What is Wellness?

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A demanding career can take a toll on your wellness. High-pressure work and long hours can wear you down, even when you love what you do.

Managing work-life balance is becoming a more common expectation, which can create added pressure to meet both work and personal demands. This can create additional demands that make it more difficult to manage personal responsibilities and relationships. It can also limit your capacity for overall wellness—the energy you need to enjoy your life to the fullest.

When we pour all our energy into work, it’s easy to lose touch with our own well-being. We’re more likely to make unhealthy choices, which can affect our mood and health. Low mood and health can lead to us getting frustrated and overwhelmed, which makes it harder to consider healthy ways to manage our lives.

Feeling your best begins with knowing what wellness looks and feels like to you as well as by exploring skills and strategies to get there.

In this module:

Reflect on it

Wellness means different things to different people. For some, it might mean daily walks and free time on weekends for family and friends. For others, it might mean regular exercise, a healthy diet, and time each week for special interests.

What does wellness mean to you?
Tip: You might want to grab a pen and paper to jot down ideas or draw pictures of what wellness looks and feels like to you..

Ways to Wellness

There are many things we can do to improve the way we feel and function in our daily lives. But three main ways are to build resilience, find balance, and connect with people who can help and support you.

Build resilience with the basics

Resilience is the ability to bounce back after adversity, or to thrive in the wake of challenging times. It means having the capacity to move from hardship to an even better version of yourself.

Here are the three basic ingredients of resilience:

  • Healthy food
  • Good sleep
  • Regular exercise

It’s not always easy to care for ourselves in these simple ways, but it can help to know what to strive for, and why. Check out Canadian guidelines for nutrition, movement and sleep.

Reflect on it

How do your current habits compare with Canadian guidelines for nutrition, movement and sleep?

Is there one change you could make today as a first step toward better health and wellness?
Tip: You might want to grab a pen and paper to jot down ideas or to plan out a weekly schedule that prioritizes healthy food, movement and sleep.

Note: Changing habits can be challenging. We recommend small changes in a specific area of interest using SMART goals to increase success. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. For example, if you want to change your sleep habits, try limiting your screen time after 8 pm three nights a week. Then, reflect on any differences you feel in your sleep patterns. Recognizing impacts can motivate you to try new approaches.

More examples of SMART goals

Find Balance

Some people describe wellness as ‘living in a state of balance.’ When we feel balanced in our minds and bodies, we feel steady, alert, and positive about our abilities to manage our lives. We are better able to function at work, enjoy our home life, understand our challenges, and explore opportunities.

Striving for balance isn’t new. Throughout human history, people have been promoting balance through their worldviews and practices. Check out these approaches and tools used for thousands of years:

It helps to know there are things we can do to reset in moments when we realize we’re off balance, or to prevent stress from knocking us off balance in the first place. Check out the strategies and tips in Stress First Aid and Stress Management.

Reflect on it

What are you already doing to do you stay balanced? What else could you add to your routine?

Tip: You might want to grab a pen and paper to jot down ideas. Or you could find or make a self-care chart filled with simple activities you can do to promote balance in your life. Keep it close by to remind you what you can do when you need to reset your mind and body.

Get Connected

Feeling connected—to ourselves and others—is key to well-being. It’s important to know ourselves and what we need to be happy and healthy. It’s also important to spend time with family members, friends, and others who love us and make us feel like we belong.

Sometimes it helps to have someone neutral to talk to about the ups and downs of life. We might need support from someone who specializes in listening and helping people navigate challenges and opportunities. Having a neutral person to talk to can create more space in your personal relationships for connection outside of wellness-related conversations.

Did you know?

Humans are hardwired to connect with others. Social support can have a physiological impact that makes us feel better right away. That’s why talking to a counsellor can be a kind of “medicine.” Learn more about how to find a counsellor.

