Sweet friends,
Writing today’s Wellness Wednesday post on Saturday night, a few days after the fact. So don’t worry. It’s just me. You haven’t lost half a week! Enjoyed a busy week with my sister Valerie while my PC worked out of town. If I was an organized blogger, I’d have realized the need to have a couple of posts written in advance…like this one, maybe?…to go live while my sister was here. But I never seem to have posts written more than a day or two ahead of time. So, here’s last week’s Wellness Wednesday, a few days late.
To review, you can read my first Wellness Wednesday post, here. Cardio tips and goals update in February, fav exercise gadgets for March. In April, we wrote about our favorite natural wellness tips and May was another goals update accompanied by skin and beauty tips, June’s post was about mental health care. Which brings us to July. Today I am updating progress on my goals and sharing a few emotional health care tips.
Vamanos!
Wellness Goals Update
Rating my progress again this month on a scale of 1-5, where a 5 means I have fulfilled my goal completely, here’s how things pan out for Wellness Wednesday, 07.2018.
Exercise 4.5
We continue to work hard in the exercise department. Gym workouts with weights, swimming, bike riding and walking. I am trying to walk Monday-Saturday to up my daily step counts. We lift weights every time we go to the gym, so I am surpassing my twice a week goal. Feeling much more fit.
Diet 4.0
Haven’t tracked my Weight Watchers points for a long time. Probably not since I set that goal to do so! Ha! But we are eating healthier. Continuing to drink my water. Cook dinners Monday-Thursday or Friday, and almost always cook dinner on Sunday. Rarely indulge in dessert, although I baked PC some welcome home chocolate chip cookies yesterday. Did drink a few extra glasses of wine this week while my sister was visiting but will be back on track in the coming week.
Staying Well 4.0
So I made an appointment with my primary care provider to get a referral for a dermatologist to have a full body skin exam. But when I got there, she told me I was overdue for a mammogram and we got side tracked about that. She forgot to give me the referral for the dermatologist. I will call to see if she can do it over the phone without having me go back into her office.
I am wearing sunscreen every day. I put it on my face first thing in the morning and then before my walk, I spray it on everywhere. Always wear it to swim. And my UV sun protection swim shirt.
Talked to my primary care provider about my struggles with waking and worrying at night, feeling anxious and stressed. She increased the dosage of my OCD meds and prescribed something that works a little like Benadryl to help me sleep. Both seem to be working. Hopeful that they will help to bring me peace from my own thoughts!
Mental Wellness 4.5
Yes to writing, playing brain games, and reading. Enjoying my virtual book club.
Spiritual Wellness 4.0
Have been home all month so far but have had company 8 days out of 14. So haven’t been completely faithful to beginning those days with quiet time while my company was here.
Relationship Wellness 3.5
We have been out of town together, out of town apart or had company for much of this year! And have gotten away from unplugging at 9 pm. So this area needs more work. Looks like my Prince may be working in North Carolina next month, though. Need to plan some special dates between now and then.
Was optimistic in June’s post that all categories would be 4.0s or above by this month. So close but no cigar. Have to say that doing this Wellness Wednesday series (even when I post on Saturdays!), has made me more conscientious about improving my overall health.
Emotional Health Care Tips
Had to look up the difference between emotional and mental health. Apparently, emotional health is an aspect of overall mental health. Explained like this on HealthyPlace.com:
Emotional health, a concept synonymous with wellbeing, is vital to living a life of wholeness, balance, and contentment. Simply put, an emotional health definition is one that includes resilience – getting up when life knocks you down. Rather than living a problem-free life (quite impossible if you’re a human being), emotional health means that one can bounce back from setbacks and thrive despite problems. [source]
If you look back at last month’s post about mental health, I talked about struggling to find a purpose lately. Feeling lost at times. Now that I have a better understanding of emotional health, I think that is the area in which I sometime struggle.
Found and took this Emotional Well-Being Health Check. My results showed that I have moderate emotional well-being with room for improvement. I agree with that. Here are my results:
Your score indicates that you have some lifestyle habits that support mental calm and equilibrium, as well as overall optimal physical health. But there is room for improvement.
You may want to:
- Increase the amount of exercise you get – aim for at least 30 minutes most days per week.
- Make an effort to get better rest and sleep.
- Manage negative thoughts by exploring mental imagery. Whenever you feel sad, anxious, stressed, or in the grip of negative thinking, focus on a particular image of a place you associate with positive emotions.
- Make breathing exercises part of your daily routine. Start by making your breathing deeper, slower, quieter, and more regular, especially when you find you are stuck on troubling thoughts.
- At least once each day, express gratitude for loved ones.
Suggestions for improving emotional health include:
- aromatherapy
- relaxation activities like taking a warm bath, going for a massage, sitting in a hot tub
- meditating
- spend time in nature
- learning to be more optimistic
- journaling
All are activities I practice on a regular basis. But my struggle continues. Trying to find my purpose at this stage in my life. I will continue to work through this!
To improve my emotional health, I am going to continue working on boundaries with my phone and my laptop. Going to get back to strictly unplugging by 9:00 pm (now 27 minutes late on that tonight). I am going to answer texts only at certain times of the day, emails and FB the same. And I am turning off notifications on my phone. Will get back to doing my Miracle Monday mornings, journaling, spending time outside and looking for healthy ways to relax.
Your Turn
What do you do to maintain emotional health? Do you have a tip I can try? Is there anything among the tips I shared, that resonates with you? Please share in a comment below. Or if you are a blogger, link-up your wellness related post with us below. Oh, and mark your calendars, our next Wellness Wednesday will be 08.08.2018 (or potentially on the following Saturday for some of us) when we will be talking about healthy cooking tips.
