Emotional Wellness (8 Dimensions of Wellness Series)

118/365 - meditate
Photo Credit: Lisa Omarali (lisadragon) on Flickr,
used unmodified under the CC Attribution license

The words “emotional wellness” sometimes makes me think of the stereotype of the meditating monk who seems to not be phased by anything, with a monotone voice and equally constant emotions. Actually, emotional wellness is recognizing, experiencing, and expressing the full range of emotions in healthy ways.

Some common emotions/emotional states

When people talk about emotional wellness and emotional health, one word that is mentioned a lot is “resilience.” Resilience is the ability to move forward after setbacks and major life events. It is a learned response, which means that anyone can become more resilient to life’s struggles, which will help to increase emotional wellness.

How resilient are you?

WebMD has a quiz to give you an idea of how resilient you are (click here to take the quiz).

If you want to increase your resilience or learn more about the concept of resilience, you can click through the American Psychological Association’s guide on the topic. If you want to talk with a psychologist, the APA also has a “Psychologist Locator” that allows you to search for someone near you.

This post is part of the 8 Dimensions of Wellness series focusing on each aspect of wellness and providing related resources. To get more free resources and information about wellness, click here to get each post by email.