Rooted in Wellness: Emotional Wellness

Our conversation today with Cori Pence, Communications Specialist with Northwestern Community Services Board Prevention & Wellness Services is part of a year-long partnership with Northwestern Community Services Board highlighting eight different dimensions of wellness. Their "Rooted in" campaign is in its third year with 2023's message: Rooted in Wellness. Each month they will encourage and challenge community members to get involved by either participating in a monthly challenge or attending a Lunch and Learn session. The goals of the campaign are to deliver the following messages of wellness: • To raise awareness about how being mentally well impacts not only one part of who we are; • To encourage community members to become mentally well; • To foster connection and resilience in our communities by emphasizing wellness. Today's conversation featured Patience Yoder, Intake Therapist from their Woodstock office to talk about this month's topic: emotional wellness. Patience gave us an overall definition of what emotional wellness looks like and explained that it presents itself differently for different people. We talked about the impact the pandemic had on our emotional wellness and in some cases, continues to have. She gave some advice for how to recognize when our emotional wellness might be failing and talked about tools that we can use in our everyday lives to improve it. Cori told us that May is Mental Health Awareness Month and she talked about the important role practicing positive self-talk, eating well, and getting enough sleep play in our emotional wellness. She also told us about the different challenges they are offering this month to help those who may be struggling. You can find more details, resources, and information about physical wellness on their website: https://www.nwcsbwellness.com/rooted-in-wellness-campaign/emotional-wellness  "Rooted in Wellness" is a collaborative project. Prevention and Wellness works closely with local coalitions to reach each community in their service area. These include Family Youth Initiative, Page Alliance for Community Action, Warren Coalition, and Northern Shenandoah Valley Substance Abuse Coalition. In addition, the campaign hopes to bring awareness to 2 statewide initiatives: Activate Your Wellness and Lock and Talk Virginia. Each month there will be a call to action with tips, activities, and education to build up a specific dimension of wellness. There are various ways to engage in the campaign including through social media. Stay up-to-date by following @NWCSBWellness on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for infographics, photos, resources, and quotes. As this campaign is yearlong, be sure to visit nwcsbwellness.com regularly for updates and schedule of monthly activities. Share posts and include the hashtag #NWRootedinWellness. Get involved. Be creative. Take photos that reflect what wellness means to you and tag @NWCSBWellness on social media with the hashtag #NWPhotoVoiceChallenge. Implement #NWRootedinWellness into your everyday life this year. Yard signs with wellness messages are also available as part of this effort. Reach out if you are interested in displaying a FREE sign by emailing [email protected] See signs? Take a picture and be sure to tag @NWCSBWellness and use the hashtag #NWRootedinWellness. Click here to listen to prior conversations about the Rooted in Wellness campaign.