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Posts Tagged ‘emotional’

Feelings of Heaviness?

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 27, 2025| 1 Comment »

word job on someone's back

In the poem, “For One Who is Exhausted, a Bleassing” the Irish poet John O’Donohue writes:

Weariness invades your spirit.

Gravity begins falling inside you,

Dragging down every bone.

Can you resonate with those words? Do you find yourself having strong stressors and emotions when you listen to the news or read the newspaper? You may find yourself experiencing personal challenges, financial stress, high-pressure jobs, parenting, caregiving, or dealing with a chronic illness. I find myself wondering what’s next or what else am I going to be expected to handle. If you too find yourself with a sense of struggle, being irritable, difficulty concentrating or lacking motivation. Those are sign’s you may be emotionally exhausted.

Emotional exhaustion tends to happen slowly over time and people can find themselves feeling worn out and drained. According to the Mayo Clinic, emotional exhaustion includes emotional, physical and performance symptoms.

person sitting down with head between their knees

Emotional symptoms can include:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Feeling hopeless
  • Irritability
  • Lack of Focus
  • Lack of Motivation
  • Negative Thinking
  • Sense of Being Trapped
  • Tearfulness

Physical symptoms can include:

  • Fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Lack of Appetite
  • Muscle Tension
  • Poor Sleep
  • Upset Stomach

Performance symptoms can include:

  • Difficulty Completing Tasks
  • Increased Absences
  • Isolation
  • Lowering Commitments
  • Not Meeting Deadlines
stones on the beach at the ocean

The middle of the poem goes on to talk about getting out of the heaviness and shifting your focus.

Draw alongside the silence of stone

Until its calmness can claim you.

Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Strategies to reduce emotional exhaustion can include:

  • Balancing Your Thoughts
  • Eating A Balanced Diet
  • Exercising
  • Minimizing Stressors
  • Practicing Mindfulness
  • Sleep

Heaviness can lift. That temporary state can be overcome and when it does, you will feel light again.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,

Having learned a new respect for your heart

And the joy that dwells far within slow time.

You are stronger than you realize—every challenge you’ve faced has built a resilience within you that can carry you through this too. You will rise stronger than before.

Written by: Amanda Bohlen, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension Washington County

Reviewed by: Megan Taylor, Family and Consumer Sciences/4-H Educator, OSU Extension Union County

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What Does Wellness Mean To You?

Posted in Healthy People, Mindfulness, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 4, 2019| 4 Comments »

If you had asked me last year my definition of wellness, I would have said eating right, exercising and lowering my risk of getting sick. However, wellness has many aspects and is connected to more than just those three areas. This last year has taught me how important some of those other areas are to my health and well-being.

The Ohio State University uses an integrative approach to wellness that promotes nine dimensions of well-being. Their student wellness center identifies each of the areas and gives a description.

wellness wheelEmotional Wellness
The emotionally well person can identify, express and manage the entire range of feelings and would consider seeking assistance to address areas of concern.

Career Wellness
The professionally well person engages in work to gain personal satisfaction and enrichment, consistent with values, goals and lifestyle.

Social Wellness
The socially well person has a network of support based on interdependence, mutual trust, respect and has developed a sensitivity and awareness towards the feelings of others.

Spiritual Wellness
The spiritually well person seeks harmony and balance by openly exploring the depth of human purpose, meaning and connection through dialogue and self-reflection.

Physical Wellness
The physically well person gets an adequate amount of sleep, eats a balanced and nutritious diet, engages in exercise for 150 minutes per week, attends regular medical check-ups and practices safe and healthy sexual relations.

Financial Wellness
The financially well person is fully aware of financial state and budgets, saves and manages finances in order to achieve realistic goals.

Intellectual Wellness
The intellectually well person values lifelong learning and seeks to foster critical thinking, develop moral reasoning, expand worldviews and engage in education for the pursuit of knowledge.

Creative Wellness
The creatively well person values and actively participates in a diverse range of arts and cultural experiences as a means to understand and appreciate the surrounding world.

Environmental Wellness
The environmentally well person recognizes the responsibility to preserve, protect and improve the environment and appreciates the interconnectedness of nature and the individual.

I like to think of these nine dimensions in relation to a wheel. When each area is full and evenly distributed around the wheel, it runs smoothly and is strong. However, if areas are missing or less than full then we have a weak, bumpy rolling wheel. Completing a self-assessment shows areas that are thriving and other areas that need greater attention. In examining your own well-being, where could you use some improvements? I encourage you to use that information and set a wellness goal for the next month. Make it something that won’t be too hard to accomplish. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator or add one more glass of water to your daily beverage intake. This makes it easier to create a plan towards a healthier well-balanced you.

 

Mazurek Melnyk, B., & Neale, S. (2018). Wellness 101: 9 dimensions of wellness. American Nurse Today, 13(1), 10–11.

The Ohio State University Office Of Student Life. (2018). Nine Dimensions of Wellness. Retrieved from https://swc.osu.edu/about-us/nine-dimensions-of-wellness/

 

Author: Amanda Bohlen, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Washington County, bohlen.19@osu.edu

Reviewer: Dan Remley, Field Specialist, Food, Nutrition, and Wellness. Ohio State University Extension, remley.4@osu.edu

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