Hoping to enjoy a quiet Sunday tomorrow with my Prince here at the castle. Wishing you the same. Will be back to my blogging schedule…whatever that is…this week!!
Hugs and kisses,
Debs
Definitely agree that you should turn off notifications on your phone, I did that a while ago and the world hasn’t stopped spinning because I didn’t see an email the moment it arrived in my inbox! I also turn my phone off overnight. If someone needs me urgently we have a landline they can use and I find I sleep better if my phone isn’t on.
As for increasing your exercise – buy a dog 😉 You probably don’t know but our dog isn’t really ‘our’ dog. She was my daughter’s dog who ‘forgot’ to take her with her when she moved into her own home. If she ever tried to take her back to live with her now though there would be quite a custody battle going on!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thanks for the encouragement, Debs. I think I have those pesky notifications down to a minimum. I do turn my cell off at night, too, to the dismay of my girls. But we have a house phone for emergencies. I would never get any rest with that darn phone on.
Ha!! Buy a dog! We have had up to 3 in recent years and then they all bit the bullet within about a two year time frame. Two were very old and one was a rescue so we were never sure how old he was. After my neck surgeries, I bought a stroller and walked my kitties in it. But they have gotten so big they don’t want to ride together in the stroller any longer.
I am not sure how people forget to take their pets with them but having been a military wife for years, I have seen it done all over the place. But children tend to think their pets are better off with mom and dad when they are ready to launch! My daughters both had cats – 2 a piece – that they thankfully took along when they moved out. And one daughter had 2 rabbits, also. They all come back for visits to ‘grandma’s house’.
Joanne Long
I struggle with emotional wellbeing as well. If I am working, my thoughts are taken up with thinking about kids’ books and linking them to the concepts that we are working with at school. As a retired person, I lose that and I have a tendency to think about my own life too much. I’ve been reading more, blogging more and counting my food points for the last two weeks. My walking partner had a fall so I’ve got to walk alone. My husband leads quite a separate life from me so I sometimes deal with loneliness and disappointment in that area. I am working to limit adult drinks (wine) as that’s not a positive way of dealing with negative emotions. Today is Sunday so I will be going to church. I find some peace in that routine.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Bless you for being so open in sharing a bit about your struggles. I am walking every morning with a book in my ear…figuratively not literally…as I listen to a book via Audible as I walk. Blogging more, too. And like to go to church but my PC isn’t a fan. Working gave me confidence, it was something I did well. Now I don’t have that confidence booster or that positive feedback. And the hugs! The hugs from children. I miss them so much. If you would like to write more about this with me as we find our way, let me know. Maybe we could help each other, ourselves and maybe someone else who isn’t thrilled with retirement quite yet.
Natalie
Congrats on your successes, Leslie! You’ve done really well so pat your self on the back and celebrate what you’ve achieved. I think you covered many practical tips on how to maintain emotional health. Detaching yourself from non-essential constant messaging would be a good move.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Have figured out how to detach from the pesky phone and all of the interrupting notifications. I think that will help me a lot. Today is a good day. Hope there will be another one tomorrow. One day at a time.
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
Wow you have been busy Leslie, but great work on the fitness workouts and also getting a mammogram. I think that having your sister stay would have been wonderful for your emotional health and well being so I do hope you enjoyed your time together. Have a fabulous week!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Had such a great time with my sister, Sue. She is funny. So funny. And we balance and complement each other. Hate that we are only able to be together several times a year but maybe that makes those times even more beneficial and delightful.
Daenel T.
I love that you’re taking a holistic approach to your well being. I think more of us need to look at our health from that standpoint. Really, they’re all intertwined. I have my phone set so that I only receive notifications from my kids. Otherwise, I’d be up all night due to the constant pings. And I’m not a good sleeper to begin with, so this little change has helped me to not worry that I’ll miss an important call from one of the kids.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, sweet Daenel. I think health is holistic, whole body. Kind of like teaching using the whole language approach. I always tried to incorporate something of social studies, science and reluctantly, a little math, into my library lessons. Hate when there is a bell that rings and we change mindset from reading to math. I think children learn so much better when we incorporate all of the curriculum areas all day long. So that’s what I have been thinking about this wellness business, too. Thankfully, I am very healthy physically, but less so emotionally and mentally (ha). But finding that walking, going to the gym, swimming helps in those areas, too.
I don’t leave my cell on at night much to the chagrin of my children. But we have a house phone if they really, really need me. When my mom was going through her suicide attempts, I hardly slept at all but kept the phone under my pillow in case, for one minute, I might close my eyes. Would hate to miss a call when she needed me most.
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
I love these kind of posts. Maybe someday I’ll do something like this… As far as emotional health, I feel like I seem to go off the track on this sometimes… but, usually it may be 1 or 2 days a month. So, it’s not terrible. It’s probably hormones or who knows what, being a female is tough! It’s great that you’re taking time to work out and eat better. I can’t wait for our darn kitchen to get finished, because it is hard to eat healthy when you go out. Not many places offer good choices. I have trouble sleeping if Brian doesn’t go to bed at the same time as me, I don’t know why that is… lol. Usually if he’s out of town I let one of the kids sleep in our bed with me and that is always a huge treat to them. LOL.
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
When I was a single mom, it was a treat for the girls and for me to sleep in big bed with mom. And the dogs liked to do it, too! Got a little squishy at times.
I think even though I am post menopausal the old hormones still effect me. Or maybe the lack of hormones? And my silly thyroid, too. Today is a good day so far. Going to make the most of it and hope that tomorrow goes the same way.
ShootingStarsMag
Great job! I really need to up my water intake. This is seriously a work in progress ALL THE TIME for me. haha I’m not a big drinker to begin with, so making sure I drink water in general? Yeah, I need to work on it. hah I feel like I’m doing okay with the moving this summer but I do better.
-Lauren