Emotional Wellness
Are you interested in improving your emotional well-being and living a more joyful life? If so, you're in the right place!
Emotional wellness is a vital aspect of our overall health and happiness, and it's something we can all work on improving. It's worth noting that in recent years, anxiety has become a growing problem among teenagers, with rates of anxiety disorders increasing from 36% to 57% in the past decade (source: The Atlantic Monthly). The pandemic has only heightened this issue, with many teens feeling isolated, stressed, and uncertain about the future.
There is hope, though, and that hope comes from action we can all take to find good feelings in small parts of every day, and connect those dots of simple pleasures: noticing beauty, sleeping and eating well,, and connection to family, friends, and community.
Research from specialists like Martin Seligman and Gretchen Rubin can provide valuable insights into how we can cultivate positive emotions, develop healthy habits, and build meaningful connections with others to enhance our emotional well-being.
One way to improve our emotional wellness is to find small ways to bring joy into our everyday lives. It can be as simple as enjoying a cup of coffee or tea in the morning, taking a walk outside during lunch break, listening to our favorite music, or spending time with a beloved pet.
Another way to cultivate positive emotions is to engage in activities that we find meaningful and fulfilling. This could be pursuing a hobby we're passionate about, volunteering for a cause we care about, or setting and achieving personal goals.
Developing healthy habits is also crucial for emotional wellness. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and getting enough sleep can improve our physical health, which in turn can positively impact our mental and emotional health.
Another approach to improving our emotional wellness is to use the RULER method, developed by Marc Brackett, a professor at Yale University. RULER stands for Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotions.
The first step, recognizing our emotions, involves being aware of how we're feeling in any given moment. Understanding our emotions means recognizing the causes and triggers that lead us to feel a certain way. Labeling our emotions involves putting a name to what we're feeling, which can help us better understand and communicate our emotions to others.
Expressing our emotions involves finding healthy and appropriate ways to communicate how we're feeling, such as talking to a trusted friend, journaling, or seeking professional help if necessary. Finally, regulating our emotions means learning strategies to manage and cope with our emotions, such as deep breathing, mindfulness, and positive self-talk.
By using the RULER method, we can become more aware of our emotions and develop strategies to better manage them. This can lead to improved emotional well-being, better relationships with others, and a greater sense of overall happiness and fulfillment.
To sum it up, improving our emotional wellness is about finding ways to cultivate positivity, meaningfulness, and healthy habits in our everyday lives. By taking small steps like enjoying simple moments, engaging in meaningful activities, taking care of our physical health, and building positive relationships, we can improve our emotional well-being and lead happier, more fulfilling lives. Remember, even small changes can have a significant impact on our overall well-being.
Martin Seligman: Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.
Mark Brackett: Brackett, M. A., Rivers, S. E., Reyes, M. R., & Salovey, P. (2012). Enhancing academic performance and social and emotional competence with the RULER feeling words curriculum. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(2), 218-224.
Gretchen Rubin: Rubin, G. (2009). The happiness project: Or, why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle, and generally have more fun. HarperCollins.
