How to improve emotional wellness and health is a question many are asking. With a greater awareness of the connection between emotions, our health, and our emotions, we are seeing a greater interest in learning about how to manage and deal with emotions. Emotional Intelligence, a program designed by Isabel De Los Rios, PhD, and Sunny Stout, PhD, helps people understand their own emotional intelligence. This allows them to make healthy choices that affect their lives.
De Los Rios believes that there are three main factors that affect our emotional well being and therefore our mental health, wealth, and occupational wellness. She believes these factors to be genetics, lifestyle, and financial requirements. Genetics is passed down from generation to generation. Life style is related to work and responsibilities that we accept and those that we do not. Financial requirements relate to a person’s ability to manage money.
It is important to identify the emotions that we are feeling before we can identify a course of action for improving our physical wellness. For example, a person who is feeling anger may find themselves searching for ways to deal with their anger. De Los Rios advises that if you are in the midst of anger you might begin by taking one small step at a time toward improving your anger management skills. You may wish to attend a seminar or workshop to learn some anger management techniques that are helpful for alleviating your stress. Once you are able to manage your anger effectively you can take larger steps in improving your emotional wellness.
The third factor that impacts our overall well-being relates to our behavior. If we have an unhealthy behavior pattern we usually continue with the behavior even when it is no longer relevant or reasonable. It becomes a “thought habit” rather than a rational decision. This behavior becomes the root of all the problems we face in our personal and professional lives. In order to change the damaging behavior patterns, we must take time to reflect on why we are engaging in this behavior and how we can change our behaviors to be more in alignment with our values and goals.
The fourth factor that impacts our quality of life relates to our environmental circumstances. Most people place financial requirements ahead of spiritual wellness. We have to ask ourselves if there is a greater purpose for the money we earn or the things we own. If the answer is no, then we must take a look at our priorities. Are our financial requirements distracting us from being emotionally centered?
Our relationship with our environment is another important factor in improving our quality of life. People who lead busy lives often find themselves feeling mentally and physically unfulfilled. A person who is mentally fresh and spiritually centered will naturally be aware of the need to take time to engage in meaningful activity. Those who are spiritually healthy may not see the need to give their relationship with their environment the time and attention it requires.
The final factor in improving your quality of life is education. You need to learn how to use the resources available to you. Emotional intelligence is essential to improving your personal relationships and achieving your goals. Knowledge abounds regarding how the mind and emotions work together in concert with physical wellness and mental wellness. Emotional Intelligence is the key to success.
Learning how to improve emotional wellness begins with understanding what these components are. Your thoughts and actions can either support you in achieving your goals or against you. By making the choice to take control of your thoughts and behaviors you will achieve the optimal level of emotional and physical health.