About Emotional Wellness
"We are all born with the capacity for emotional wellness. It is a gift of being human."
Emotional wellness is sometimes described as the innate human ability to be in a state of mind that is calm, relaxed, open, present, reflective, creative, and wise. Our emotional health is our emotional and psychological “default setting.” While we may not always operate from our emotional health, in any given moment we can notice we are struggling and can allow ourselves to return to a state of emotional health before proceeding.
Emotional health is what allows us to be resilient and creative in response to the personal, interpersonal, and systemic challenges we face on a daily basis. Even when we experience extreme trauma, physical illness, microaggressions, oppression, or a significant loss, our capacity for emotional health remains intact. The core of our emotional health cannot be damaged or taken from us by other people, circumstances, or systems of oppression.
When we are accessing our emotional health we are connected to a flow of positive, healing energy and we can use this good energy to take positive actions that are lined up with our core values. The more we know about how our emotional wellness operates, the more we can intentionally access it when we need it most.
Enhancing emotional wellness includes:
- Strengthening our ability to relax
- Increasing our psychological flexibility
- Interrupting negative thought patterns that block out emotional health
- Setting healthy boundaries within the context of healthy relationships
- Demonstrating empathy for others and compassion for ourselves
- Developing a critical consciousness to help us be resilient to unhealthy cultural messages
We hope you will spend some time exploring the emotional wellness skill building resources we have assembled for you.
