In the era of COVID-19, The Corona, or simply ‘Rona, we’re being asked to maintain our social distance and stay home as much as possible. For a lot of us, this means minimal face-to-face, physical, or as fulfilling interaction with some of those who matter most to us. We’re left wondering when we might be able to hug our moms, hold new babies, host those impending summer barbecues, catch a movie, or do secret handshakes with best friends; and really with no solid timeline in mind.
 
Remember those eight dimensions of wellness we talked about previously? Social ties play a huge role in, well, the social dimension; but also, have an impact on our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. We’ve gathered current thoughts on how social relationships can have both positive and negative effects on our wellness, as well as ways we may be able to support our social dimension when we’re supposed to be keeping our distance.
 
It’s believed that there are three ways that social relationships can impact our health: behavioral, psychosocial, and physiological
 
Our relationships with others – whether that be a volunteer community, church, significant other, or best friend(s) – can be associated with more positive health behaviors throughout our lives. We tend to feel a sense of social responsibility for both ourselves and those who are part of our social circle and feel the need to protect our health and our relationships because of this. This can motivate individuals to create healthy habits, and to hold each other accountable for maintaining these healthy habits. When spending time in isolation, or closed off from our social circles, it can be easy to revert back to unhealthy habits. We might not feel like exercising daily because we usually go to fitness classes with our friends; or we might be prone to getting takeout or eating poorly when we feel lonely. We may be feeling pretty lonely right about now. Without realizing it, our relationships with those who matter most to us influence our behaviors daily which in turn can support our very own well-being! Pretty cool; but we should also be mindful about how changes to, or decreases in, our socialization can have the opposite effect.
 
Many of us may be most familiar with the emotional and/or psychosocial effects of feeling lonely, or not having the social lives we’re used to. When we feel real social support, we have a sense that we are loved, cared for, and listened to. It might be hard right now to feel supported when we can’t socialize in our typical ways, or in the ways we’re most comfortable. Having a strong sense of social support can reduce the impact of stress (if the wrath of ‘Rona isn’t stressful, I don’t know what is). It can also provide a sense of meaning and purpose in life (hello spiritual dimension!). Most of you reading this are probably aware of how you likely feel WAY better when you are able to connect with your loved ones. Despite this, we need to be aware of how the change in our social lives is impacting our psychosocial being, and in turn the behaviors we partake in during this time of ‘stay at home’.
 
Isn’t it crazy to think that sharing a laugh with a friend, embracing in a hug, or venting about your workplace drama can have an almost immediate effect on your physical health? Social support can actually decrease blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormones; likely by decreasing the overall impact of stress like stated above. Stress hormones can be good in moderation but can have significant health effects over time. Conditions such as heart disease, obesity, and even early mortality have all been linked to high levels of stress. We all know it isn’t healthy to be stressed out all the time and it turns out that connecting with our friends can be one of the best ways to decrease the effect of stress. Social support can also help boost our immune system. So, in the days of COVID-19, popping Vitamin C, eating your veggies, and getting plenty of sleep may be go-to’s; but let’s not forget about our daily dose of our best friends, moms, or work fam.
 
Okay, so all that stuff is interesting and good knowledge to have. But what do we do about it now with all that is out of our control? An article I skimmed from the New York Times gave some good pointers on how to maintain our social lives with a global pandemic looming overhead:

• When it comes to chatting with our friends/fam, it’s important to remember how beneficial facial cues, body language, and other non-verbal forms of communication are to our level of connection. A video chat may promote our social well-being more than a simple phone call; but of course, anything is better than nothing.
• We’re all familiar with how a ‘like’ on social media gives us a momentary boost that is fleeting before we know it. A unique spin off of this, is to send a private message to that person, rather than simply liking their photo or shared content. Let them know that you are grateful for their friendship or compliment them on something meaningful.
• It’s likely that a lot of our hobbies or enjoyments are different nowadays, or perhaps completely removed from our current life. It’s also likely that you aren’t the only person who’s had that hobby vanish in recent months. Take a look online, find some groups or communities that share in your interests, and create ways to connect with each other over something you love.
• With stay-at-home orders in full effect, many of us have more free time on our hands. It could be a good opportunity to use this time to deepen existing relationships, form new ones, or amend those that have become unraveled. Reach out to someone you’ve lost touch with, or maybe even someone who you’d like to get to know better. Odds are, they’ve got more time to chat too.