“You need a lot of strengths to work in this field. You have to be able to focus and listen well. You need to be detail-oriented. You need to be curious and love learning new things all the time. You need to be able to handle working with difficult co-workers and challenging clients. It’s a lot to deal with and it can come home with you if you’re not able to shut it off. When I was still working, I liked to go for walks with friends, spend time in the dirt (in my garden), and practice meditation. I also met with a counsellor when I needed help with something I was struggling with.” —Rebecca, retired paralegal

Tools to Find Balance

Medicine Wheel

One way to think about balance is to look through the lens of the medicine wheel, an ancient symbol developed by Elders and Knowledge Keepers to teach us about four aspects of our nature: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. In a healthy, well-balanced individual, each of these aspects is equally developed through effort and support.

Check out the Medicine Wheel Check-In Tool, used with staff and clients at an Aboriginal Friendship Centre in BC:

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling in each area of health?

  • Spiritual health: a sense of belonging in the world, feeling connected to land, language and culture
  • Mental health: short-term and long-term goals, ability to learn and grow
  • Emotional health: healthy relationships, boundaries, ability to self-regulate
  • Physical health: good sleep, nutritious diet, daily physical movement, regular exercise

Jot down on paper why you feel that way in each area of your health. Then, consider a step you could take to grow stronger in one or more of those areas.

Tip: Use the medicine wheel to check in on yourself on a regular basis. It can help you identify where you may be weak or off-balance in your life, and remind you to take care of your whole self.

Yoga

Yoga is another way to strive for balance. It originated in the Indus Valley around 5,000 years ago. Yoga means “union” of the body, mind and spirit, and encourages us to accept our body the way it is right now, with the aim of slowly working toward improvements on the yoga mat and in life.

Yoga is one of the most complete forms of exercise, working on all systems in the body. It releases anandamide (ananda means “bliss”) and other feel-good chemicals throughout the body. Yoga also decreases cortisol, a hormone that can contribute to stress.

Today there are many different yoga styles and poses (asanas) but all of them are rooted in the slow, gentle style of Classical Hatha, which emphasizes correct posture and breathing rhythm. Traditionally, the purpose of ‘doing yoga’ was to prepare the body and mind for seated meditation.

Try one of these free slow and simple 20-minute yoga sessions:

Tip: Yoga doesn’t need to be expensive or fancy. You don’t need yoga pants or even a mat if you don’t have one. You can do free online yoga classes at home in your pajamas if you want.

Mindful Breathing

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and aware of your current experience—without overreacting or getting lost in thoughts. Mindfulness enhances focus and performance, reduces stress, deepens self-insight, and fosters compassion toward yourself and others.

Mindful breathing is one way to access the calming effects of mindfulness. It can be as simple as concentrating each time you inhale and exhale, and describing it in your mind. For example, while slowly breathing in and out, you might slowly say to yourself:

  • Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
  • Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.

This simple action of drawing attention to your breath, even for a few rounds of breathing, can instantly transform strong feelings such as anger, stress and fear into calmer feelings.

Try it for a minute or two and you may notice a significant difference in your mood and ability to move forward.

Another simple strategy involves learning about ‘box breathing.’

Mindful Walking

Mindful walking means walking while focusing your awareness on the act of walking. It means walking leisurely, enjoying every step, and becoming aware of the contact of your feet with the ground and the flow of your breathing.

When you practice mindful walking, you set yourself free from thinking about regrets from the past, fears and anxieties about the future, or your preoccupations in the present. The goal is to become 100% present with every step.

It’s easy to practice mindful walking. First, become aware of the contact between your feet and the ground. Next, begin to synchronize your steps with your breathing. For example, take two or three steps as you breathe in, and then three or four steps as you breathe out. It will depend on your lungs and the natural rhythm of your steps. Try to relax any tension in your shoulders or arms. You can open your ears to the sounds around you and lift up your eyes to scenery or the people around you. Try to use all five senses in order to stay in the present moment.

