Free Workshop Feb.11: Spin the Wellness Wheel and Find Your Way to Emotional Well-Being

Exploring the many facets of “wellness” – and how they work or don’t work in your life – is the focus of an interactive virtual free workshop being offered monthly (next class Feb.11, 4 p.m.) by COVID Support VT. The statewide program helps people cope with pandemic stress through education, emotional support and connection to community resources.

SIGN UP FOR THE WELLNESS WHEEL WORKSHOP HERE.

The Wellness Wheel Explores Eight Dimensions of Wellbeing

This workshop series uses the Wellness Wheel to identify and build upon skills we already possess to explore the eight dimensions of wellness: social, environmental, physical, emotional, spiritual, occupational, intellectual, and financial. Different variations of the wellness wheel concept are used across the spectrum of the health delivery system as a means to help people understand the components of emotional well-being and seek support if they need it. Before they’re in crisis. 

Sunny Naughton is a native Vermonter and one of the Support Counselors who answers the COVID Support VT warmline (2-1-1, option #2). She leads the Wellness Wheel workshops with energy and enthusiasm for helping people uncover their strengths and target areas of their life that they may want to improve. She sees it as a tool for organizing our thoughts and aspirations around different areas of our life. 

Wellness is More Than Physical Health

“It’s one of those things you wish young people had learned in high school,” Naughton says. “It reminds us to think about ‘wellness’ as more than just physical health, and how our physical and mental health can be affected by things we might not realize. You can see where you’re doing a good job and what places you would like to work on.”

This workshop encourages community members, professionals, and providers to communicate openly and honestly about personal and community wellness. And, it provides a template for self-assessment, planning, and implementing changes when a need to do so is identified. “Free-writing” exercises are used strategically “so people have a chance to clear their heads,” as Naughton puts it, and to encourage self-reflection.  

Please bring writing materials and a desire to explore where you are with your personal wellness and where you want to be.

In addition to her roles as workshop leader and Support Counselor for COVID Support VT, Sunny Naughton is a nationally recognized Mental Health First Aid facilitator. In 2019, she was named the number one Mental Health First Aid trainer in Vermont and a Prevention Champion by Prevention Works VT. With over 20 years of presenting experience, she has worked with youth and families across the United States and enjoys engaging in experiences that allow everyone in the room to feel comfortable and empowered. She has a background in human services, journalism and the entertainment business, and lives in her childhood home in Newport, VT.

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Learn about other upcoming Wellness Groups and Workshops from COVID Support VT, and Town Halls we’re hosting in partnership with community organizations.

Need to talk?

Call 2-1-1 (option #2) or 866-652-4636 (option #2) for free, confidential, one-on-one counseling. Our Support Counselors are available Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

In crisis? If you or someone you care for is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, you can: call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-825;  text VT to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor 24/7; connect with your local community mental health agency for 24/7 support at https://vermontcarepartners.org/intake-and-crisis-lines/

Find resources and tools for coping with stress at www.COVIDSupportVT.org. Don’t forget to follow COVID Support VT on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And, to stay up-to-date, sign up for our newsletter and blog.

COVID Support VT is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency, managed by Vermont’s Departments of Emergency Management and Mental Health, and administered by Vermont Care Partners, a statewide network of sixteen non-profit community-based agencies providing mental health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disability services and supports.