Wellness: important for individuals and teams
“Wellness is the integration of body, mind, and spirit. The realization that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an effect on our state of well-being.” – Greg Anderson
How are you doing today? Perhaps you would say good, doing well, or could be better. Doing well has various meanings depending on your perspective. Initially when thinking about wellness, I think about physical wellbeing of exercising and eating healthy but I realized it is so much more! Being well pertains to emotional, financial, social, and spiritual aspects of life while achieving personal goals and finding your own state of happiness. Emotional well-being relates to the ability to manage stress and build resiliency to endure life’s storms. Financial wellness is vital to feeling secure for your future while making choices that will have a positive influence on your life. Social wellness is contributed to maintaining healthy friendships and a network that supports you and your goals. Spiritual wellbeing is being connected to something greater than ourselves and holding a set of values, morals, and beliefs that give us a sense of purpose in life while guiding our actions.
Surprisingly our bodies operate similarly to a vehicle and require routine maintenance in order to stay in balance to function in a healthy way that is sustainable throughout time and to manage stress. Remember back to a time in life that you saw the best looking car that had an amazing paint job, perfect rims, a top notch sound system, and the ability to turn heads everywhere. The moment you get to sit behind the wheel to take it for a test drive you notice it does not feel right and it is making unusual noises from under the hood. The first thing you think to do is to stop and assess the situation and check the oil (exercise and nutrition) to ensure it has been changed. The right type of gasoline (social component of wellness) aids in the car in running smooth and enduring for long journeys. Failure to invest into the vehicle with appropriate monthly payments and insurance could result in the inability to keep possession of your dream car (financial wellness). Also, if the battery fails (emotional and spiritual component) to be changed out in a timely fashion it can lead to an inoperable vehicle. All of this neglect can have you stranded on the side of a road with a pretty car that is not driving you toward your path of a well-rounded healthy lifestyle.
All of these factors of wellness are intertwined and can influence one another as life events happen. There may be a time when reflecting on these areas in our life and notice that they are not where you would like them and there is room for improvement and that is perfectly O.K.! Self-awareness is key to understanding our own character, feelings, and what drives us. The moment we can identify when one of these areas may be a bit lower than we would prefer then we can practice self-care. It is important to try to make positive choices towards your personal wellness and understand that each area will not always be up to snuff.
As a leader, it is important to engage with your team as you are in the perfect position to identify when your teammates are stressed. Start by discussing with each person to discover what is important to them and what their idea of self-care looks like. Find ways to incorporate wellness into the work environment. One way to do this is by inviting the Civilian Health Promotion Service team into your work center to provide educational briefs and wellness events. They are able to assess individuals’ body mass index, cholesterol screenings, and host briefings tailored to healthy eating, physical activity, and stress management. Another great way to encourage wellness in the work center is to provide time throughout the week for members to exercise as it encourages positive effects on all aspects of mental and physical wellness. Financial management can pose significant stress to our members. Each Airman and Family Readiness Center has Financial Advisors that are equipped to provide briefings to work centers regarding how to save toward retirement, personal budget appointments focused on debt management and education on credit reports.
How well do you sleep? According to the Sleep Foundation, “active duty service members are 34% more likely to report insufficient sleep and throughout the years of 2005-2019 insomnia cases increased by 45-fold and sleep apnea rose 30-fold among service members.” Sleep is critical to a state of wellness. Our bodies and mind require sleep to support healthy brain function and repairs the body for another day. Without adequate rest our bodies may suffer by gaining excess weight, irritability, poor decision making, inability to focus, and decreased motivation to be social and a lack of an optimistic outlook on life. An absence of a healthy sleep schedule can lead to chronic health problems such as depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease. Adults should obtain between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night in order to receive healthy effects on the mind and body.
Another way to assist in creating a wellness plan is to develop healthy eating ideas by perhaps bringing in a cooking class into the work center or take the staff to one that is offered in the community. Hosting potlucks in the work center that is themed with healthy choices can bring a team together to indulge in new foods and exchange recipes to nutritious meals. Offer amenities like a break room with a refrigerator and microwave so employees can bring in their meals and have healthy options throughout a busy work schedule.
The social component is vital to a wellness plan. You know that feeling when you go out with co-workers and friends and upon leaving the outing you notice a sense of happiness and a feeling of fulfillment? This is a great way of filling your social cup and it is even more so important to be intentional with this as the pandemic has the ability to make people feel more isolated and lonely. As a work center, explore ideas in taking morale trips to local attractions such as museums and outdoor activities. This will give the team an opportunity to get to know one another while connecting outside of a work environment. Continuously strive to obtain feedback in what the team would like to do on their next morale day.
Who can you turn to for assistance is your personal wellness plan? There are base agencies that include the Chaplain, Military Family Life Consultant, Behavioral Health Optimization Program, and Mental Health. Military OneSource is another great tool that offers health and wellness coaching and areas of focus include weight loss, managing stress, and life changes. All of these agencies are equipped in assisting members to develop goal oriented plans. Remember to be intentional and deliberate when making positive choices but also give yourself grace as you continue on your journey of wellness.