When we think of wellness, our thoughts may often turn to physical fitness and mental health. The American Student Dental Association actually considers five dimensions of wellness: emotional, physical, intellectual, occupational, and environmental wellness. However you choose to define it, I think we often think about OUR wellness. Our minds gravitate around our individual selves at the core but when we practice wellness, I believe we can encourage wellness all around us as well. In a society changed by COVID-19, I especially think it is more important than ever to think about our impact on the wellness of our community.
When the health of a family member deteriorated last year, I saw how although her physical health wavered, her mind was more resilient than ever. Her optimism was guarded but nonetheless overflowing. Her future was uncertain, but her everyday focus remained sharp. Her perspectives colored how those around her viewed life. She showed us how despite unfortunate circumstances, life would continue. All we could control was how we chose to shape our viewpoints and chose what we spend our days doing. She reminded us to prioritize our wellness to make the most of each day.
While school and work had dominated most of my adult life, she exemplified how time was limited and the best time to focus on your personal needs is now. The shutdown due to the pandemic offered a rare opportunity to take a step back and think about what really mattered. I chose to rebalance my energy and think about fitness.
I started with running outdoors. Once it got colder, I switched to biking around the city. When gyms opened up, I got a membership at Blink Fitness. Once people started returning to NYC and the gyms began to crowd, I started to Peloton at home. These exercises helped build a rhythm and created routine in a newly routine-less world. But I found with each activity, once the initial excitement wore off or I had reached a goal, the activity felt hollow without others to share it with. Then I would look for a new activity and the cycle would repeat.
I began to wonder if perhaps I needed to change my perspective on wellness. I had reached a state where I was comfortable with my physical fitness and I felt mentally stable, but I didn’t feel whole.
Wellness is a personal journey but better when shared with others. We all know how much more fulfilling our runs feel when we can high five a friend as we cross the finish line; how it feels to have our friends push us to complete that last set on leg day at the gym. We can all think of ways that our physical wellness has been improved by others. But how often do we think of creating opportunities to improve the mental wellness of those around us?
My fitness journey inspired me to find a responsible and safe way to help the wellness of others. I may not be good at many things, but I like to cook and figured that there must be a way to inspire mental wellness in a similar way that we do physical wellness. So I started cooking meals for friends who had been alone for months, teaching my brother how to cook more efficiently, and hosting my parents for home cooked meals (only after getting COVID tests of course) and more. For Christmas, my brother and I wanted to recreate a restaurant experience for our parents, since they missed going out. We went above and beyond and made a rack of lamb, ribeye, roasted carrots, desserts, and even a PDF menu to replicate the feel of outdoor dining. The steak was undercooked and the four of us ate in our cramped East Village kitchen but hearing our parents’ laughter made us feel like we were out on the town in a simpler time.
Beyond food, I thought of how wellness could be improved with a simple check in. I reached out to old friends and let them know that I was just a phone call away should they ever feel the need to talk. I listened to those facing hardship and supported those who went to seek professional help. I found common interest with others and explored ways to exercise those hobbies in a safe, virtual environment. There were many Zooms to play Catan, chess, or Among Us online that devolved into late nights sharing in each other’s joys and sorrows as well as fears and hopes for the post pandemic future.
I found that when I made conscious efforts to support the wellness of others, I felt healthier and more whole myself. I was proud to finish my first 11 mile run this summer, but I felt infinitely more accomplished when I was able to convince my girlfriend to go on her first one mile run with me. It felt good to have a friend ask how I was doing, and even better when they thanked me for lunch and told me I was the first person they had seen in months. I felt how the wellbeing of others translated into my joy and health.
Wellness is multifaceted and I believe that when we only focus on our needs, we miss great potential to not just help others, but also help ourselves in turn. This is especially important for us as future health care providers. We will be under high stress and need to focus on our own wellbeing to prevent burnout. But in addition to the clinical wellbeing of our patients, we should consider how they are doing as individuals and what else we can do to support them and their communities.
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