Family Wellness – Essential Prerequisite for Health and Development
Genoveva Uzunova, M.D., Ph.D.
Physician -Scientist Studying and Developing Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Treatments for Psychiatric, Neurologic, Immunologic, Rare Disorders, Artist, Ballerina, Art Therapist, Positive Psychiatry Enthusiast
May is National Family Wellness Month and for this observance, I wrote a Supplement to the May Edition of my LinekdIn newsletter "The Biomedical Artist". May is also National Mental Health Awareness Month and National Creativity Month and mental health, creativity, and family wellness are intertwined.
For this newsletter, I devote one part to biomedical aspects of family wellness, and another part - to the role of art in wellness.
Family Wellness Month emphasizes the importance of comprehensive health and wellness for families. It began as a response to growing concerns about physical and mental health, recognizing the significant role of a supportive family environment in maintaining overall well-being.
1.?????? What is family wellness? It is complex and besides health, includes economic factors. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Family well-being occurs when all family members are safe, healthy, and have chances for educational advancement and economic mobility. Support services such as early care and education, housing and food assistance, and physical and mental health care positively contribute to the well-being of families and their children. When families face challenges that cause stress, including poverty and homelessness, their health and wellness can be negatively impacted. Engaging families as active participants in problem-solving and goal-setting can help them identify and use their own strengths to address the challenges they face. When families are healthy, safe, and economically stable, their children's health and well-being can thrive.
?From this definition of the U.S. HHS, it is evident that many factors contribute to family wellness, which in turn is essential for the optimal functioning of families and societies. Factors that promote wellness are activities that support optimal physical health and mental health of all family members such as proper nutrition, exercise, healthy lifestyle, education, and supporting healthy emotional development and management. In this respect, art plays a very valuable role by supporting emotional expression and emotional health, connections between individuals, and reducing stress, which can negatively impact family well-being.
2.?????? Some suggestions for suitable activities during May Family Wellness Month from Mass General Brigham Hospital are as follows:
3.?????? Some additional suggestions from me are to include more art and creative activities such as painting and drawing together as a family, drawing mandalas together, singing together, dancing, playing creative games that challenge the mind, and including more arts in your family time. Read poetry, discuss a book, cook healthy meals together, study lessons with your children, the possibilities are many!
My photo of painting mandalas with watercolors:
In mentioning mandalas, I would like to note that with the increase in human lifespan, older individuals, and Alzheimer's and dementia, family wellness includes also caring for older and ill family members in a supportive environment, and minding the well-being of caregivers themselves.
I am incredibly grateful to our Dad who cherished his family and always, no matter how busy he was at work, took time to play with us, cook for us with Mom or alone, help us with schoolwork, take us to museums, nature, and spend time every day asking us about our daily lives, school, dreams, aspirations, goals, and problems. Of course, Mom also asked us about our daily lives, friends, dreams, aspirations, and challenges. I felt Dad was someone who I could talk to easily because he was not judgmental. I loved our dear Mom, but she liked to let Dad spend time with us playing while she cooked or worked on her literature searches, class preparation, or writing. And it is amazing how playtime connects so I felt as a kid more connected emotionally to Dad than to Mom. As I grew up, this situation changed. In addition to spending time with us, Dad liked to let us have time alone, after dinner and he valued our privacy even as kids. After dinner he never came into my room or if he had something to ask he knocked on the door whereas Mom just entered my room and didn’t worry if it was late at night.
This is an interesting view on the role of play in children’s lives:
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?To celebrate this National Family Wellness month, I painted a watercolor painting “The Green Family Hiking in the Berkshires”. Dad, Mom, the little toddler daughter, and their puppy are all enjoying healthy physical exercise together in beautiful nature, sunshine, and fresh air. They are also enjoying time bonding as a family. To paint it, I used photos of pictures I had taken when we hiked with Lloyd Williams in the Berkshires and saw a pond with waterlilies, butterflies, beautiful green trees, and flowers.
?Another two watercolor paintings of mine for this month, depicting the importance of Family wellness are:
This is a beautiful painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art from our visit with Lloyd, “First Steps” by Vincent Van Gogh, depicting family time together.
?This is a photo from my cardio kickboxing class, with dads and moms with their little children.
In conclusion, promoting family wellness will result in less childhood neurodevelopmental and other mental health disorders and in healthier families and societies overall. An important aspect of promoting family wellness is to include more creative and artistic activities, such as creating art, cooking, and visiting museums, which is very educational.