Tuesday, 16th February 2021 — When we think about health and wellness, we oftentimes consider only the physical body. We forget that our wholeness depends on the mind, body and soul. If our spiritual body is out of sync, it impacts the physical form. The same is true if our mind and/or emotions are mentally imbalanced.
All of us are experiencing a tremendous amount of stress and strain nowadays with this global pandemic. Whether we are gainfully employed or not, have a house or are homeless, have money to buy groceries and pay bills, or there’s scarcely income for these expenses, everyone is going through significant changes.
The former lifestyles that we knew have shifted. For some of us, we are doing alright. For others of us, hardships have become the norm. No matter what our situations are, we are all coping with more than the usual depth of anxiety, concern, worries and so forth.
How we deal with what’s going on in our lives creates emotional and mental conditions that affect our overall health and wellness. If we are not working and laid off from the job without a regular source of income to meet monthly expenses for ourselves and our families, that puts pressure on us financially and causes our stress levels to increase.
There are some of us who are doing okay monetarily and have sustainable finances. Yet, we too have concerns. Maybe they are about the wellbeing of family members and friends who are not working. Perhaps, it’s the care of an elderly parent, or the strain a sibling is feeling being a caregiver for a father, mother, brother, sister or spouse. Then, there is the weight of sorrow for a dear friend or relative who has dementia or Alzheimer – and has lost her/his mental capacity to live full time in the real world.
Whatever our distresses are, they are causing us emotional and mental duress. So, we must figure out a way to lessen the impact on our minds, bodies and souls. There are no standard nor easy techniques, or magic formulas, that will alleviate pain and suffering or worries. We simply have to find ways to cope with whatever situations we are presented with – and adopt methods that help us to relieve the stress and strain.
For myself, personally, it’s been a long road figuring out how to release whatever affects my emotional and mental state. I meditate, chant, dance, swim and write profusely. Writing, for me, has always been a form of expressing my own innate creativity – as well as a way of letting go of the never-ending train of mental thoughts that my mind’s ego creates.
I used to say that I needed a light switch to turn off my brain’s thought process. It’s ridiculous what cockamamie stories our minds are capable of coming up with. If I wrote fiction, I definitely would have some useful material to concoct lavish tales.
When our emotional and mental health isn’t balanced, it impacts our entire self. We experience high blood pressure, palpitations of the heart, headaches, other bodily aches and pains, lose or put on weight, have hair loss and a number of other symptoms.
Our spirits may feel downtrodden as if our inner worlds will come to an end. In worst-case scenarios, we become so depressed that we might consider ending our own life or the lives of others. Caring for our emotional and mental health is crucial to our vitality. We must do everything we can to maintain positive perspectives of ourselves, and our existences, regardless of the circumstances we face.
One phrase that I am always reminded of whenever I might feel under the weather, so to speak, or a bit glum, is: “And this too shall pass.” If we can recognise that our current situations or statuses will not always remain as they are, in the present moment, then we are able to hold onto hope. Being hopeful gives us the courage and inspiration to continue living no matter what we are faced with. It is when we give up on the hope that we give up on ourselves and on life.
As Reverend Jesse Jackson said, in the address, he delivered in 1988, after a second unsuccessful run for the Democratic Nomination for President: “Keep hope alive!” May we hold onto faith and hopefulness every day.
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Kay M Ferguson is a mindful writer, who writes under the nom de plume Empress Extraordinaire, composing words to enlighten and uplift humanity. Connect with her on social media — Facebook and LinkedIn or email anguillawriter@gmail.com.
