October is recognized as national Emotional Wellness Month in the United States. We all deal with stress. At work. In our relationships. Trying to decide if a half hour wait at Applebee’s is worth it or should we head to Chili’s? And those are just everyday difficulties. Add Covid. Vaccines. Politics. Climate change. The rising price of bacon. Things are downright traumatic. So now is a great time to recognize the need to work on maintaining a healthy emotional balance.
So What is Emotional Wellness?
Emotional wellness is “an awareness, understanding, and acceptance of our feelings and our ability to effectively manage our emotions through challenges and change.” (1)
“Emotional wellness refers to our ability to process feelings in a healthy, positive way and manage the stress of everyday life.” (2)
Managing life’s stresses is vital because emotional wellness can affect your health. High levels of stress will lead to physical problems. High blood pressure, to start with. Ulcers. Your immune system can weaken in response to emotional trauma.
Remeber this classic?
Improving During Emotional Wellness Month
First, we all need to learn to recognize our emotions. Emotional Wellness Month does not mean that we wear a happy face the entire month. This is actually suppressing your emotions and can be extremely unhealthy. What recognizing our emotions means is that we are able to identify happiness, stress, anger – all of our feelings – and we can manage those feelings in a healthy and productive manner.
It’s okay to be stressed. The price of bacon is going up! It’s okay to have negative feelings. But your emotional wellness depends on how you manage that stress. Do you buy all of the bacon in the store to stock up? Do you cry? Or do you recognize the negative emotion this circumstance creates and work on reducing this stress?
National Today has some great tips on managing our emotional wellness, such as learning a new coping skill. “Take some time to develop a list of simple activities like breathing exercises, yoga, and drawing that help you calm down and self-soothe in difficult emotional times.”
You can read all of their tips to manage emotional wellness here.
Also make a point to work on things that effect your ability to cope with emotional stress.
Self-Care. Take care of yourself with a massage or an activity that is relaxing for you.
Friendship. Check in with your friends.
Hydrate. You’d be amazed how drinking the proper amount of water can help your emotional wellness. Check out Buried Treasure Liquid Vitamins, which assist with hydration and nutrition.
Eat Healthy snacks.
Boost your immune system. Try adding Elderberry Syrup as a daily preventative to boosting your immune system.
Does CBD Help With Emotional Wellness?
There is still not enough research on CBD to definitely say that it does, or does not, aid in emotional wellness. However, there is growing anecdotal evidence that suggests CBD (cannabidiol) can be effective at addressing emotional health issues like
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Stress
- PTSD
- Mood Swings
CBD does show some promise in helping us achieve emotional wellness. But per Peter Bongiorno in Psychology Today, “I always recommend not simply taking supplements for anxiety, but making dietary and lifestyle changes, and adopting stress-relieving rituals and therapies to bring full healing to your body. Also, visit with your doctor on a regular basis or when issues pop up. While CBD is a very good supplement, I find its power is enhanced when combined with natural modifications.” (3)
Click here to learn more about CBD.
Use Emotional Wellness Month as a reminder to work on progress towards stress reduction, self-care and maintaining inner strength. Maintaining a healthy emotional balance helps us make healthy choices.
(1) National Wellness Institute (NWI) https://nationalwellness.org/resources/six-dimensions-of-wellness/
(2) National Today https://nationaltoday.com/emotional-wellness-month/
(3) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too