A gentle reminder to embrace wellness every day
Taking care of our well-being is a sentiment shared by many people today—so much so that celebrations and campaigns dedicated to promoting it are observed every year. Some examples include Mental Health Awareness Month every May, World Health Day every April 7, International Day of Yoga on June 21, and perhaps the most compelling of which is Global Wellness Day occurring every second Saturday of June.
Even July is dubbed Social Wellness Month to encourage healthy helpings of meaningful social connections because, after all, wellness is a multidimensional concept consisting of nine key facets. From physical and intellectual to emotional and environmental, feeling good inside and out has depths that some of us forget to explore.
Most especially today when Filipino millennials and Gen Z employees are experiencing more stress, anxiety, and depression, according to the latest AXA Mind Health Report. In particular, nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds (48 percent) and 25- to 34-year-olds (42 percent) “reported suffering from mental health conditions”—higher than the entire population (34 percent).
Men are also disproportionately affected by the stigma surrounding mental health and overall wellness owing to the “man up” mindset prevalent in society. This unfortunate cultural concern has led to higher suicide rates among Filipinos, according to the National Center for Mental Health. And let’s not get started on the worrying events happening globally and nationally.
The fact is, the state of our mental health affects every aspect of our overall wellness, well-being, and quality of life.
Very well, now
So does this mean we have a wellness crisis? Sort of, and primarily in the mental health and well-being context, that to an extent was exacerbated by the pandemic. But this has also brought about a greater awareness from both public and private institutions to boost wellness and well-being support.
In 2024, the Department of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, launched the 2024-2028 Philippine Council for Mental Health Strategic Framework to not only continue the implementation of the Mental Health Act of 2018 but also to enhance the state of well-being and wellness, especially mental health, in the country.
In the private sector, key stakeholders like wellness-focused hotel The Westin Manila, advocates such as certified holistic health coach Nichole Mercado, raw vegan chef and integrative nutrition coach Mia Sison, raw vegan and whole food plant-based chef Cinty Yñiguez, and small-scale food brands such as Croft Bulk Foods, Earth Desserts, and Omberry Açaí are all contributing in not just the collective well-being of Filipinos but also in the growth of the country as a promising wellness destination in the region.
So how else can we effectively press the reset button, incorporate more wellness, and reinvigorate our health? Turns out, after a day celebrating health and well-being, wellness transformation equates to unpacking approaches around us and making holistic rituals part of our everyday life.
A safe space that encourages rest, relaxation, and joy
A healthy home gives you the infrastructure you need to center yourself. With a solid foundation built on an environment that influences holistic health, wellness can really take off. They don’t need to be flashy; they just need to make sense.
Central to this is perhaps your bed—that one place at home where the reset begins and ends. A heavenly bed—one that has enough support, particularly for the spine—and the overall sleep environment (bedding, lighting, room temperature) are factors in improving sleep quality—something many Filipinos struggle with, based on a 2024 study.
You can also incorporate choices (think of color theory, aromatherapy, and well-thought-out personal care) that can make your home a place that boosts your mood and encourages personal relaxation rituals.
Prioritize wellness activities
We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with information. And sometimes it can be inescapable, what with our reliance on smartphones and social media, together with the rise of terms such as doomscrolling and headline anxiety. This can then lead the brain to a state of cognitive overload and, in turn, strain our well-being. So, it is just as important to maintain practices that guard us from external pressure and uncertainty as well as regulate our emotional response to this constant exposure. We can’t control what is happening in the world, but we can control how we respond to it.
Massages, for instance, don’t just offer physical benefits; they also help improve mental well-being. A 2024 research at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience analyzed the effects of touch on physical and mental health and found that yes, touch truly helps improve physical and mental well-being. In addition, the benefits from these consensual touch interventions don’t change regardless of who or how they touched you or how long they did. So go hug it out with a friend or pamper yourself in a 60-minute Heavenly Spa massage treatment (if you want to splurge).
How else can we make life better?
Self-care can also come in different forms. Sound healing or music therapy involves activities that include listening, singing along, or moving to music, meditating, and playing an instrument to help lower cortisol. Even a simple activity such as a sonic reset I recently experienced at The Westin Manila, where you put on Mondo by Defunc over-ear headphones and immerse yourself in a 15-minute playlist—featuring aptly titled tracks like Harris Heller’s “Memory of You,” the soothing “White Main Sky,” and the atmospheric “Midnight Light” whose twinkling keys are akin to starlight—helped in triggering a comforting wave of frisson or physical sensations down the body.
Movement and exercises such as a simple 20-minute high-intensity interval workouts (three sets of 40-second workouts and 20-second rest periods) are linked to improved overall health based on highly researched findings, with most relating the positive effects of exercise to the release of feel-good brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine.
In a similar vein, we should also consider making more informed decisions about nutrition. Seriously choosing the good stuff over processed and inflammatory foods (red meat, commercial baked goods, deep-fried items, sugary beverages, trans fats, and vegetable oils, among others), subscribing to plant-based and pescatarian diets or even making simple healthy swaps like brown rice over white rice, coconut or muscovado sugar instead of refined sugar, tamari or coconut aminos rather than soy sauce are scientifically proven to have a wealth of functional benefits.
There’s also the added benefit of educating ourselves about where food actually comes from and appreciating the farmers and fisherfolk who grow and cultivate the produce we consume.
And finally, loving Filipino food isn’t a hindrance to sustaining healthy nutrition choices because despite it getting a bad rap in popular media for its unhealthy stereotype, the fact is that it is merely a myth. “While our food is gaining more recognition internationally, it’s admittedly the food commonly served at fiestas and special occasions: rich, savory, flavored, and based on red meat and highly processed,” writes Pao F. Vergara in an F&B Report article.
Look beyond fiesta food and go deeper into traditional Filipino cuisine; you’ll discover the healing magic that lies beyond lechon and sisig. “Our Indigenous cuisine is very often grilled, steamed, and boiled,” wrote prolific author and food critic Doreen Gamboa Fernandez in an essay.
At the end of the day, nurturing and nourishing our appetite for wellness depends on how we view life as a whole, with research even confirming the positive effects of optimism on quality of life. It doesn’t mean however that we shouldn’t embrace negative feelings and emotions—they do still have a positive impact and serve a purpose.
These all don’t sound like an epiphany, and that’s fine. Wellness is, after all, inherently personal—no secret sauce required.
