Wellness Awareness Month aims to celebrate and educate about overall health and self-care. The New Year often pressures us to start new healthy habits, many of which are dropped within the first few months. If you intended on improving your mental and physical health this year, August is a great time to check in on ourselves.

What is Wellness?

Wellness is not just taking care of your general health, but the pursuit of total well-being. It is a holistic approach that includes caring for your physical, mental, emotional, social, and environmental health.

Why is wellness important?

Being mindful and proactive in your overall well-being can be a preventative measure to avoid burnout and illness. Instead of constantly being on the defensive – fighting colds when they hit or digging yourself out of a deep depression – be on the offensive. By consistently keeping tabs on your wellness, you can ensure that your mind and body are healthy enough to take on what’s next and wholly improve your quality of life.

Focus on Yourself!

• Take a moment to check in with yourself and all aspects of your being.
• Take a deep breath and check in on your fingers and toes, arms and legs, and everything in between; does anything hurt?
• Release your breath and identify your mental and emotional state; is your mind busy or slow? Do you feel anxious or content?
• Plant your feet on the ground and be present; do you feel disconnected from your surroundings?
• Close your eyes and think about your relationships; is there anything that feels lacking or tenuous?
• Take a look around and listen to the sounds of your environment; is there anything that is making you uncomfortable?

Think about what you noticed, and consider what steps you could take to improve each state of being. Try not to “go big” with your goals; start small and realistic.

Move Yourself!

As much as many people don’t want to hear it, regular physical activity and eating healthy is essential for not only your mental health, but to be able to keep moving as you age. A sedentary lifestyle is directly linked to bone and joint health issues chronic illnesses, and even cancer.

If your body felt a bit creaky earlier, you may want to implement a new routine that fits your schedule, abilities, and needs. Consider a morning stretch or an after-dinner walk, or if you’re already fairly mobile, add a more dynamic movement than your regular exercise routine. Moving your body during the day will help you sleep faster and deeper.

Other small habits like having a glass of water before your morning coffee or adding an extra fruit or vegetable to your lunch, can be a great and achievable way to promote better physical health.

Challenge Yourself!

The mundane routines of everyday life often don’t give our brains much to play with. Our brains don’t stop growing after adulthood; keeping our brains active and flexible is important to long-term cognitive function.

If you find yourself mentally dulled by the menial tasks of your data-entry job or the seemingly constant folding of laundry, shaking up your routine can help open your brain back up.

Learning a new skill can build new synapses in your brain; try signing up for a local intro-to-drawing class or trying a new recipe for dinner rather than your regular go-tos.

You can build your brain’s soft skills of memory-retrieval and problem-solving by getting into a weekly ritual of going to your local dive bar’s trivia night or trying to solve all the New York Times puzzles every day.

Any switch-up to your routine can be the small but mighty step to keep your brain challenged.

Express Yourself!

When was the last time you talked or wrote about your feelings. Has it been long? Sometimes we find ourselves bottling up emotions to spare others or to avoid confronting the feelings at all. This often leads to strains on relationships as those bottled emotions can start bleeding into unconscious actions like pulling away or even becoming less empathetic.

Pushing down feelings of grief or trauma can force it to manifest physically, too. It can show up as chronic pain or fatigue, issues with your immune system, and can even increase your risk for cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Recognizing the state of your emotional health and what may be contributing to any negative emotions you may be feeling is an important first step. One of the best ways to do this is by journaling, talking to a friend, or speaking with a licensed mental health counselor.

Connect Yourself!

After caring for your physical body’s needs, the next important aspect in your life, and level 3 of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, is experiencing love and belonging. Often, when people aren’t feeling good, they tend to isolate themselves in an attempt to solve things on their own and not burden others.

Loneliness, while in and of itself can be a dreadful feeling and can cause further anxiety and depression, it can also affect your physical health by increasing the risk of heart disease.

Even when you’re not feeling your best, maintaining your relationships with friends, partners, and family is vital to overall wellness. Take the time to call your loved ones, make plans, or even just go out and talk to strangers. You never know who can help you, teach you something, or simply make you feel good.

Surround Yourself!

It is easy to stay and accept where we are physically and in life. We can stop noticing or even actively ignore how aggravating the sound of our ceiling fan is, or how cold we are without a jacket. We underestimate how significantly our environment can increase our cortisol levels and play a role in our physical and mental health. Accumulating all these small stressors can increase all sorts of negative health effects, including risk for heart disease, sleep disturbances, and weight gain.

Look around at your environment and tackle those little things that irk you, like a messy room or a dripping sink. Even something short-term like adding a pillow behind our back, or slipping on some comfy socks, can suddenly boost our mood and manage stress levels.

Treat Yourself!

Keeping track of all the things mentioned above can feel overwhelming. While eating healthier, exercising more, or making plans with friends often make us feel better, stressing about doing those things can have the opposite effect. Ensure you make time for yourself and take intentional breaks before your body takes one for you.

Eat the Hershey’s kiss you’ve been saving for when you “deserve it”, take a nap when you’re tired, and spend some time alone if you haven’t had any in ages.

If you’re struggling with taking care of yourself despite knowing all this, it may be time to speak to a mental health professional, as this often can be a sign of depression.

Luckily, HBH has a great team of compassionate and experienced clinicians to help you in your wellness journey. If you or someone you know is seeking therapy online or in Massachusetts or in-person from our offices in Amherst, Franklin, West Springfield, Wilbraham, or Natick offices, contact us today at (413) 343-4357 or request an appointment online.

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