Building a Balanced Life: Establishing Emotional Wellness
What are the 8 Dimensions of Wellness?
Throughout December and January, we will be looking at each of the 8 Dimensions of Wellness. The 8 Dimensions of Wellness are distinct areas that, when viewed together, form a holistic framework for health and well-being.
Having a holistic view of wellness enables us to address the multiple aspects of our lives that are essential to our health. This model also shows that we cannot simply prioritize one realm of our well-being. Wellness is most attainable when the many different aspects of our lives work together to help us focus on living life fully.
Emotional Wellness
In this dimension of wellness we focus on building a healthy connection to our emotions and being able to gather the information they provide us. Seeking emotional wellness may also include building healthy and effective coping strategies and establishing the necessary skills to have healthy, supportive relationships.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) states, “the emotional wellness dimension involves the ability to express feeling, adjust to emotional challenges, cope with life’s stressors and enjoy life.”
Why Emotional Wellness Matters
Developing the necessary skills to support your overall emotional wellness is a vital aspect of achieving life satisfaction. Emotional regulation supports our physical health, relationships, work and other important areas of functioning.
There is agreement within the field of psychology and medicine that there is a significant connection between the mind and body. Our emotional wellness directly influences our physical wellness (and vice versa). Thus, having a robust set of strategies to support emotional regulation will be supportive of both physical and emotional dimensions of wellness.
Signs of Strong Emotional Wellness
Emotional literacy - having the skills to identify emotions and the vocabulary to name/communicate them to others
Healthy Coping Strategies - having a varied set of tools and skills to help navigate emotions as they come
Practicing Boundaries and Self-Compassion - maintaining healthy boundaries within relationships and engaging in consistent practices of self-love
Demonstrating Resilience During Challenges - having appropriate skills to support distress tolerance when facing difficult situations
Barriers to Emotional Wellness
It is not as simple as deciding to commit to developing skills in order to attain emotional wellness. There can be a number of barriers that present challenges in this area including, but not limited to:
Cultural messages that discourage emotional expression.
Trauma histories or emotionally immature upbringings.
Chronic stress, burnout, or caregiving fatigue.
Limited access to mental health resources.
Stigma around seeking support.
How Therapy Supports Emotional Wellness
Therapy is a safe space to explore the barriers or deficits you may have that inhibit you from feeling satisfied with your level of emotional wellbeing. A therapist can create a safe space for you to engage with emotional exploration and healing, in addition to helping you establish the necessary skills to navigate your emotional experiences without becoming entirely overwhelmed.
Therapy can also be a supportive space for those who are dealing with life stressors that increase emotional discomfort. This could include support for trauma survivors, caregivers and anyone navigating life transitions. Skills learned in therapy can support emotional regulation, communication, boundaries and resilience.
Closing Thoughts
It is important to see our emotional wellness as an ongoing practice, rather than an end point to achieve. We constantly need to balance the scales as we confront stress or change in our lives. There is support available and achieving balance in the dimension of emotional wellness is possible.
Feel free to reach out to a provider on our team or complete the new client inquiry if you’re ready for support in this (or any) dimension of your wellness journey.
Meet the Author
Cassie Thomas, MA, LPC
Cassie is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado and Wyoming. Cassie loves to support adolescent girls and gender non-conforming clients of any age in their exploration of identity.
Cassie is certified in EMDR and is skilled in supporting clients who struggle with chronic health conditions and CPTSD.
