Welcome to the new month, which I’ve tagged Auspicious August. This month, we will explore another dimension of wellness: emotional wellbeing. Over the last four months, we’ve delved into a few dimensions of wellness, such as spiritual, intellectual, financial, and the just-concluded environmental wellbeing.
As tension rises in the country, many people are experiencing different emotions. To some, these emotions are a mixed bag, staggered from personal to business and national. Whatever feelings you are experiencing now, I hope you speak out by taking a cue from the old wise saying, “If you feel something, say something.”
Read also: Negligence of boy child’s wellbeing, growth fueling anti-social behaviour – Centre
Moreover, someone once told me that emotions are not real. Even though I’m not from that school of thought, I wish to put out there that if that assumption is a tool for addressing feelings from the root cause, it may seem useful. Otherwise, I remain on the side of the divide that believes that feelings are real, even though what generates them sometimes may be unfounded. Misconceptions or assumptions have generated many negative feelings, hence the need never to bottle anything up. We must all learn to speak up and have meaningful yet courteous conversations with people, as this helps us all understand the concept of emotional wellbeing.
Emotional wellbeing indicates one’s ability to cope effectively with life by building and maintaining satisfying relationships. This is coupled with a deep understanding of the serenity prayer, which states that God should grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to tell apart the difference.
“We must all learn to speak up and have meaningful yet courteous conversations with people, as this helps us all understand the concept of emotional wellbeing.”
As much as we can now attest to the interconnectedness of all these eight pillars of wellness, the ability to keep it all together lies in having a positive outlook on things. As we all go through life with different/unique encounters in our physical bodies, financial status, spirituality, career, intelligence, environment, and social currency, we experience myriads of emotions. These emotions span from the simple ones, such as happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, and fear, to the more complex ones, like grief, euphoria, nostalgia, sentiment, wistfulness, melancholy, and schadenfreude.
Therefore, to set the right tone for this month’s area of discussion, here are a few things to note for consideration:
Self-awareness: The cornerstone of emotional wellbeing. Understanding ourselves, our capabilities, and our areas for growth is a powerful tool in managing our emotions. It makes us more open to feedback and less defensive, fostering a healthy self-image and emotional balance.
Other’s perspective: Feedback may not always be right, but how do you confirm this without self-awareness? Being hurt by people’s words, actions, or inactions is a function of accepting other people’s perspectives rather than taking them in for a check-in. As much as this advocates that you confirm things rather than take them all in hook, line, and sinker, it is also essential to be true to oneself.
Read also: Six reasons to invest in employees’ financial wellbeing
Optimism: With optimism, you can walk on the moon as nothing seems impossible. Hope is a feeling from which optimism must have come out. Continuously having a positive outlook on life spins everything in the right direction, both good and bad. So, what’s not to love? This deliberate act of constantly looking for the positive side of things helps ensure nothing fazes you. A positive outlook on life then serves as a game-changer for negative emotions. This tool breeds hope and, with hope, a short-lived sense of despair.
Acknowledgement: identifying types of emotions and acknowledging them whenever they are felt is one of the best ways to be in control. There are seven emotion categories, with a non-exhaustive list under each class. To list a few, please add examples of the primary and complex emotions mentioned earlier. Secondary emotions manifest in guilt, shame, jealousy, envy, and pride, while tertiary emotions project empathy, sympathy, compassion, excitement, and boredom. Social emotions such as love, affection, gratitude, resentment, and indignation reveal the nuances of love and hate. In contrast, self-conscious emotions appear to be inflicted through embarrassment, shame, pride, self-pity, and reproach. Curiosity, confusion, frustration, anticipation, and relief are typical examples of cognitive emotions that serve their purposes too.
In summary, emotional wellbeing is a crucial aspect of overall wellness. It involves understanding and managing your emotions, being self-aware, considering others’ perspectives, and maintaining an optimistic outlook.
Call to Action.
Identifying emotions, especially while going through them, is excellent, but more is needed. One must be able to trace each feeling to its trigger or root cause to savour the moment, avoid the event, or harness the thrill. For instance, when you feel anger, try to identify the specific trigger and then use techniques like deep breathing or taking a walk to manage it.
Identify an emotion you experienced this morning, try to trace the source, and ask yourself this question: would I ever want to feel this way again? If your answer is yes, then ask why. To be on top of your game, you need to complete a few more steps in the self-questioning parody.
To learn more, please email [email protected]. Olayinka Opaleye is a Wellbeing Specialist and Corporate Wellness Strategist. She can also be reached via Tel: 09091131150 or by clicking on www.linkedin.com/in/olayinkaopaleye.
