Have you noticed how sometimes people are more interested in physical assets, like the house, the car, and even the exterior physical appearance? In relation to this, here is a case that raises awareness about the importance of the 4 pillars of well-being that will allow you to strengthen your physical, psychological and emotional well-being and raise awareness about how to reach your best state.
Pillar 1: The state of rest and the sleep-wake process
Naroa is a young woman who has a husband who loves her and whom she loves, two wonderful children, and for 3 years, she has been working in the company she always wanted.
The Christmas season is Naroa’s favorite; However, the days seem to be getting more complicated. It is not easy for him to fall asleep and when it seems that he has managed to sleep the alarm clock rings. It’s not easy to get up, but you know you have to wake up your children and then take them to school; and in the company he works for, they currently have large projects that require his full attention.
He knows that he has to fulfill his responsibilities, but it seems that currently does not find enjoyment in what he previously loved and was passionate about doing.
What happens with Naroa?
What happens to our body when there is not enough rest or, as such, we do not have a restorative rest due to physical (health) or emotional conditions? What we know as allostasis implies that neurological, physiological and hormonal processes function in balance with sleep-wake processes.
Pillar 2: Food as a basis for obtaining nutrients that are converted into energy
The days go by and Naroa’s children and husband have the hope of living a beautiful Christmas, but it is no secret to anyone that Naroa’s mood is not the best. Her family and her co-workers try to cheer her up but they don’t know what’s wrong with her, and in reality she doesn’t know it either. Her apathy is so much that she is no longer even eating properly.
In the morning, when he manages to wake up, he only drinks coffee. On many occasions his lack of time prevents him from having breakfast and he is left with only coffee in his stomach. Lunchtime arrives and Naroa feels his stomach irritated. His stomach has only received coffee, and therefore when she manages to rescue some energy and get into action, his physical balance is not ideal.
What happens with Naroa?
What happens to our body when our intake is reduced, to the point of reaching an insufficient level, stopping consuming foods that adequately supply the energy that the body requires?
Pillar 3: Physical activity is key
Naroa still cannot find well-being. Her husband, who has always supported her, asks her to seek professional help; She refuses, because she doesn’t see the point and she can’t imagine how a psychologist can help her. She wants to get up and get her energy back.
He remembers moments in which going out and doing at least one simple physical activity has allowed him to have a higher level of energy, a feeling of well-being and even very happy moments in which he has had physical and emotional balance.
What happens with 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 an adjuvant for organic functioning.
Everything requires balance, and in this case, if Naroa simply allowed herself to start a process of intense exercise that did not correspond to the 2 previous pillars (if she does not rest and eat in a more balanced way), exercise would become a factor of imbalance that could cause decompensation.
Pillar 4: Social interaction as a factor that promotes physical and mental health
Naroa feels a little uncertain about what it will be like to help his family and continue to be an important support factor for those he loves. While thinking about Christmas Eve dinner, Ella Naroa remembers how much she enjoyed preparing for Christmas and how she loved being with family; She thinks about her children, her husband and her professional successes.
Naroa’s friends have not received communication from her for months, and as a result, what at one time were demonstrations of interest and appreciation for the people with whom she interacted are being severely affected.
Your socialization is being severely affected and, as a consequence, your mood is also being affected by this situation. She has even distanced herself from his family and has little social interaction with them, no longer showing joy in communicating with them. The principle of “Being well yourself first to be able to offer something better to those you love” begins to make sense.
What happens with Naroa?
Social interaction is a factor that favors emotional balance, psychological regulation, and physical and mental health. It is no secret that when we maintain healthy social interaction and emotional bonds with other people, psychological well-being improves, self-esteem and self-confidence are favored and we become a source of positive contribution to other people’s lives.
What can we learn from all this?
Naroa, Like most of us when faced with something new and unfamiliar, he had denied himself the opportunity to go to therapy.. However, once the opportunity to improve has been identified and once she has spoken with her psychologist, she begins to see the possibility of feeling liberated by expressing what she is feeling, and subsequently begin to identify and assimilate the process she has been through. passing, until we find the root cause or “origin”. Something she finds less difficult now that she feels supported and loved by her friends and family.
His therapist began by asking him about his quality of sleep. “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 then go to bed again and not be able to fall asleep.
He also asked him about his physical activity, to which he responded that between his activities at home and his work he did not have time to exercise.
The next question was about his diet, to which he answered that there were times when he did not have time to eat, and that when he finally had the opportunity to do so, his diet was unbalanced.
And when the therapist asked her about time to relax, she simply replied that she hasn’t known what it means to feel relaxed in a long time.
Unfortunately, More and more people are experiencing situations very similar to those Naroa was experiencing.. The demands that many of us have imposed on ourselves lead us to forget about living and enjoying life. And we even believe that the accelerated way in which we live is normal.
It’s time for you to think about whether 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 move things forward, I can’t allow myself to stop and much less relax, that’s not for me, it’s simply not possible for me… I invite you to reflect on the following: if we sleep well, eat healthily, 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 promotes the production of serotonin which helps reduce stress, improves concentration and helps us be happier and emotionally stronger.
Healthy eating It helps us keep the heart healthy, stimulate the brain, reduce the probability of developing certain diseases and feel well-being.
Exercising produces endorphins, which They allow us to feel in a good mood and allow the brain to cope with stress in a better way.; It also helps avoid diseases and increases our energy.
On the other hand, relax reduces physical and mental stress, increases creativity, improves the quality of learning and memorization.
To achieve balance in your daily life, you need to take these pillars into account; If we do not pay attention to any of them, that physical and emotional balance cannot be achieved.
Returning to Naroa’s case, it is likely that she began to lose her physical and emotional balance because without a conscious intention she stopped attending to some 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 the early stages of life that needed to be assimilated and/or resignified.
What led Naroa to live her life “automatically”, 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.
