Before we dive deeper it is first important to understand what is the meaning of emotional wellness and why it is essential to incorporate it. Emotional wellness is the amalgamation of two words, emotion, and wellness. 

An emotion is a type of feeling that arises depending upon the situation one is in. It can be happiness, fear, love, hatred, or anger. It is an essential part of one’s character. On the other hand, wellness refers to the entire health and being. It doesn’t just imply being free of a disease or stress but also having emotional wellbeing, purpose, fulfilling relationships, and happiness. Although given less importance today, emotional wellbeing is one of the 8 dimensions of wellness.

According to the National Center of Emotional Wellness, emotional wellness is referred to as, “awareness, understanding, and acceptance of our feelings, and our ability to manage effectively through challenges and change”. It is an important aspect of promoting resilience, overall contentment, and self-awareness. People who attain emotional wellbeing are in better control of their feelings behaviors and thoughts. They are the ones that are good at coping with the different challenges of life. These people have an ideal perspective towards life and do not let themselves succumb to the setbacks. Not just do they have good relationships with themselves but also with the people around them. 

It will be unreal to say that people who are emotionally well are always happy and content. Like any other human being, they too go through unpleasant emotions, frustration, and stress. But the difference is that they are good at recognizing and reconciling it. They do not let the negative sentiments control their life and always look for ways to go past them.

Emotional wellness improves one’s ability to carry out the day-to-day activities with a better approach and helps build good relationships with self and the people around. It enables us to handle the ups and downs of our lives better and instills in the virtue to adapt to change and the tedious times.

Now that we know what emotional wellness is, let us understand why it is important.

1. It promotes physical health: 

Our body and mind are the two most powerful allies. Our body responds to how we think, feel, and act. Let me explain this to you with a simple example. When a person is under constant stress and worry, he or she faces physical ailments like headaches, tensed muscles, or sometimes gets lead to severe health issues like high blood pressure. On the other hand, constant pain or health issues can highly affect our emotions and state of mind. Thus emotional wellness plays a major role in maintaining good health. 

2. Helps develop good relations

It is said that managing one’s emotions well is a skill. And when one masters this skill, he or she steers clear of all the unwavering thoughts.  This, in turn, helps one connect with people with more empathy and compassion. Thus building better relationships. Not just this, with emotional wellness one, can better understand his or her own feelings and thus becomes good at taking a stand for self.

3. Brings in a longer and happier life

Emotional wellbeing is an aspect that is often neglected by us. It has been significantly reiterated in many studies that one who has a stronger hold on his or her emotions, is likely to live a longer and happier life. Wondering how? Let me explain. As mentioned earlier mind and body are in connection with each other. Thus when one is leading a life rich in emotional wellness, he or she is able to deal with stress in a better way. Which in turn helps one keep a distance from the adverse impact that it has on physical health. Thus we say that emotional wellness brings in longer and happier life. 

4. Develops a sense of self-esteem

Life never really stops presenting challenges. It is full of little ups and downs as well as events that impact our life greatly. However, when one is emotionally healthy, the approach towards life becomes more resilient. With the confidence of knowing how to handle your emotions, there comes a greater sense of self-esteem. With emotional wellbeing comes a belief that no matter what the circumstance, I have the confidence and ability to overcome it. 

5. Helps one deal better with stress 

Instilling emotional well-being is like developing a holistic life for yourself. Stress and adverse times are a part of everybody’s life. There isn’t really a mantra to have just happy times in life. However, by setting your emotional health right, you can deal with stress in a way that won’t restrain you from being your best self. Emotional wellness will help you build a resilient mindset for the difficult times and will help you get past those efficiently.

6. Creates a positive outlook

Emotional wellbeing is itself a trait that allows one to focus on the positive side of life. No matter what the adversity, it will always enable one to look on the brighter side of life. It will help you manage the negative emotions in a time of crisis and help you sail through the choppy waters of life. With it, one can develop positive emotions and thoughts and have a brighter outlook towards life. 

7. Fosters  good mental health

Emotional wellbeing plays a crucial part in developing good mental health. Being emotionally well means having better control of your emotions, thoughts, and feelings that eventually help you make better decisions for yourself. This in turn builds a resilient mindset for all the problems in life thus carving the way that is best for you and knowing your capabilities. It is also a trait that puts forward your best self and helps you contribute to society in some way or other. And all of this collectively define as good mental health. 

Now that we know the importance of emotional wellness, let us understand how we can achieve emotional wellness

1. Practice mindfulness:

most of the time, we are not fully attentive to what we have in the present and find ourselves in either past or the future. Practicing mindfulness implies being present in the moment. With mindfulness, we do not fright about what just happened or is going to happen but adopt the ability to remain in the present and put our best foot forward by being fully aware. 

2. Exercise:

It is a proven fact that the perks of exercise go beyond physical health. It does not just keep you fit physically but also brings in benefits to keep you emotionally well. By dedicating a small part of your day to exercising, you can not just cut off the extra calories but can curb the feelings that keep you from feeling good.

3. Prioritize sleep

In our fast pacing life today the thing that is always compromised is sleep. In order to meet the deadlines or the targets, our sleep always takes a secondary place. However, it has been mentioned time and again that it is the most quintessential thing for a healthy life. An ideal 7-8 hours of sleep will enable you to not just keep stress keep at bay but with it, you will be able to show up for yourself with an optimistic and cheerful mindset. 

4. Practice Gratitude

It is a simple practice but one that isn’t given enough importance. Gratitude is appreciating what you have and being grateful for what you have worked for. It is a practice that automatically helps you pause and reflect. Thus allowing the brain to relax its muscles. It allows you to sleep peacefully, helps build meaningful bonds with your loved ones, and fosters one’s overall development. 

5. Socialize

The society that we live in plays a major role in shaping us into who we are as we grow. It is proved in studies that a man who socializes more lives a happy and healthy life. Meeting new people and being amongst them is like training to the mind. By being social one gets support and new perspective from different people. Both of which are necessary to become emotionally healthy

6. Have an optimistic approach  

What is your approach towards dealing with things when the situation becomes tiring? Do you think about what might get wrong or what might get right? If your answer is the former one, you might have noticed that with the thought of “what might get wrong” there comes an avalanche of negative thoughts.  Whereas with an optimistic approach, one can deal with stressful times in a more productive way. It is an approach that can change one’s life drastically. Writing positive affirmations and surrounding yourself with people having a  positive mindset are few ways of setting an optimistic approach. 

7. Adopt self-acceptance

Most of the time while worrying about the past and the future, we set standards that are very high for ourselves. And all this while we forget to look within and be appreciative of who we are and what we do. Self-acceptance is a practice that creates self-worth. It allows us to accept ourselves along with our flaws. By doing so we refrain from being hard on ourselves.