From Amanda's very early writing (1990s to early 2000s), shared as it was originally written.
2 WELLNESS ATTACKS
Last week I was at a conference when a bright eyed, bubbly, vivacious woman bounced up to me , talking enthusiastically about the session I had just spent with them. Her (male) colleague wandered up behind her and said 'don't mind her - she's always having wellness attacks!'
What a great concept. Forget anxiety attacks, panic attacks, stress attacks - start having wellness attacks!
You will always know someone who is suffering from a welllness attack by the following symptoms; they will have radiant skin and look like they are bursting with energy and vitality; they will eat healthy foods - most of the time and pig out with great delight occasionally; they will be smiling or laughing and their eyes will be sparkling; they will be using positive words and phrases and tending to look at the up side of any situation; they won't take life too seriously and delight in laughing at themselves; they laugh at least fifteen times a day; they will be fit because they exercise regularly - like walk four kilometres in thirty minutes four times a week; they will have an average of seven hours sleep every night; they will have a balanced lifestyle , where they see friends and family, as well as work; they recognize the importance of spending time with their friends ; they are committed to a life of joy and satisfaction; they are into personal growth and development and attend courses to challenge their thinking; they think that mistakes equal learning rather than abject failure; they are forgiving (most of the time) rather than storing anger and hostility; they really enjoy the things they enjoy - instead of feeling guilty; they keep learning new skills that broaden their horizons or may have a hobby that involves them; they have a passion and purpose in life that motivate them to be enthusiastic; they accept life flows and has lows and highs; and they are generally happy.
What if we consciously decided to have a wellness attack for a certain time every day ? And maybe we could extend the wellness 'happy hour' into two and three hours, until we spent most days having a 'wellness attack'.
What could we use to trigger a wellness attack? Panic, anxiety and stress attacks are easily triggered by words, thoughts and beliefs about people, situations or things, so lets create wellness triggers.
Whenever you hear a particularly common word like 'hello' or 'hi' notice whether you are smiling or not - and if you aren't then break into a cheesy grin!; each time you look at the telephone or some item in your office , stop and listen to what you are saying to yourself - if it's something negative replace it with a positive statement; when you see it's a sunny day use that as a trigger to do some exercise - or to make a commitment to regular exercise; when the phone rings stand up and stretch to give your body a physical break; and then ring a friend and organize to meet them for lunch or dinner; instead of tuning out in front of the TV and waking up at midnight with a headache, use the late night news as a trigger for going to bed. Use everything in your day to remind you to check whether you are having a wellness moment let alone a wellness attack - because accumulated wellness moments equal a wellness attack!
Start talking in your family about wellness attacks - ask each other over dinner to describe wellness moments of the day. Of course this seems strange initially, and the cynics (not a wellness quality if it's permanent ) out there will be muttering 'we don't' even have dinner together let alone talk to each other and ask stupid questions', but it's worth the effort. Even if we develop the habit of asking 'what's the best thing that happened to you today?' which makes us focus on the positive aspects of the day as opposed to the millions of things that went wrong.
In quantum physics it can be demonstrated that there is an energy exchange between people - we literally give and receive energy. Have you ever had the experience of waking up in the morning and having some energy; you emerge for the day feeling good and encounter someone; at the end of five minutes with this person you stagger away thinking 'geez, I feel crook'! That person was an energy sucker! And they should be avoided at all costs - they are hazardous to our health. If you recognize yourself as an energy sucker , stop it! And start having wellness attacks - you are an energy giver during an attack. If you're not an energy sucker, start having more wellness attacks because they recharge your energy batteries. Become like that lovely young woman I met and have friends and colleagues define you as 'oh, never mind him/her , she's always having wellness attacks!
