Welcome to the Summer Wellness Series. We are excited that you are embarking on this journey of improved wellness with us!
We have joined together with Lidia Snyder, LMSW, RYT, TCTSY-F, a licensed social worker and a trauma informed yoga instructor, to develop a guided wellness journey, exclusively for C&FS EAP members.
Each week you will have the opportunity to learn more about the 8 Wellness Domains, receive some thoughts to ponder, a brief activity and some inspiration for what you might do differently. In addition, all registrants are entered into a weekly drawing for a $25 Andersons Gift Certificate!
We hope you will learn more about your areas of strengths as well as identify opportunities to improve your wellness.
Go to Week 4 – Financial & Occupational Wellness
Go to Week 5 – Spiritual & Intellectual Wellness
Go to Week 6 – Wellness & Resilience
Week 1: Conceptualizing Wellness to Bring Together Mind, Body & Spirit
Welcome to week 1 of the Summer Wellness Series. This week we are introducing the concept of wellness and are encouraging all participants to embark on their own individualized journey of ‘self-exploration’.
What is wellness? Wellness is best understood as “a conscious, deliberate process that requires a person to become aware of and make choices for a more satisfying life” (Swarbrick, 2006). Wellness is encapsulated into 8 domains through the ‘Wellness Wheel’, which is recognized as the standard model for optimum health. The Wellness Wheel acknowledges, that wellness is dynamic and everchanging, and is simply more than just the absence of illness.
Understanding the 8 domains of wellness is step one on your journey. Viewing this video is a good start.
The Eight Dimensions of Wellness (<4 min.)
As you watch the video and explore the wellness wheel, ask yourself these questions:
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- How am I investing in my wellness?
- How can I align my values with my choices?
- How do my identities, strengths, and experiences in each domain affect my overall wellness?
- How is my wellness being supported by my community?
- How am I contributing to the wellness of others?
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What I Can Do Differently:
As you explore the different domains of wellness you might be surprised to see how each domain can interact with and impact each other. For example, some might find it surprising that your financial wellness impacts your social wellness or vice versa. You may even notice that certain domains or areas could use more effort or improvement and you may also find that you are doing well in others. The idea of this series is to make small, incremental changes that allow you to feel good about your efforts while impacting your overall wellness. As the definition makes clear, awareness is key. Understanding your own habits is a great place to start in beginning to set SMART goals that enhances your wellbeing.
This series builds on the capacity each of us has to enjoy a more rewarding and fulfilling life.
As we wrap up week one, I encourage you to take a few minutes of your time to ‘increase your awareness’ by listening to the guided audio.
Audio Guided Awareness (<5 min.)
Reach Out:
As always – if you would like to discuss this topic, or any other concern, please reach out to C&FS EAP to speak with one of our staff for assistance. Please call 716-681-4300 or complete the intake form here:
Week 2: Exploring Physical and Emotional Wellness
Welcome to week 2 of the Summer Wellness Series. This week we shift our focus from conceptualizing wellness as a whole to exploring its individual domains.
Physical and Emotional wellness are intertwined, and when considered together a clearer impression of wellness emerges. The physical aspect of wellness can encompass things like, your dietary habits, movement and rest, and access to and utilization of health care. While emotional wellness focuses more on but is not limited to, the expression of your feelings, your coping strategies for stress and relationship satisfaction.
It likely would not come as a surprise to many that a physical stimulus can impact your emotional response. For example, simply being hungry (physical) can impact how a person responds to a challenge (emotional) with another person. Thus, it is important to remember, that these domains are interdependent and influence each other.
Activity:
All participants are invited to take a brief assessment for both Physical and Emotional wellness. Completing each assessment helps you to better understand your performance in each domain and allows you to be proactive in building wellness-affirming habits, routines and coping strategies.
As you complete each assessment ask yourself these questions:
- What is going okay?
- What am I having success doing?
- What could I improve on?
What I Can Do Differently:
As you explore your physical and emotional wellness you may notice that you may naturally give more attention to one aspect over the other. However, as you increase your awareness and better understand your habits, contemplate these:
- Physical
- Is there an outdoor fitness class I might try?
- Could I park farther away from work/school/home/the store to increase my walking?
- Could I start taking a short lunchtime walk with a co-worker?
- Am I getting adequate sleep?
