Take Out the Trash

• By QEP Committee
• June 13, 2023
• Health

When thinking about our wellness, what typically comes to mind are the things we need to add to our daily routines – things like exercise, mindfulness, more fruits and vegetables, and time-management strategies. Those are certainly important for our wellness. But enhancing our wellness also requires removing things that are obstacles to our well-being. In other words, we often need to think about taking out the trash!

Several years ago, sanitation workers in New York City went on strike. Soon trash began to pile up along the city’s streets. The mounds of trash were unsightly and they smelled awful. The trash that interferes with our wellness is really awful too, but often we can’t see it and therefore, we may not address it.

So what trash do we need to take out to be more well? Here are some things that are common to many of us:

• Negative and self-defeating self-talk
• Jealousy and envy
• Bitterness and resentment
• A tendency to overreact to situations
• Feelings of entitlement
• Difficulty delaying gratification
• Relying on unhealthy coping behaviors such as substance misuse and isolation

While those pieces of trash are common obstacles to wellness, there also may be particular things that we each should consider removing from our lives. A friend, or perhaps a counselor, can help us to identify them. Once we recognize them, we can work to take out that trash!