The 4 pillars of well-being

A reflection on the pillars of wellness that we must keep in balance.

The high level of stress you are facing may be affecting the attention you give to basic principles for your physical and emotional health..

In this sense, our body and mind need to maintain a state of balance to live, not only with quality of life but with full health. Health is priceless.

• Related article, "Is it appropriate to set happiness as a therapeutic goal?"

The main pillars of wellness

Have you noticed how sometimes people are more interested in physical goods, such as the house, the car, and even the outward physical appearance? In relation to this, here is a case that sensitizes us to the importance of the 4 pillars of well-being that will enable you to strengthen your physical, psychological and emotional well-being and raise your awareness of how to reach your best state.

Pillar 1: The state of rest and the process of sleep and wakefulness

Naroa is a young woman who has a husband who loves her and whom she loves, two wonderful children, and for the past 3 years, she has been working at the company she has always wanted.

The Christmas season is Naroa's favorite time of year; however, the days seem to get more and more complicated. It is not easy for her to fall asleep and when she seems to have managed to sleep, the alarm clock rings. It is not easy to get up, but she knows she has to wake up her children and then take them to school; and the company she works for currently has big projects that require her full attention.

She knows she has to fulfill her responsibilities, but it seems that she is not finding enjoyment in what she used to love. she doesn't seem to find enjoyment in what she used to love and be passionate about doing..

What's going on with Naroa?

What happens to our organism when there is not enough rest or, as such, not enough rest due to physical (health) or emotional conditions? What we know as allostasis implies that neurological, physiological and hormonal processes work in balance with the sleep-wake processes..

Pillar 2: Nutrition as the basis for obtaining nutrients that are converted into energy.

The days go by and Naroa's children and husband are looking forward to a beautiful Christmas, but it is no secret that Naroa's mood is not the best. Her family and co-workers try to cheer her up, but they don't know what's wrong with her, and in fact she doesn't know what's wrong with her either. Her apathy is so great that she is not even eating properly anymore.

In the morning, when she manages to wake up, she barely drinks a cup of coffee. On many occasions her lack of time prevents her from eating breakfast and she is left with only coffee in her stomach. Lunchtime arrives and Naroa feels her stomach irritated. Her stomach has only received coffee, and so when she manages to rescue some energy and get into action, her physical balance is not ideal.

What happens to Naroa?

What happens to our organism when our intake is reduced, to the point of reaching an insufficient level, we stop consuming the foods that adequately supply the energy that the body requires.?

Pillar 3: Physical activity is key

Naroa still can't find wellness. Her husband, who has always supported her, asks her to seek professional help; she refuses, as she doesn't see the point and can't imagine how a psychologist can help her. She wants to get up and get her energy back.

She remembers times when going out and doing at least one simple physical activity has allowed her to have a higher energy level, a sense of well-being and even very happy times when she has had a physical and emotional balance.

What about Naroa?

This pillar has to do with physical activity as a basis for the correct functioning of muscles, Blood circulation, hydration processes and even as a coadjuvant for organic functioning..

Everything requires balance, and in this case, if Naroa would simply allow herself to start a process of intense exercise that does not correspond to the 2 previous pillars (if she does not rest and eat in a more balanced way), the exercise would become an unbalancing factor that could cause a decompensation.

Pillar 4: Social interaction as an enabler of physical and mental health

Naroa feels a bit of uncertainty about what it will be like to help her family and continue to be an important factor of support for those she loves. As she is thinking about Christmas Eve dinner, Naroa remembers how much she enjoys preparing for Christmas and how she loved being with her family; she thinks about her children, her husband, and her professional successes.

Naroa's friends have not heard from her for months, and as a result, what were once demonstrations of interest and appreciation for the people with whom she interacted are being severely affected.

Her socialization is being severely affected and, as a consequence, her mood is also being affected by this situation. She has even distanced herself from her family and has little social interaction with them, no longer showing joy in communicating with them. The principle of "Be well yourself first in order to be able to offer something better to those you love" starts to make sense.

What about Naroa?

Social interaction is an enabler of emotional balance, psychological regulation, and physical and mental health. It is no secret that when we maintain healthy social interaction and emotional bonds with others, psychological well-being improves, self-esteem and self-confidence are enhanced. and we become a source of positive contribution to other people's lives.

• You may be interested in, "What is Social Psychology?"

What can we learn from all this?

Naroa, like most of us when facing something new and unfamiliar, had denied herself the opportunity to go to therapy.. However, once she has identified the opportunity for improvement and once she has spoken to her psychologist, she begins to see the possibility of feeling liberated by expressing what she is feeling, and then beginning to identify and assimilate the process she has been going through, until she finds the root cause or "origin". Something she finds less difficult now that she feels supported and loved by her friends and family.

Her therapist began by asking her about her sleep quality. "How are you sleeping?" he asks Naroa. She expressed to him how difficult it is to go through sleepless nights and feel exhausted all day and again go to bed and fail to fall asleep.

He also asked her about her physical activity, to which she replied that between her activities at home and her work she had no time left to exercise.

The next question was about her eating, to which she replied that there were times when she didn't have time to eat, and when she finally had the opportunity to eat, her eating was unbalanced.

And when the therapist asked her about time to relax, she simply replied that it had been a long time since she had known what it was to feel relaxed.

Unfortunately, more and more people more and more people are experiencing situations very similar to what Naroa was going through.. The demands that many of us have imposed on ourselves lead us to forget to live and enjoy life. And we even believe that the accelerated way in which we live is normal.

It is time for you to think if the meaning you are giving to your life is what you really want and if what you are doing is what is going to give you the quality of life you want.

I know you can tell me: you don't know the condition in which I live and what I have to do to get things done, I cannot allow myself to stop and much less relax, that is not for me, it is simply not possible for me... I invite you to reflect on the following: if we sleep well, eat healthy, do physical activity and learn relaxation techniques, in addition to achieving physical and psychological well-being, our level of productivity multiplies.

When we sleep, the body relaxes and favors the production of serotonin, which helps to reduce stress, improve our productivity and improve our quality of life. which helps reduce stress, improves concentration and helps us to be happier and emotionally stronger.

A healthy diet helps us to maintain a healthy heart, stimulate the brain, reduce the likelihood of developing certain diseases and feel good. and feel good.

Exercising produces endorphins, which It allows us to feel in a good mood and enables the brain to cope with stress in a better way; it also helps to avoid diseases and increases our energy.It also helps to avoid illnesses and increases our energy.

On the other hand, relaxing decreases physical and mental stress, increases creativity, improves the quality of learning and memorization..

To achieve balance in your daily life it is necessary to take into account these pillars; if we do not pay attention to any of them, we cannot achieve physical and emotional balance.

Going back to Naroa's case, it is likely that she started to lose her physical and emotional balance because without a conscious intention she stopped paying attention to one of these pillars and, as a consequence, the other pillars were also affected. Linked to this is the lack of attention to one or more of the events in early stages of life that needed to be assimilated and/or re-signified.

What led Naroa to live her life on "automatic", without enthusiasm or motivation, were situations a little less complicated than she imagined, and now that she has allowed herself to receive the attention she needs and deserves.