As we age, it becomes harder to bend and stretch without pain and stiffness. Simple exercises keep our bodies more flexible
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
Many counselors agree that the five components of health and wellness are emotional, intellectual, physical, social and spiritual wellbeing. Here are a few tips for maximizing each component.
Emotional wellbeing
Everyone has a certain amount of stress in their lives. An emotionally healthy person knows how to deal with that stress and can unwind after a particularly stressful period.
The goal is to remain positive. Negativity can affect our physical health.
Healthy relationships are important. Whether it’s having a partner or a circle of close friends, emotionally healthy people are usually not loners.
Candy Marcum, an LGBTQ community counselor, said, “The most important relationship we have is the one we have with ourselves. And the way we connect with ourselves is emotionally.”
She suggested you trust your emotions. Practice and learn how to regulate your emotions.
“Be like Goldilocks,” Marcum laughed. “You don’t want your emotions to be too hot. You don’t want your emotions to be too cold. You want your emotions to be just right.”
That means moderate, in the middle, she explained.
Counselor Candy Marcum offers tips for
all-around wellness
Intellectual wellbeing
Intellectual health includes being able to think creatively and solve problems. Most counselors would say an intellectually healthy person would keep up with current events. But these days, obsessing on what our president and some of his henchmen are saying isn’t healthy either.
Just like our body needs exercise, so does our mind. Healthy activities include taking a class or attending a workshop, learning new skills and reading newspapers, books or articles online.
“I think the healthiest person is a person who is present,” Marcum said. “They don’t live in the past. They may visit the future, but not for long. So the place to be is present.”
She explained that when you’re present, you hear what’s going on, see what’s going on, read what’s going on. “You are managing your environment and your universe by staying present, she added, “listening, seeing reading and connecting with people.”
Physical wellbeing
Physical health includes more than just exercise. Eating a healthy diet is important. So is getting enough sleep. Smoking, excessive drinking and taking drugs all detract from a healthy body.
Exercise should include some strength training and also endurance for heart health. But one element often overlooked is flexibility. As we age, it becomes harder to bend and stretch without pain and stiffness. Simple exercises keep our bodies more flexible.
Marcum had a personal example. “Recently I went to the dentist who reminded me you must have a clean bill of health in your mouth,” she said. “Whatever you have going on with you is going to show up in your mouth.”
Whether it’s the flu, gastroenteritis or ulcers — physical health and wellness is not just about how fit you are or how strong you are.
“It’s about how you respect and treat your body,” Marcum said.
Social wellbeing
Many people suffer from social anxiety. Building confidence in several ways will help with social wellbeing. Ways to do this include working on communication skills, building empathy toward others and developing healthy relationships.
The national institute of health suggests six things you can do to improve your social wellness: Make connections; take care of yourself while helping others; get active; shape your family’s health habits, bond with family members, and build healthy relationships.
Social connections, the NIH explains, “help protect health and lengthen life.”
Marcum used a very specific example of how making connections with other people is vital to social wellbeing and health. “During World War II, with all the bombing going on in London, many children ended up without parents,” she said. “They were placed in orphanages or hospitals. Many of these children died of what they called a shriveled spine.”
The antidote, she explained, was for the caregivers and nurses to touch the children. As a species we must connect, or we will die — connect physically and emotionally. We have to manage our anxiety so we can feel safe enough to connect with other people and to feel safe with other people.
Spiritual wellbeing
Whether you are religious or not, spiritual health is part of a person’s overall health and wellbeing.
A religious person may want to study the deeper meaning of their beliefs. But a non-religious person should have beliefs as well.
Meditation helps some people find meaning and purpose for their lives. But there are other ways to nurture your spiritual wellbeing. Volunteering or finding ways to help others are ways to improve your own wellbeing.
When serious illness strikes, the NIH says, “Spirituality and religion help patients, families and caregivers cope [with the physical illness] and spiritual distress.”
“Spirituality and religiosity can intersect or can stand alone,” Marcum said. “Spirituality is about feeling ‘a part of.’ I’m a part of the human race, and I belong. I’m a part of a family, and I belong. I’m a part of a community, and I belong.”
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