When is the last time you really checked in on your mental health and wellbeing? Read on to understand the benefits of a moment of self-reflection. Challenge yourself to authentically respond to a series of questions that will help you identify meaningful ways to invest your energy.
There is truly no time like the new year to take a moment to reflect on the status of our wellbeing. We tend to stay so busy with school, work, friends, kids, responsibilities ... the list goes on ... that we can lose track of celebrating the things in our lives that are truly incredible and end up ignoring the hard things that are draining our energy.
What does the science say about reflection? Self-reflection describes our willingness to learn more about ourselves, to become more aware of our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, goals, and motivations. Increased self-awareness improves our ability to 1) regulate emotions; 2) break old habits that aren't serving us; 3) have better relationships; and 4) make constructive decisions ... among many other benefits.
How do I do it? Take a moment to flex your self-reflection muscles by committing 5 minutes to respond to the questions below. There are no right or correct responses; it's also ok if you're not sure how to answer some questions.
Core Domains of Wellbeing
SLEEP:
Do you feel refreshed when you wake each morning and energized throughout the day?
Is it challenging to fall asleep or wake at your desired time? Do you wake up during the night? Do you feel the need to take naps to get through the day?
DAILY ACTIVITY/ROUTINE:
Do you have a daily schedule and routine?
Does your daily activity/routine support your ability to accomplish the things you want or need to accomplish in a day?
What parts work well for you? What shifts would you make?
SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS and FAMILY LIFE
Who in your life can you count on? Are there people in your life who you can really share all parts of yourself with?
Who leans on you for support?
Do you have a good balance between the support you give and the support you receive?
SCHOOL/WORK LIFE:
How do you feel about your current status in school or your career?
What are the most rewarding parts of your school/work life? What are the biggest challenges?
Taking into account the good and the bad days, how does your school or work life contribute to your overall wellbeing?
MEDICAL HEALTH:
How is your physical health? Do you check in with the medical professionals that you should? If applicable, do you follow the treatment plans that you've been prescribed?
What have been some excellent ways that you've taken care of your health?
What barriers have gotten in the way of caring for your health?
Emotional Wellbeing
Respond to each of the following questions with the FIRST answer that comes to mind--your "gut" response. Select a rating and don't change it. Each question should be answered by thinking about your general experience over the last two weeks.
On a scale from 1-10, where 10 indicates the highest degree of stress and 1 indicates the lowest degree of stress, how would you rate your overall level of stress over the past two weeks?
On a scale from 1-10, where 10 indicates the highest degree of nervousness/worries and 1 indicates the lowest degree of nervousness/worries, how would you rate your overall level of nervousness/worries over the past two weeks?
On a scale from 1-10, where 10 indicates the highest degree of sadness and 1 indicates the lowest degree of sadness, how would you rate your overall level of sadness over the past two weeks?
Coping refers to our own personalized responses to managing stress, worries, and sadness. On a scale from 1-10, where 10 indicates the most effective coping and 1 indicates the lowest degree of coping effectiveness, how would you rate your overall approach to effective coping?
Take a look at your scores and consider the following:
Are your ratings typical for you (i.e., your ratings would have been about the same a couple months ago), or is there something unique about your current experience?
Are your ratings consistent across questions 1-3, or do they vary?
Are one or more of your ratings on questions 1-3 landing above a 4 or 5? What does that mean for you?
You also rated your approach to coping. What factors contributed to your rating? What aspects of your coping work well for you? What aspects of your coping could you enhance?
If you asked a loved one to rate you across these four domains, would their responses probably line up with yours, or be divergent? Why/why not?
Next Steps
When you think about what you wanted your life to look like a year ago or five years ago, are you on a path that makes sense for you? Have your priorities and values been consistent; how have they shifted?
What are some of your biggest successes and contributions to your life and the lives of others? Have you given enough credit to yourself for the ways that you've shown resilience or supported someone else?
Do you have one more minute, right now, to contribute positively to your wellbeing? Learn about improving your sleep, a new way to manage stress, download an app that supports your wellbeing, or take some other meaningful action.
Final Thoughts
Please keep in mind this post is meant to encourage self-reflection and awareness.There are surely many other important parts of your life that are not captured by this brief exercise. This post does not constitute psychological testing nor does it indicate whether or not you have a mental health diagnosis/would benefit from treatment. However, if you find that your current experience is discrepant from what you'd like your life to look like, it might be helpful to chat with a psychologist. It's always possible to tilt toward the kind of life you desire--you've already started that process by doing a bit of self-reflection today.
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