Reeling from the fallout of the pandemic, wellness is more important than ever this year; perhaps more than any other year since the great World Wars and Great Depression. Our old normal has been shaken to the core and the new normal is uncomfortably fluid. Strengthening all six pillars of wellness as opposed to the usual New Year “eat less, exercise more” resolutions will be critical to us navigating the next chapter of our lives. This is the opinion of Jeanine Fourie, co-founder of White River Manor, a wellness and rehabilitation centre located in a tropical valley in Mpumalanga (South Africa) who we spoke to about the importance of wellness in 2021.
Where wellness hits shaky ground
Fourie says we tend to define wellness on the grounds of our physical health, saying that tends to be starting the year off with promises to eat more healthily, get more exercise, get to bed earlier and face up to any smoking, alcohol or drug addictions we may have. However, Fourie says physical health is only the tip of the iceberg. It’s only one of six dimensions of wellness and if we don’t address the full spectrum of wellness, then we won’t find balance in our lives. The other five dimensions are social, spiritual, emotional, financial and intellectual wellness. Think about 2020 and how the pandemic dramatically affected the six dimensions. Prolonged lockdowns and doing what we have to do to avoid the virus kept us in isolation, sent us home to work, prevented us from going to gym or just the simple enjoyment of a walk in the park, kept us from going to Church and seeing family and friends, created severe financial burdens and brought on crippling mental fatigue. White River Manor is primarily a treatment centre for alcohol and drug addiction but Fourie says they’ve seen a growing call for help to deal with mental exhaustion and executive burnout. Employees enjoyed the novelty of working from home in the early days but now they’re feeling the effect of prolonged isolation from their peers. She says when social interaction and intellectual stimulation are missing, it rattles the foundation of the six pillars of wellness.
How a wellness programme can help
For individuals and companies doing everything they can to stay afloat in troubled times, the cost of a wellness programme and the time needed to heal wrecked mind, bodies and souls is probably not on the cards for many. However, Fourie says the cost of not dealing with failing wellness now will be very costly in the long run. Fourie raised a few issues to ponder that underpin why wellness is so important in 2021. Unhealthy, inactive and depressed employees cost the company more in the long run. Brain fog, lack of motivation, pessimism and burnout all affect productivity and company morale. And, no doubt, says Fourie the company’s bottom line. Getting fit, losing weight, breaking bad habits and boosting your immunity are more important than ever to have a fighting chance of surviving Covid-19 if you fall sick with the virus. For employers, sick workers cost money in terms of productivity and service delivery. Worse, years of training, expertise and knowledge is lost if an employee tragically dies. Mental exhaustion can become a permanent, irreversible condition that leads to more serious illnesses like cancer, hypertension, organ disease and clinical depression. Burnout left unchecked can destroy a person’s career and personal relationships. Using alcohol and drugs as emotional band-aids increases and then there’s the very real prospect of more people committing suicide.
Can you afford to ignore wellness in 2021?
Fourie ends by saying that, for many people, a holistic wellness programme may be the only way one survives another year of turmoil. Wellness centres like White River Manor tackle mental fatigue and burnout from every angle; from group or individual counselling and behaviour therapy to healthy meals, regular exercise, relaxation techniques and daily excursions in beautiful surroundings to restore mind, body and soul. 2020 was a hellaver year. We were hit from all sides with the Covid pandemic as well as one of the most tumultuous political and economic years in living memory. Covid fatigue has set in but we’re still a long way from life returning to normal, if it ever does. Will 2021 be kinder to us? Who knows but we can’t afford to adopt a ‘wait until it’s over’ attitude because we don’t know where the finishing line is and how long we’ll take to get there. Your wellness is one thing you can control and that means strengthening all six pillars of personal health. New Year’s resolutions alone won’t cut it, that’s for sure. Website: www.whiterivermanor.com Email: bookings@whiterivermanor.com Contact us on: +27827315939 View our affordable rehab options at: https://www.whiteriverrecovery.co.za/
