In The Post-Pandemic World, What Exactly Does Wellness Mean?

If there's any silver lining to be found from the pandemic, it might be this: That personal wellness is now becoming more talked about and practiced. Before, it was easy to silo oneself into an endless hamster wheel of work-home-erstwhile hobby — but having the world grind to a halt forced many people to confront unhealthy behaviours like that.

June 12 also happens to be Global Wellness Day, an international movement first celebrated in 2012 as a reminder for people around the world to stop and reassess their wellbeing.

But amidst all the hype and hyperbole, it's easy to lose sight of what wellness truly means — and the many different forms it can take.

We speak to Tal Friedman, a certified naturopathic doctor and head of research at Chiva Som. He tells us just how he has seen wellness change for people over the last year — and offers some tips for people struggling to disconnect.

How do you think the concept of "wellness" has changed since the pandemic began last year? Do people view it differently now, does it have a new meaning?

I don't necessarily think that wellness has a new meaning, but I do think that the pandemic has shed light onto areas of our lives were wellness may have been lacking.

I think this is especially true in regards to mental health and stress management. These have always been areas of concern, but when lockdowns kept getting extended, these issues quickly rose to the top of the list for many people.

For most people, their homes are their sanctuaries — the place where they can unwind after coming home from the office. But that obviously changed during the pandemic: Now almost everyone is working from home, and they’ve probably experienced life in lockdown at least once. How has that shift altered how we perceive and practice wellness?

In many cases not carving out well defined work boundaries (regular working hours/times of the day) led to increased stress and frustration. I think this was the biggest obstacle for many: Feeling additional pressure to hop on video calls while managing the kids (or spouse) is a recipe for burnout if boundaries aren’t in place.

But for others working from home increased their wellbeing in many ways. No longer needing to commute every day, staying in comfy clothes, and a personally customised workspace were a huge benefit for many. In fact, just in these last few weeks there have been numerous polls and articles discussing how many people are not willing to return to offices as things slowly reopen with many choosing to quit their jobs rather than head back to office culture.

Given the "new normal" that we are now in, what are some general bits of advice you could give people who are struggling to cope with pandemic fatigue?

If you are feeling fatigued or burnt out, talk to someone. Whether it’s a close friend, family member or health care professional simply acknowledging how you feel can help.

Spending less time on social media is generally good advice, and I think all the lockdowns have highlighted this for us pretty well. “Doomscrolling,” isn’t doing anyone any good and can increase anxiety, fearfulness and even depression in some cases. I suggest scheduling times for social media each day. Two 15 minute sessions a day, morning and evening. See what friends or family are up to and call it a day.