Supporting Articles.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (2020), the term emotional wellness refers to an awareness, understanding, and acceptance of our emotions, and our ability to manage them effectively through challenges and change. Emotional wellness is an important part of overall health. People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their thoughts, feelings, and are able to cope with life’s challenges. They can keep problems in perspective and bounce back from setbacks. They feel good about themselves and have good relationships. Having good emotional health is a fundamental aspect of fostering resilience, self-awareness, and overall contentment.

Simply put, physical wellness refers to the state of our body. Physical wellness is the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows us to get the most out of our daily activities without undue fatigue or physical stress. It includes a good balance between the aspects of not only exercise and nutrition, but also hygiene, care of sickness, sleep, safe sex, and more. The University of Delaware states that physical wellness enables a person to feel empowered to be responsible for one’s personal health, identify areas for realistic improvement and celebrate areas of success.

Around the world, there is a growing problem of chronic, lifestyle-related diseases. These are diseases that are, effectively, caused by the way that we live our lives. Most, if not all of them, are associated with not looking after our bodies. Many of these diseases are linked to being overweight and not getting enough exercise or putting the wrong substances into our bodies.

According to Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA), enmeshment occurs in relationships between people who have not developed their own clear identities and/or boundaries. Each person’s sense of wholeness and self-worth is intertwined with those of the other person. When we look to another person to define our values and accept their needs, feelings, or opinions as our own, we are enmeshed. Statements of enmeshment such as, “I’d die without you,” “You’re my everything,” “Without you, I’m nothing,” “I need you,” or “You make me whole” are found in everyday conversations.

Many people battle an inner voice or a feeling that tells them they are not good enough, smart enough, or worthy enough. This inner voice or feeling is the barrier that keeps many people from experiencing wholeness and happiness. These inner voices usually come from our early life experiences that are internalised and taken in as ways we think about ourselves. Many of these negative voices often come from our parents or primary caregivers. Parental attitudes are the most powerful social influences that a child encounters during their formative years. Children pick up on their parents’ negative attitudes towards their children as well as themselves. These voices can also come from interactions with peers and siblings or influential adults.

The American English Dictionary defines self-discovery as follows: “a becoming aware of one’s true potential, character, and motives.” The most significant adventure of our lives is discovering who we really are. So many people in our world feel overwhelmed, lonely, and unfulfilled. They feel empty because they have lost connection with themselves. Self-discovery is a journey in which we seek to fully understand ourselves, our values, our likes and dislikes, hobbies that interest us, characteristics that we value, and people with whom we want to surround ourselves.

According to Co-dependents Anonymous (CoDA), detachment is a conscious act of self-care. We choose to disengage emotionally from people and/or leave situations that could harm us. Detaching allows us to emotionally and/or physically separate ourselves from people, events, and places in order to gain a healthy, objective point of view. If we don’t like the behaviour of others, we can detach, recognising that we are separate from them with our own distinct identity and set of boundaries. We endeavour to detach with love and respect for ourselves and others, especially when detaching from family or friends. Even though we care, we remember that we are not responsible for other people’s behaviours, nor are they responsible for our well-being.

According to Co-dependents Anonymous (CoDA), detachment is a conscious act of self-care. We choose to disengage emotionally from people and/or leave situations that could harm us. Detaching allows us to emotionally and/or physically separate ourselves from people, events, and places in order to gain a healthy, objective point of view. If we don’t like the behaviour of others, we can detach, recognising that we are separate from them with our own distinct identity and set of boundaries. We endeavour to detach with love and respect for ourselves and others, especially when detaching from family or friends. Even though we care, we remember that we are not responsible for other people’s behaviours, nor are they responsible for our well-being.

In our society, we are taught to find our happiness from external sources such as our job, wealth, fame, honour, power or a relationship. Only when we seek pleasure from these external sources alone, do we struggle to find acceptance and happiness.

According to Shepard (1979), self-acceptance is an individual’s satisfaction or happiness with oneself and is thought to be necessary for good mental health. Acknowledging and accepting one’s own strengths and weaknesses, as well as being willing to accept one’s own imperfections, are all prerequisites for self-acceptance. Self-acceptance is the ability to accept yourself as you are instead of how you wish you were, or how you wish others perceive you.

Self-acceptance is exactly what its name suggests: the state of complete acceptance of oneself. True self-acceptance is embracing who you are without any qualifications, conditions, or exceptions. This definition emphasises the importance of accepting all facets of the self. It is not enough to embrace what is good, valuable, or positive about yourself; in order to embody true self-acceptance, you must also embrace what is less desirable about yourself. If you’re thinking that accepting all the negative aspects of yourself sounds difficult—you’re not wrong! It’s not easy to accept the things that we desperately want to change about ourselves; however, it is only by truly accepting ourselves that we can begin the process of meaningful self-improvement.

The key to happiness is meeting our needs. Although co-dependents are very good at meeting the needs of other people, they struggle to take care of their own needs. They have problems identifying, expressing, and fulfilling their needs and wants. They may be very attuned to the needs and desires of other people, even anticipating them. They become so accustomed to accommodating others that they lose touch with their own needs and desires over time.