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'Tis the Season ...2022

12/07/2022

Karen Best Wright, B.S., M.A., Holistic Health & Wellness Coach


Christmas-2December is a month that celebrates multicultural, spiritual celebrations. Christmas is the most common celebration in the United States. However, it is not the only spiritual celebration. December can bring awareness to our multicultural society and focus on personal spiritual and social wellness.

Christmas, a Christian religious holiday, celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Christmas Day is on December 25th. Celebrating Christmas includes giving gifts to others and decorating homes with Christmas trees, lights, and other festive decorations.

Hanukkah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime "festival of lights." The nightly lighting of the eight Chanukah candles, the menorah, is part of the celebration. There are special prayers and holiday foods such as latkes and sufganiyot. In 2022, Hanukkah begins at sunset on Sunday, December 18th, and ends at nightfall on Monday, December 26th. Hanukkah celebration dates vary from year to year.

Winter Solstice / Yule is the oldest Winter holiday in existence. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and celebrates the days getting longer, bringing more light to the earth. The festivities traditionally were lighting the Yule log, singing songs, giving gifts, and sharing a special meal with friends and family.

Kwanzaa is an African American holiday; that celebrates family, community, and culture. It focuses on seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. The Kwanzaa celebration is from December 26th until January 1st. Individuals and families decorate with candles, colorful lights, and African-themed art.

Regardless of the December holiday celebrated, it is a season for giving and sharing with friends and loved ones. It is also a time of reverence for one's spiritual beliefs. It is truly a time to strengthen one's spiritual and social wellness.

Posted by on 12/07/2022 at 09:16 PM in Social Wellness, Spiritual Wellness | | Comments (1)

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Personal Wellness Goals for 2023

01/06/2023

Karen Best Wright, B.S., M.A., Holistic Health & Wellness Coach

 Holistic Health & Wellness – Personal Goals for 2023

Newyear2023.bEvery January, millions of Americans make promises to improve themselves - better health, improved organization, more money, better relationships, and more happiness. Most of these individuals will not stick to their resolutions. Why is that? One reason may be that New Year resolutions rarely consider how all six areas of wellness create balance and well-being, which improves the ability to achieve the desired goals.

Goals such as "losing 20 lbs.," quitting smoking," or "obtaining better employment" are worthy goals, but rarely are they accomplished without the influence of all areas of wellness. Holistic wellness includes physical health, emotional health, social health, intellectual health, spiritual health, and environmental health. These six areas of wellness factor into the success of accomplishing any important goal or resolution.

The three examples of losing weight, quitting smoking, or getting a better job are all influenced by physical health, emotional health, social health, and even intellectual well-being.

This process is called holistic health and wellness. All areas work together to create a synergistic well-balanced life. If a person wants to lose weight, she most likely will not thoroughly study all areas of wellness that could affect her success. However, it is possible to recognize the most apparent areas of wellness that will impact progress. In the example of losing weight, one's overall health is likely the first thing a person will consider. Emotional wellness is also vital because emotions often drive people to overeat or eat the wrong foods simply from habit. Social interactions often influence how and what a person eats. Intellectual wellness is also involved, as it allows a person to learn proper nutrition.

No matter which goals a person chooses to improve during 2023, they will all be influenced by other areas of wellness. When writing down goals for the New Year, note all areas that will impact your ability to accomplish these goals. Those who have become discouraged and don't want to make any resolutions could start with something relatively easy. It may be as simple as walking around the block three or four times a week. Whatever your situation, do something.

Posted by on 01/06/2023 at 07:35 PM in Holistic Wellness, Intellectual Wellness, Physical Wellness, Social Wellness, Spiritual Wellness | | Comments (0)

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How Toxic People Affect Emotional and Social Wellness

05/03/2022

We read a lot about toxic substances in the environment and even in our foods. Most of us would not willingly ingest toxic chemicals or inhale toxic fumes.

What about toxic people? How do we identify them, and how do they affect our lives?

Toxic people

Six Characteristics of a toxic person

  1. A person who belittles you or lies to you.
  2. A person who does not follow through with commitments.
  3. A person who is physically abusive (that’s the easiest one to recognize).
  4. A person who acts nice to you to your face and then gossips about you behind your back.
  5. A person who blames everything on you until you begin to believe it.
  6. A person who focuses only on negativity and victimhood.

It might be easy to simply avoid the toxic person if you are not in a relationship of any sort. Put up your mental barrier and move on or away from the person. It’s not so simple if you find yourself in a relationship with a toxic person.

Learn to set boundaries. You are not someone’s emotional punching bag. If you feel stuck, you may need help from a supportive person, whether a good friend or even professional help. When you realize that a person in your life is toxic and is harmful to your emotional wellbeing, you need to be the one to take the first step to protect yourself from their toxicity.

The healthiest way to live is to learn to recognize toxic people in the first place and learn to avoid them or do what you need to do to protect yourself from them.

Never believe you deserve to be treated poorly. Just like toxic substances harm the body, so do toxic people harm one’s emotional health or peace of mind. If you find yourself dealing with toxic people, make a change. Don’t wait until your self-esteem or mental peace is all but destroyed.

Posted by on 05/03/2022 at 12:00 AM in Emotional Wellness, Social Wellness | | Comments (0)

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Social Wellness, what does it mean?

04/07/2022

By Karen Best Wright

Published in Albemarle Tradewinds

AlbemarleTradewinds.com

Social Wellness is a critical aspect of holistic wellness. What does it mean? It does not mean a person must be an extrovert and have a ton of friends and be the life of the party. It does not mean a person needs to like everyone or be liked by everyone else. However, it does mean that a person is capable of engaging socially in an appropriate manner. It does mean a person can develop meaningful relationships.

These past couple of years have been challenging for most people. Social Wellness typically includes being involved in healthy relationships, whether family, friendships, through a social network, or even in public. Human beings have an innate need to make connections with others. Social wellness determines the ease or difficulty in making these connections, which affects the quality of one's life.

It is easy to understand the importance of physical and emotional wellness. It may be harder to comprehend how one's social interactions influence all areas of one's life. It's important when developing relationships that one defines which ones should become an intimate part of one’s life and which ones are best to be "friendly" encounters.

Some signs of social wellness are the ability to treat others with dignity, being able to respectfully communicate with others, and understanding your boundaries as well as the boundaries of others. There is confusion between respecting someone and being respectful. "Respect" and "respectful" may come from the same root word, but they do not have the same meaning. Respect is how we regard a person. Respectful is how we treat them.

Another sign of social wellness is developing assertiveness, which is neither passive nor aggressive. Learning conflict management and maintaining relationships that are meaningful and fulfilling are integral for social wellness.

As mentioned, the past couple of years have been challenging regarding social interactions. Individuals need to decide for themselves how best to meet these difficulties. Social wellness is all about relationships. How one interacts with family members, neighbors, community members, and even those outside of one's personal space creates social wellness.

Posted by on 04/07/2022 at 11:29 PM in Karen's Articles, Social Wellness | | Comments (0)

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