 
Try all of these, try some of these, try none of these; but let’s not lose sight of how this global crisis is affecting our well-being in more ways than one. This is our first glimpse into how interconnected these dimensions are, and how sensitive of a balance it can be to maintain our wellness.  We hope you took something of value from this Quick Read! Please let us know your thoughts, or any creative ways you’ve found to help you stay connected. If you want to stay up to date while we continue to tackle the dimensions of wellness, don’t forget to subscribe! Catch us next week with The Spiritual Dimension: Making Sense of it All.
 
Speaking of social, follow our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Cheers,
 
Elle and Taylor 


References

Welcome to our very first Quick Read!
 
We racked our brains trying to come up with the perfect topic to kickstart our wellness journey and wanted to write about so many different things! We finally decided to tackle a topic that many of us are struggling with right now given the current circumstances – maintaining our wellness. In the craziness that is a global pandemic, our lives have been turned upside down in more ways than one; which is likely having a significant impact on our overall well-being. But, in order to maintain and improve our wellness, we need to know exactly what wellness is. This led us to our first Quick Read Series: The Eight Dimensions of Wellness.  
 
Now, eight whole components may seem daunting; but the reality is that they affect each other so intimately, that small changes to one can have a major impact on the others, and in turn your entire well-being. Before we talk about how to manage each of these pieces, maybe we should get to know them a bit better. With a quick online search, you may find that some define wellness as having a varying number of dimensions. We chose to focus on eight because we feel they most broadly encompass what wellness means; after all, it is not a simple thing. The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University defines The Eight Dimensions of Wellness as: 
 
Environmental: Occupying pleasant, stimulating environments that support well-being
 
Intellectual: Recognizing creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills
 
Physical: Recognizing the need for physical activity, diet, sleep, and nutrition
 
Occupational: Personal satisfaction and enrichment derived from one’s work
 
Spiritual: Expanding our sense of purpose and meaning in life 
 
Social: Developing a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support system 
 
Financial: Satisfaction with current and future financial situations
 
Emotional: Coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships 
 
I’d be willing to say that while reading that list, you were already thinking about countless ways this global pandemic has largely affected almost every one of those. Am I right? ‘Stay-at-home orders’, ‘shelter in place’, ‘quarantine’, whatever you are currently doing, is having a major impact on each and every one of these eight elements. It’s adding increased stress, toying with our emotions, decreasing our activity levels, changing our environments, limiting our social connections (never thought you’d miss hugs so much, huh?); and it’s changing how we are working, what we’re getting out of it, or compromising our ability to work completely (AKA screwing with our financial stability). The world is extremely concerned about a virus that attacks us physically, and our focus is on protecting humanity – rightfully so; but we cannot be naïve to how the current events are impacting us right at home. I’m not sure we’ve collectively experienced something that is affecting our wellness as much as COVID-19 is, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Despite this, maybe we can use this time to learn more about ourselves and our wellness dimensions for better health now and in the future!
 
We hope to bring a new light to dire times by discussing each of the dimensions in detail, and providing tips, advice, research, and support. As physical therapists, we are most keen with the physical dimension of wellness; however, we know very well how the other seven come into play and how crucially interconnected they are. So, follow along as we tackle one dimension of wellness at a time through our weekly Quick Reads! Along the way, we would love to hear feedback, and learn what you are doing at home to support these eight dimensions! 
 
If this piqued your interest, make sure to subscribe and stay tuned for future Quick Reads! Up first: ‘Social-distancing’: How to keep your friends close, and your health closer. 
 
Cheers! And thanks for helping us kickstart Mobility Innovated! 
 
Elle and Taylor 
  
References: 
 
https://cpr.bu.edu/living-well/eight-dimensions-of-wellness/