It’s no secret that 2020 has been a challenging one, which makes it more important than ever to learn how to find wellness and ways to regulate ourselves. That is why our Flawless Friend Ife Lenard, MSW, EdM and Ericka Echavarria, LMSW, JD hosted the webinar How Can We Be Daringly and Radically-Well During Times of Upheaval? to teach participants how to adapt to all of life’s unexpected shifts and demands in order to find calm through the storm. Check out our top takeaways!
Defining “Radical Wellness”
To learn how to be Radically Well, it is important to understand what that means. Based on the original definition, someone who is Radically Well is:
But it is important to note that Radical Wellness and its meaning is constantly evolving; this is a fluid definition because, as Ife says, “life happens”, so the tools you need to be well will need to adapt.
Radical Wellness Requires Radical Honesty
While it’s important to be honest with others, it’s most important to be honest with yourself so that you can learn to love and accept your true self. Ericka shares that Radical Wellness “includes the parts of ourselves that maybe some would qualify as negative. The grief, the rage, the pain.” It is important to acknowledge all parts of yourself, which does not take away from wellness or your ability to build resilience.
Practicing Self-Care
At every chance we get, the Flawless Foundation emphasizes the power of Self-Care, and this webinar reaffirmed our stance. To be Radically Well is to “understand the beneficial deposits of self-care and the absence of it.” Ife and Ericka defined 10 healing factors to be Radically Well: having purpose and meaning, empowering yourself, following your intuition, herbs and supplements, increasing positive emotions, exercise and movement, changing your diet, releasing suppressed emotions, spiritual connection, and increasing social support.
Accept Being Radically Well
Being Radically Well is not the pursuit of perfection, or to be unbothered by our circumstances. It is instead the commitment and the “choice, in a fluid way, to keep going towards wellness when it is hard”. To be Radically Well means developing a strong sense of resilience, perseverance, and grit, to choose to adapt to the curveballs of life and refuse to give in to difficult circumstances. It is to be grounded in love and bold in the face of fear, but not negating any of the emotions that come with it.
Radical Wellness will look different to everyone because we all have unique needs and are all impacted by life challenges in different ways. This resilience allows us to approach our individual circumstances and remain well, even times of emotional upheaval. Tips and tools that we really need to practice in our “new normal’ of our lives in 2020.