- Would having a yogurt for a snack be an alternative for a donut?
- Emotional – Checking in and asking oneself:
- Do I regularly know how I feel?
- Am I in tune with the feelings of others?
- Could I plan to share my feelings with someone rather than bury them?
- Can I take a break and notice how I am feeling?
- Can I celebrate my physical and emotional achievements?
If you have some time, check out the attached ‘Wheel of Emotions’ and reflect on your emotions with the ‘Emotional Monitoring’ document. Notice, is there a difference before or after you move your body or on days when you are not as active vs. days when are you active?
As we wrap up week two, I encourage you to take a few minutes of your time to ‘increase your awareness’ by listening to the guided audio.
Audio Guided Meditation (<6mins)
Reach Out:
As always – if you would like to discuss this topic, or any other concern, please reach out to C&FS EAP to speak with one of our staff for assistance. Please call 716-681-4300 or complete the intake form here:
Week 3: Exploring Environmental and Social Wellness
Welcome to week 3 of the Summer Wellness Series. This week we explore Social and Environmental Wellness.
Week Three at a Glance [Flyer]
Being connected to our communities and environments can be a source of happiness and fulfillment. This applies to our time spent at home as well as our time spent at work and in other recreational spaces. Getting outside is an opportunity for many people to maximize social and environmental wellness through interactions with their communities, nature and in building relationships. You may know that our wellness can be positively or negatively impacted by our environments and each other. For example, as simple as it may seem being in nature, decluttering your spaces, balancing your social and personal time and meeting new people enhances wellness and wellbeing.
Activity:
Participants are invited to take an assessment for both Environmental and Social wellness. Completing each assessment will help you better understand your performance in these domains and allow you to be proactive in building wellness-affirming habits, routines and coping strategies.
Environmental Wellness Assessment
As you complete each assessment ask yourself these questions:
- What is going okay?
- What am I having success doing?
- What could I improve on?
What I Can Do Differently:
As you increase your awareness and better understand your social and environmental wellness habits, contemplate making some of these changes:
- Riding a bike or taking a walk instead of using a car when appropriate.
- Going to the Farmer’s market to lend a hand in supporting local agriculture while enjoying fresh food.
- Engaging in physical activities in nature.
- Joining a club or volunteering for a cause (particularly one that participates in outdoor activities).
- Connecting/Reconnecting with friends and loved ones.
As we wrap up week three, I encourage you to take a few minutes of your time to listen to the guided sound meditation.
Audio Guided Meditation (<5mins)
Reach Out:
As always – if you would like to discuss this topic, or any other concern, please reach out to C&FS EAP to speak with one of our staff for assistance. Please call 716-681-4300 or complete the intake form here:
Week 4: Exploring Financial and Occupational Wellness
Welcome to week 4 of the Summer Wellness Series. This week our aim is to better understand our Financial and Occupational wellness.
When people experience financial hardships, all aspects of their wellness may be affected. Thus, the relationship between an individual’s financial and occupational wellness are interdependent. People’s satisfaction with their employment status and situation is directly linked to their financial wellness in many ways. These worries can also affect relationships, happiness and one’s focus on self-discovery, development and life satisfaction. Furthermore, there is a well-established relationship between financial stress and occupational dissatisfaction with anxiety, depression and substance misuse.
Activity:
Participants are invited to take an assessment for Financial and Occupational wellness. Completing each assessment will help you better understand your performance in these domains and allow you to be proactive in building wellness-affirming habits, routines and coping strategies.
Occupational Wellness Assessment
As you complete each assessment ask yourself these questions:
- What is going okay?
- What am I having success doing?
- What could I improve on?
What I Can Do Differently:
As you further explore your financial and occupational wellness, remember that small changes are powerful and within reach. Ask yourself:
- Am I taking full advantage of my employee benefits package?
- Could I save any money by utilizing a medical savings account?
- Is investing money into a training program a first step in advancing my goals?
- Can I save money by cooking meals at home and eating out less?
- Can I use cash instead of card to avoid overspending?
As we wrap up week four, I encourage you to take a few minutes of your time to listen to the guided audio.
