WELLNESS
Written by: Yasmeen S. Khaleel, Esq. and Renee C. Vidal, Esq.
Last month, our faithful friend Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow which promises six more weeks of winter. This is a time of year when people often feel dull and depressed. Therefore, it is a great time of year to remind everyone of the importance of wellness.
A good friend with expertise in helping others achieve wellness recently informed me that wellness is the “the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes.” They said the goal is not “surviving” but rather to “thrive.” Take this into consideration for those who are or are caring for the disabled, elderly or infirmed. The wellness of the care provider is critical to the care of the disabled, elderly or infirmed.
To this end, that same friend gave me four guidelines to live by and I now share them with caregivers out there:
- Know your limits. Self-care is not selfish. Say when!
- Know how to meditate. Meditation helps you stop and breathe and allows your mind time to focus. It helps fosters awareness and attention and helps you find a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. It also helps relax our typical “knee-jerk” fight or flight response to challenges. Finally, it helps stimulate your brain to produce melatonin and serotonin without the need of a co-pay or appointment or medication/supplements. These are the key hormone and chemical to help with sleep and key body functions as mood, sleep, digestion, nausea, wound healing, bone health, blood clotting and sexual desire.
- Get physical. Stand, stretch, walk exercise, clean or dance! Just move!
- Know your experts. Don’t go it alone. Instead, assemble your people; whether those are professionals or family/friends who can help with medical issues, physical and nutritional well-being and yes, legal matters.
As “counselors of law,” we pride ourselves in guiding our clients to the best possible results. A “counselor of law” is generally a professional who provides advice and deals with various issues, particularly those involving legal matters. This is a more expansive definition than simply “lawyer” which narrowly describes a professional engaged in the practice of law.
As counselors of law, our goal is to both provide advice on matters of legality and help with the application of that advice for our clients. That often involves assembling the best team possible for our clients. This is best illustrated in our files for the disabled, infirmed or elderly. Our advice in such matters extends beyond the possibly incapacitated person and extends to the caregivers as appropriate and necessary. Wellness matters; make the effort to give it the time it deserves.
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