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Wellness during times of stress

  • jeniferfoster2
  • Feb 5
  • 6 min read

I haven’t written in a long time.  Lots of reasons. I’m not going to apologize – because I don’t want to publish gibberish.  I haven’t had a whole lot to say.  But, there is a recurring theme to my therapy sessions recently – and I thought I’d bring it up here in case it’s helpful on a broader level. 

 

I think I’m going to label this one – how to deal with an acutely stressful environment. 

 

So, listen – I live in DC full-time.  National politics is my back yard.  It is impossible to live where I live and not be tuned in to politics.  In addition – I am a social worker and have also worked as a public interest attorney for most of my career.  I am dialed in to injustices and violations of civil rights to a degree that many are not.  I don’t think of that as necessarily good or bad – but, that’s where I am coming from in this.  MANY of my clients are very scared, stressed, anxious etc.  I have been thinking a lot about how to maintain sanity when you’re environment, safety, livelihood are potentially on the line.  Can you contemplate wellness in the midst of absolute turmoil?  The rest of this is not going to be specific to the political arena.  So, if you have different viewpoints than I do – I’m guessing you can still take something away – because everyone in life will go through stressful periods of their life, where they feel like they are getting the wind knocked out of them.  Many are telling me right now that this is how they are feeling. 


First things first – even in an acutely stressful time – do not give up your tools for having wellness and balance in your life.  Do not forget that if you do not take care of yourself, you will not be any good in doing much for anyone else (or on a larger scale).  Your own health and wellness has to be primary.  Just like they say on the plane – put your own mask on first.

 

So – what is wellness amidst chaos?  Well – let’s review the pillars of wellness and you can think through it in that way.  The first pillar is physical wellness.  On a very basic level – are you eating?  Proper meals?  Regularly?  Are you nourishing your body?  Secondly, are you sleeping?  Sleeping is very important.  Are you sleeping 6-8 hours nightly?  Is your sleep restful?  Are you regularly getting exercise?  It cannot be said enough – but, exercise will help everything else.  I don’t mean you have to go to a gym or you have to run five miles.  Find things you enjoy.  I love to dance – so, can often be found doing salsa in my kitchen, or taking a break in the day by listening to a random song and jamming along.  Exercise means getting up and getting your body moving.  Do those things that you enjoy.  We can take this further – are you going to a doctor?  Are you keeping up with maintenance and/or preventative medicine?  There is more to explore here – but this is a good start. 

 

The second pillar is emotional wellness.  Sure, therapy is in this category – if you have access.  But, also – there are easy things to do.  Are you getting outside every day?  Being outside is vastly important.  Are you taking breaks?  Are you establishing boundaries between personal life and work (or between personal life and news, as the case may be)?  Are you doing activities you enjoy?  Is art, music, dance, etc. part of your life?  Do you have hobbies? Are you engaging in them?  Are you taking time out of your day to consider what positive is happening?  Even in the worst of times, there are good things happening.  Taking time out of your day to consider this is even more important in acutely stressful times. 



The third pillar is social wellness.  Where do you get your support?  Now is the time to strengthen these connections.  Regardless of what you are going through – you are not in it alone.  There is support out in the community for you.  We are social creatures.  Even the most introverted of us need the support and comfort of others.  Are you reaching out?  Are you getting out and actually seeing other people.  Also – have you had a hug recently?  There is healing in hugs and laughter.  Feel uncomfortable reaching out?  I get it.  Many of us have grown up in a very individualistic society.  But, consider – if a friend reached out and said they needed/wanted to hang out – would you scoff at them?  If not, then chances are your supports will not be critical of you either. 

 

Fourth pillar of wellness is intellectual wellness.  What are you doing to expand your brain?  This doesn’t have to mean you are solving mathematical equations.  It can be as easy as playing sudoku or solving a puzzle.  Or, you can contemplate how to create world peace.  Or, you can try to learn a different language or how to cook bread.  Intellectual wellness means expanding your current world of knowledge.

 

Fifth pillar is spiritual wellness.  I’ve spoken about this before, but to me – spiritual wellness means connecting with something larger than yourself.  Certainly, this can be through a god or a religion.  But, it doesn’t have to be.  For me right now – my personal spiritual wellness means connecting in society to make it better.  There are a lot of people who are trying to do a lot of good.  I cannot personally solve all of the problems, however, I can choose one or two areas for which I have particular concern and engage in making those situations better.  For me, this serves two purposes – it helps me feel that I am not powerless to effect change in the broader world.  I.e., I am not strictly a victim to whatever circumstances are present – and I do have some power.  Secondly, it helps me connect to other helpers.  Seeing others doing good work helps me feel better about society in general. 


The sixth pillar of wellness is environmental wellness.  Many clients feel that this means making their homes feel safe and secure.  Certainly, attending to making your home feel comfortable and safe is attending to environmental wellness.  However, you also live in a local community and a national community and a world community.  Are you attending to these?  Are you finding ways to engage with these communities?  Are you receiving benefits from your communities and are you helping to maintain them?  (For instance – if you live in a neighborhood, like I do, in a city – are you taking advantage of all the city has to offer?  Are you engaged in helping to maintain the city in the way you want it to be? 

 

The seventh pillar of wellness is financial.  I am aware that many people are quite stressed about this particular pillar right now.  There may be much out of your control. However, are you doing what you can to make sure that you have the ability to have what you need (and possibly have what you want for you/your family/etc) now and are you making plans for the future?  The rule of thumb here is to focus on that which you can control.

 

The final pillar of wellness is vocational. Again, this is an area which may be causing some stress at the moment.  But, in general, is your vocation bringing you happiness or is it causing stress?  Are you satisfied with what you’re doing or would you like to make changes?


There is much happening in the world.  It is still possible to find joy; but taking care of your own well-being is vastly important.  Whatever your situation is, I hope you are finding some ways to focus on balance and joy – even if you have to take that day-by-day right now.  Even when things look gloomy, there are still good things happening.  There are still things to smile about.  There is still joy.  What I will ask you is what I ask many of my clients – what will make your life 1% better?  What is one thing that will bring you some joy?  What is one thing you are grateful for? 

 

Breathe.

 
 
 

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