The emotional pillar of wellness encompasses the ability to navigate your feelings. This requires identifying, assessing, and effectively communicating.
Emotions affect our physiology in a positive or negative way. Positive emotions boost serotonin and suppress cortisol spikes while negative emotions suppress healthy hormone levels. We will cover methods to support your emotional health.
Many people utilize a time line to measure their life. The milestones may be different for every individual, but the significance of each event is what holds the person together. A sense of emotional wellness can be described as navigating through life’s events with the ability to identify, assess, and effectively communicate your feelings. Mental health professionals often use therapeutic tools such as journaling or cognitive behavioral therapy to help people work through difficult emotions that they might not otherwise recognize on their own.
Emotional Health Affects Metabolic Wellness in a Positive Way
Studies have shown that people who practice good emotional wellness reap many physical health benefits. In a study done by the journal of social and clinical psychology, participants were divided into two groups. One group was instructed to take care of their emotions, while the other group was not given any instructions. The researchers then measured blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol levels for everyone in both groups every four weeks and found those instructed to have superior test results.
Every year, over 44 million people in the United States experience a mental illness. With such a large number of Americans suffering from these conditions, the need for effective treatments and therapies is more important than ever. One such treatment option is called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). MBCT is an 8-week course designed to teach individuals how to manage their thoughts and emotions in order to cope with the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Emotional wellness is a significant aspect of achieving overall health and well-being. In the field of psychology, wellness is considered a concept that encompasses three dimensions: living a healthy lifestyle that includes physical activity, relaxation, and sleep; being able to effectively cope with stressors in one’s life; and having a sense of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in life.
Unfortunately, mental health institutions have all but disappeared in America. Instead of assisting people with cognitive therapies, the current practice is to administer drugs. Mental health sufferers are left to fend for themselves with a large segment living on the streets. The emotional health pillar addresses issues from a holistic approach with research on therapies and natural supplements to offer novel solutions.
Positive Emotions Promote Mental Wellness
Physical health and emotional well-being are intricately linked. Moods, emotions, and energy levels can impact the ability to pursue physical activities. Conversely, physical activity may provide a significant mood boost which can lead to better sleep. This is especially true for those with depression or chronic illness who find it difficult to undertake physical activities because of their illness or depression.
What is a holistic approach to health and fitness? When talking about a holistic approach to health and fitness, we’re not just taking care of one aspect of our body. Instead, we’re taking care of all the aspects that create our total well-being. With this in mind, emotional well-being should be considered an important part of physical health and fitness because it can help to overcome issues like stress or anxiety that can undermine both emotional stability and physical well-being.
The emotional pillar therefore is as important as the other seven and the synergy formed between all pillars contribute to ultimate holistic health.