Audio Guided Breathing (<6mins)
Reminder:
Register for the upcoming live webinar “Wellness Starts with You: Tools to support your journey” with Lidia Snyder on Thursday, August 17th. Be a part of the conversation by ranking the wellness related questions that spark your curiosity or most resonate with you and provide us with questions of your own that you would like answered.
Learn more and register here for: Wellness Starts with You (click)
Help guide our conversation: Ask your questions (click)
Reach Out:
As always – if you would like to discuss this topic, or any other concern, please reach out to C&FS EAP to speak with one of our staff for assistance. Please call 716-681-4300 or complete the intake form here:
Week 5: Exploring Spiritual and Intellectual Wellness
Welcome to week 5 of the Summer Wellness Series. We are nearing the end! This week our aim is to better understand our Spiritual and Intellectual wellness.
Recognizing your own sense of purpose and belonging while keeping an active and curious mind encompasses spiritual and Intellectual Wellness. Many people find support for inner peace, purpose and finding meaning through spiritual practices which encourages wellness. Others find solace and invest in their wellness and wellbeing by expanding their knowledge and skill set.
Activity:
All participants are invited to take a brief assessment for both Spiritual and Intellectual wellness. Completing each assessment will help you better understand your performance in each domain and allow you to be proactive in building wellness-affirming habits, routines and coping strategies.
Intellectual Wellness Assessment
As you complete each assessment ask yourself these questions:
- What is going okay?
- What am I having success doing?
- What could I improve on?
What I Can Do Differently:
As you explore your spiritual and intellectual wellness, remember, making small incremental change is the key to feeling good. As you increase your awareness in each of these domains consider making some of these changes:
- Acknowledge and practice gratitude.
- Extend appreciation to friends, family and colleagues.
- Find time to attend an organized spiritual service or volunteer opportunity.
- Set aside time for reflection or prayer.
- Explore hobbies that allow you to find meaning and purpose.
- Think about exploring new outlets for spiritual and intellectual growth.
As we end week 5, I encourage you to take a few minutes of your time to listen to the guided audio.
Audio Guided Meditation (<5mins)
Reminder:
If you haven’t done so already, register for the upcoming live webinar “Wellness Starts with You: Tools to support your journey” with Lidia Snyder on Thursday, August 17th. Be a part of the conversation by ranking the wellness related questions that spark your curiosity or most resonate with you and provide us with questions of your own that you would like answered.
Learn more and register here for: Wellness Starts with You (click)
Help guide our conversation: Ask your questions (click)
Reach Out:
As always – if you would like to discuss this topic, or any other concern, please reach out to C&FS EAP to speak with one of our staff for assistance. Please call 716-681-4300 or complete the intake form here:
Week 6: Wellness and Resilience
Welcome to week 6 of the Summer Wellness Series. While we are at the end of our journey together, your individual journeys are not yet over! This week we explore Wellness and Resilience.
Increased awareness, openness and acceptance are all part of wellness practice. As you have gained insight from the previous weeks and have assessed the various domains of wellness, you are now invited to create a comprehensive Wellness Plan of your own. As you create or continue to create a wellness plan the works for you, remember that a wellness plan can be dynamic and can benefit from regular revisitation. Creating a wellness plan gives you a better sense of how small changes can begin to turn the tide on your own conceptualization and sense of wellness.
Activity:
This week, participants are invited to use the attached outline to formulate an individualized SMART plan based on the Wellness Domain(s) of their choosing. You are also invited to take the opportunity to further explore your scores for each domain of wellness and consider making the appropriate changes.
Dimensions of Wellness (Scores)
What I Can Do Differently:
Now that you have an enhanced understanding of Wellness, its meaning and more specifically where you are in relation to the 8 domains, it is time to make a plan and commit. Keep in mind that no single dimension can bring wellness and each domain is interdependent. Remember, it is the interplay between domains that facilitates wholeness and wellbeing. This is your start to improved health and lifelong wellbeing.
Reminder:
As we wrap up week 6, if you haven’t done so already, register for the upcoming live webinar “Wellness Starts with You: Tools to support your journey” with Lidia Snyder tomorrow Thursday, August 17th. We hope to see you there!
Learn more and register here for: Wellness Starts with You (click)
Reach Out:
As always – if you would like to discuss this topic, or any other concern, please reach out to C&FS EAP to speak with one of our staff for assistance. Please call 716-681-4300 or complete the intake form here:
