to have a problem to have a reason to connect with people that care for you. Ask them to do fun activities with you, some things are better done with friends than doing it alone.

Control Stress and don’t let it control you.

Stress can sometimes be overwhelming and it can get the best out of you. Manage your stress by breathing, meditating, and exercising. Stress is manageable as long as you know how to address it.

Forgive and be a friend to yourself.

One of the biggest causes of emotional distress is self-blaming. We are not perfect creatures and we have to accept our weaknesses and flaws. Most of the time, we never forgive ourselves for the mistakes we make and that is another mistake. Be kind to yourself and be the forgiving friend you need.

Stay positive

Focus on the positive things in your life. Look on the bright side rather than dwelling on what’s bad. Appreciate the things that you can do rather than mopping about what you can’t do. Value the things that you have and don’t get angry because of the things you don’t have. There are always two sides to look at things, always look at the positive side.

This Emotional Wellness Month you can practice these activities and look at how your emotional health will improve. Make a daily note of your progress and by the end of the month, you will be astounded on how you have improved.