Wellness Trifecta Worksheets

In the ever-stimulating world of social media and screens, you may often feel like you’re on an emotional roller coaster.

One minute, your post is nearly going viral and the next, a frenemy sends you a nasty message and ruins your whole day. Without your even realizing it, a sequence of events like this can cause you to lose your appetite, stay in your room all day in a foul mood, or be awake at night chatting with friends about how you plan to confront a cyberbully. Needless to say, the foundational elements of your well-being can suffer: sleep, nutrition, and exercise. Of course, wellness also encompasses many other important factors, such as healthy relationships and self-care. However, few of those are possible when your basic needs are not met. Below, the complex relationship between these factors is illustrated:

You’ll often find that these three important factors in your well-being each contribute to your mood and influence each other.

See if you can identify with any of these scenarios:

Samantha got home from school exhausted after a long day of being quizzed by teachers and teased online by friends. She came home and took a three-hour nap. She awoke around six to eat a snack. As a result, she missed dinner and was not tired enough to go to bed until one in the morning. She woke up the next day groggy and cranky and spent the rest of the day irritated.

Rashid was sitting on the bench during football practice, due to an injury. He felt bad about not being able to work out, so he spent practices on his phone, barely watching the team, trying to numb out his feelings. He started overeating and oversleeping and couldn’t find the energy to work out and start rehabilitating his body.

Tina was always anxious about seeming perfect on social media and living a glamorous-looking life. This anxiety often led her to skip meals, as she just didn’t have an appetite. Although her therapist recommended exercise, she had no extra energy left to expend with so little food in her. At night, the anxiety kept her awake and she struggled to fall asleep.

It is clear to see from an outside perspective how each of these teens could benefit from an intervention:

If Samantha got her sleep under control, she might be able to get back to a healthier eating pattern that would also help her mood. With a better mood, she might have more interest in exercise and taking care of her body.

If Rashid started working out with his team, he might be motivated to make healthier food choices that wouldn’t leave him as lethargic.

If Tina started eating more foods that were nourishing and appealed to her, she might slowly find the energy to exercise. The exercise then might help her sleep more soundly and be an outlet for her anxiety.

Clearly, each of these factors impacts the others. To make a positive impact in the other domains, you can intervene at any point in the cycle. Take a moment to think about your life circumstances. Write down which part of the trifecta you might start with and how this might trickle down to the other factors:

To further help you in maximizing sleep, exercise, and nutrition to protect your mood from the ups and downs of life on social media, download the Wellness Trifecta Worksheets.