Investing in mental and physical wellness is necessary for a tranquil mind and healthy body.
“ A healthy outside starts from the inside.” - Robert Urich
Wellness is not a luxury but a necessity for women. While excelling at many personal and professional roles, women often tend to ignore their mental and physical health. A healthy you is a stronger you, impacting your ability to excel at various roles at home, work, and in the community.
Mental and physical health are vital components of overall well-being. They allow you to have higher resilience and a greater sense of fulfillment. When either or both are ignored, it impacts the quality of your life and even your relationships with others. To thrive, investing in both is necessary to have a strong foundation of a tranquil mind and healthy body.
Mental and Emotional Wellness
Your physical health suffers when you are out of balance mentally or emotionally, and vice versa. Always prioritize your mental health by taking time to check in with yourself. Use mindfulness techniques to reduce and manage stress in your life. Healthy relationships within and outside the family structure are vital for emotional health. Invest your time in nurturing connections with friends and family.
If the resources are available, you should utilize them to create a structure that helps you keep things in perspective and enables you to thrive. Professional help such as coaching, counseling, and alternative healing therapies are not only for those suffering from a mental disorder; rather, these therapies offer a wide range of benefits to individuals who are thriving or are feeling stuck at some point.
Having a sense of individuality also contributes to mental and emotional wellness. Take time for your hobbies, relaxation activities, and regular activities that you enjoy. This helps reduce cortisol levels and provides the much-needed rest that you need to feel recharged.
Create a healthy work-life balance to avoid frequent burnout and to show up as your best self at work and home.
Physical Wellness
Regular physical check-ups are not a luxury but a necessity. Regular examinations can detect any disparities before they take root and can be treated at early stages. If you are 30 years old or above, you should do a yearly (or as advised by your doctor) pap smear test, pelvic exams, and screening as a part of your regular check-ups. You must discuss the options of contraception with your doctor if needed and practice protective measures to avoid any STIs or STDs.
Remember that your physical and reproductive health is priceless, and you should never compromise on it.
Maintain a balanced diet with ample amounts of fresh foods and less highly processed foods. Foods that are rich in nutrients, such as raw oats, berries, leafy greens, fresh vegetables and fruits, raw nuts, beans, Greek yogurt, and fatty fish, are good sources of essential nutrients that positively influence women’s health. If you are a working professional, try meal planning instead of ordering takeout. For more on setting up a meal planning routine, check out our blog post, Meal Planning for Busy Professionals, on HerMeNow's website.
Spend as much time outdoors as possible. Sunlight is one of the best ways to replenish vitamin D and elevate mood. Exercise is a great way to reduce mental stress and keeps the muscles and joints flexible. Make exercise a part of your routine. You don’t have to do any specific workout or number of days. Do whatever works best for you as often as you can manage. Remember, the goal here is a healthier body.
Financial and Career Wellness
Whether you are a professional or a homemaker, financial wellness is something every woman should care about. It gives you stability for present and unforeseeable future circumstances.
In either case, set up a savings and investment plan. Learn to manage your finances smartly. Invest in financial planning and education. Budget yourself monthly and yearly to reduce financial stress. Strive to become financially independent to have stability and security within yourself.
If you are a professional, besides savings and investment, consider investing in further education and skills that interest you or are related to your career. This helps you grow professionally and enhances your knowledge and skill set to upgrade your career.
Set career goals for where you would like to see yourself in the next five years or a decade, and plan steps to get there. This is one of the most important aspects of your career growth. If you feel lost, you can always reach out to your mentor or coach to help you brainstorm a strategy and gain some clarity in your goals.
Social Wellness
Surround yourself with positive influences and supportive friendships - it goes a long way! When you surround yourself with positive role models, your brain picks up on the positive reinforcements and vice versa. Similarly, healthy, positive friendships and social interactions provide a sense of stable emotional connections, and are essential for emotional health.
Involvement in social and community causes is a great way to connect with others, form new connections, and have that sense of belonging and fulfillment. Commit to causes that matter to you and that you feel connected to.
Create healthy social boundaries and learn when to say no and how to do so politely. This is crucial to avoid social toxicity. Healthy social boundaries can mean not getting dragged into social situations that don't resonate with you and having more wholesome social relationships and connections.
While each woman's wellness journey is unique, the basics, such as mental and physical health and financial stability, are common for all, regardless of different approaches. It’s never too late to start or embrace the path of wellness, no matter what age or situation you are in. After all, the first step is always the beginning of a beautiful journey.
If you are a HerMeNow participant or alumni, book your free coaching session now through the HerMeNow website https://www.hermenow.com/wellness.
 | Anam Anjum Wellness Consultant +971 52 629 9656 anam@hermenow.com almawellbeing.com |