Wellness – Mind, body and spirit

12.SEPT.08

Tomorrow is being observed here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as the rest of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), as Caribbean Wellness Day.

The decision to observe the second Saturday in September each year as Caribbean Wellness Day was taken when the CARICOM Heads of Government met in Trinidad and Tobago on 15 September, 2007, to design a plan of action to stop the epidemic of chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).{{more}}

Lifestyle related illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, obesity and cancer have been, for many years, placing tremendous physical, economic and social burdens on our people. The Heads decided it was time to take action.

Regional and national organisers have organized campaigns for tomorrow, mainly focussing on eating healthy foods, getting regular exercise, checking and controlling blood pressure and quitting smoking.

Hopefully, tomorrow’s event will also include activities to emphasize the importance of maintaining (or achieving) good mental and spiritual health.

Most of the time, when we think about what we should do in our personal lives to achieve better health, we think about improving our nutrition and increasing physical activity. Little or no thought is usually given to our psychological well-being and what we need to do to achieve balance in that area of our lives.

Wellness is generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. Wellness cannot be achieved without good mental and spiritual health.

These days, we live in a highly competitive environment where adults and even children as young as nine and ten are being called upon to achieve at increasingly higher levels. Children who have passed seven subjects at CSEC with good grades feel like relative failures when they compare themselves with others. Their parents, too, get caught up in the competition game and are hardly in a position themselves to bring some sense of sanity to the whole situation.

With the advent of smart phones and other portable communication devices like the Blackberry, many professionals have not left the office even when they have left the building. They are “wired” 24-7. Many persons making up the bulk of the productive sector are part of what is known as the “sandwich generation”; those charged with child rearing as well as caring for ageing parents, leaving little time to look after themselves.

Add to all of this the pressure created by the increased cost of living on meagre salaries. No wonder, then, why so many people are stressed and overworked, conditions which lead to unhappiness, impatience, frustration and hopelessness.

Despite the aforementioned, most of our citizens are sufficiently well-balanced to be able to function without being a danger to themselves and others. Recently, however, we have been hearing more about violent crimes being committed by persons with a history of mental illness. Do we have the resources to effectively identify, treat and monitor persons who show such tendencies? What percentage of our national budget is allocated to mental health?

If more attention were to be paid to the mental and spiritual well-being of our citizens, the very incidence of the NCDs which place such a toll on society will decrease as there is a proven link between stress and diseases such as cancer, obesity, heart disease and high blood pressure. In addition, better mental health would lead to more productive and harmonious homes, schools, workplaces and societies.