Try it:

  1. Clear a space. Move things to make space, or find an area outside that will allow you to comfortably move around in a circle.
  2. Start slow. Set a timer for 3 minutes and see how it feels. It may take some time to get used to walking slowly and purposely.
  3. Take it easy. Walk with slow, measured steps and be aware of the in-and-out rhythm of your breath.
  4. Stay present. When you focus only on walking and breathing, you take a break from your emotions.
  5. Keep going. It might feel silly or strange at first to walk so slowly, but think of it as skill- building. You’re learning how to separate from your feelings, enjoy the moment, and recharge.

Tools to Restore Balance


Stress First Aid

Just breathe: It sounds obvious, but breathing is really good for us, especially when we are in the throes of a stressful experience. Slow, deep breathing in particular lowers our heart rate and blood pressure, and helps us feel calmer and more focused. Relaxation breathing techniques are easy to learn and can be done almost anywhere or anytime you’re feeling stressed. There are a number of great free apps available (like Breathe, Headspace and Calm) that make relaxation breathing really easy.

Think forward: Sometimes when we’re stressed, it can help to remind ourselves that the stressful situation will come to an end eventually. We do this by imagining a future scene when things look and feel different, or by making a motto and repeating it to ourselves until we get through the stressful situation.

Use humour: Laughter releases tension, gets our minds off our troubles, and causes physiological changes in the body that are similar to the changes we experience when we exercise. Watch a funny video online. Or, better yet, hang out with funny friends for a while.

Reach out: Humans are hardwired to give and get social support. Social support can have a physiological impact that makes us feel better right away. Share stuff about your life with close friends who know how to listen in a caring and non-judgmental way (and be a good listener for them too) or find someone else you can connect with. Connecting is good for you.

Play music: Listening to music can have a powerful effect on our minds and bodies, releasing us from what’s bothering us and letting us explore other thoughts and feelings. Singing aloud and dancing around releases feel-good chemicals in our bodies that give us a break from the heaviness of our problems and recharges our batteries so we can better enjoy what’s going right in our lives.

Break away: We’re not machines and sometimes need to distract ourselves from our stress. Play a game, talk to a friend, take a walk—do something to give your mind a rest. Catch and stop yourself when you start “stressing about your stress.” It doesn’t help.

Move it: Feeling stressed? Get up and move! Research has demonstrated what we all instinctively know—regular physical activity is essential for good mental and physical health. It releases feel-good chemicals like serotonin in the brain and body.

Stress Management

Think of handling stress as riding the wave:It’s important to remember that stressful situations are temporary, especially when it feels like we’ve been hit by a tidal wave of stress and are getting knocked overboard because of it. Choosing to ride the wave, instead of fighting or caving in to it, reminds us that this too shall pass, and things will go back to normal in time. Riding the wave gives us a different vantage point from which to view and assess our problems and gives us time to consider what we can do to prevent or avoid that same kind of stress, if possible, in future.

If you can’t change the stressor, change your narrative: It’s tough to do, but sometimes we have to accept and adapt to stress we can’t change. It can help to put a positive spin on things. For example, you can keep a journal to record the ways you’re dealing with your situation and later use it to help others get through similar circumstances. Sometimes you might find humour in your situation and have a good laugh. Or you can simply appreciate the lessons you’re learning from your situation and dream of ways you’re going to use this education to your advantage in the future.

Take care of yourself: At a minimum, cover the basics: get enough sleep (your body repairs and recharges itself while you’re sleeping), eat nutritious food, enjoy physical activity, and make time for activities you really enjoy doing. All these things make you feel good, and if you feel good, you are better at handling things you don’t enjoy.

Get more time in nature: Nature offers one of the most reliable boosts to your mental and physical well-being. Stroll through the park with a friend or go for a walk in the woods.

Adapted from Stress Lessons: Tools for Resiliency (Teacher Resource)

Learn more about yourself and ways to get help

Take a Self-Assessment

These self-assessment tools are designed to help you reflect on areas such as overall quality of life, anxiety, and substance use. Use them as a personal tool to gain insight into your current wellness and to consider what next steps might be helpful for you.

Explore self-assessment tools