Coffee Chats: Wellness Toolkits with Dr. Tracey Jones

Coffee Chats: Wellness Toolkits with Dr. Tracey Jones

To kick off our Coffee Chats series, we interviewed PsychPhilly founder & Psychiatrist, Dr. Tracey Jones about creating a Wellness Toolkit.

• How do you define a Wellness Toolkit?

Dr. Jones: I think of a Wellness Toolkit as something that is portable and evolves over time. This can be either conceptual, physical, or both depending on your needs. Ultimately, it is a tool for empowerment.

• Why is it important for someone to prepare their Wellness Toolkit now going into the fall and winter months?

Dr. Jones: It's helpful to begin putting together a wellness toolkit now so that as fall and winter get underway, these practices are established and the pieces are actively implemented.

Based on my experience as a healthcare provider, I call the time between October and March The Dark Time.  On a majority of days, people wake up in the dark, go through their day, and go to sleep without having been in the sunshine. It can feel a bit demoralizing when you look out the window and it's dark and you haven't been away from your desk.  So we gravitate towards carbs and sweets during The Dark Times, because “it's been a long, hard day and I deserve it.”

Ideally, there should already be a plan in place for you to enjoy your apple cider donuts and pie a la mode while ensuring that you are also getting your veggies, fruits, and protein source. 

It should feel like a habit. It takes about eight weeks for something to become a habit, so the sooner you start the sooner it starts to feel like a typical part of your day.

• Where should someone start when creating their Wellness Toolkit?

Dr. Jones: I would start by asking what is a toolkit?  What are the basics that every toolkit should have?

In my opinion, every wellness toolkit needs:

-A basic plan for feeding your body. 

-A tool for feeding your mind.

-A plan for feeding your spirit. 

All elements of the mind-body-spirit matrix have to be fed if we're going to walk toward optimal wellness. 

The body runs best on good fuel, just like a car. So the wellness kit could include a meal plan.  It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just a general plan of what am I going to do to feed my brain and body throughout the day?  Plan for hydration.  Have a water bottle that sits on your desk as a visual prompt to drink your water each day. 

The wellness kit should also include, in my opinion, a plan to feed your spirit. You can feed yourself spiritually in different ways. This doesn't have to involve a house or book of worship, but rather something as simple as taking an account of your blessings each day or notating what's going well in your life. 

Considering what’s going right is food for your spirit.

• What is something in your Wellness Toolkit that surprised you?

Dr. Jones: I use a pro-con list. Well, actually, I call it my Anti-Freak-Out List.  If I'm dealing with something very stressful, I will write it down on a piece of paper and write out the catastrophic thoughts that follow. And if you ask me, how can this possibly go wrong? I can generate a pretty scary list.  I will then go across the paper and then write down why each of those probably won’t happen, and the resources to call on to remind me of the objective reality of the situation.

Oftentimes, when we're in stressful places, we lose objectivity of what's really going on.

It surprised me because I thought that seeing it in black and white would freak me out more, but actually, seeing it objectively gives me the space to calm down.

•  How do you recognize when something in your Wellness Toolkit no longer serves you?

Dr. Jones: The big question to ask when you're looking at making a change is based on the goals I have for myself, is this working?

I'll use myself as an example: I realized I was overspending on ordering out.  I had to come to grips with the fact that it wasn't working for me as efficiently as I wanted it to. My wallet felt different. My brain and body felt different. If you eat out enough, it starts to tell on you. 

I decided I needed a new food plan, and when I did that, I felt empowered because I was saving money.  I also discovered I was able to prepare meals in a very short amount of time, which honestly wasn’t much more than the time I had spent ordering out.  That was helpful. I also noticed that I felt physically different.

So again, ask yourself the question based on what my goals are, is this working? to help reevaluate options that you may not have had before.

• Can someone’s physical environment affect their ability to create a Wellness Toolkit?

Dr. Jones: Yes, on a very practical level. I think one of the important pieces in a toolkit is having space dedicated for oneself, but a space where someone can have some quiet reflective time while living in a 400 square foot apartment can be a challenge.

If someone is in an area that is not conducive to body movement, that can be a challenge, but not an obstacle. It is important to be aware of one's physical space when you're looking at putting together those Wellness Toolkit elements.

• Do you feel that it's harder for certain groups of people to establish Wellness Toolkits?  For instance, People of Color and other minorities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and parents.

Dr. Jones: I do. I think that for many caregivers developing a Wellness Toolkit can be more of a challenge because many are socialized to put their own needs on the back burner in order to be available to care for other people.

Sadly, for some Brown people who may want to just take a walk in their neighborhood, depending on the neighborhood that they're in, safety can be a concern.  Recent events have shown someone walking or jogging in their neighborhood and losing their life.  That is something that needs to be taken into consideration.

So yes, there is an added mental burden for some folks that want to implement those pieces of the toolkit. I advise patients to honor their apprehension and be realistic about what their immediate area has to offer in terms of both assets and liabilities. I know just based on the quilt of neighborhoods that make up Philly, how different going from neighborhood to neighborhood or even from block to block can be.  

So I think it's important that, as a healthcare provider, I can bring that honesty to patients when I ask them how are we going to put your toolkit together? and looking at an obstacle and figuring out how we can make it a challenge.

• Would you mind elaborating on what you consider a challenge vs. an obstacle?

Dr. Jones: An obstacle is an immovable object.  Something that you cannot move. You cannot get around it, you cannot go under it or over it, it’s something that simply cannot be done.  But how many absolutes are there really? What is actually an impossibility?  I don't know if there are many things that absolutely cannot be done. 

I'm enough of an optimist and I'm stubborn enough to believe that there are more challenges than obstacles. It becomes a question of sitting down and figuring out how do we make this a challenge? 

Here are some examples:

I can't walk in my neighborhood or I have a bad knee.

Okay, well, maybe could you get one of those little pedal things? Let's figure out on YouTube what exercise videos work for you.  Youtube is free and free is in the budget.

I don't know where to begin in terms of putting together a food plan. 

Alright.  Can we call on your primary care doc? They love talking about preventative health, that is like their reason for living. Do we add that as an option? Is there a nutritionist that comes to your supermarket periodically that you can talk to?

We have all sorts of resources, so how can we make an obstacle a challenge?

• Do you have any final advice for someone starting their Wellness Toolkit?

Dr. Jones: Start with what's closest at hand. What do you have around you?  What is in your residence? And practically speaking, what do you have access to?  Someone may have limited resources, so having an honest inventory about what's available to you – that's the first step. 

Remember, the beginning of the process is the most labor-intensive, but the dividends will be realized. The kit won’t be perfect initially, it may not be perfect later on, but over time you can evolve a Wellness Toolkit that works for you.

• This question goes to the PsychPhilly staff: is there something in your Wellness Toolkit that you feel comfortable sharing?

Dr. Jones: “Body movement. Every morning I get up and stretch for several minutes a day, and I either like to walk or lift weights at the local gym while I'm listening to music.”

Kat: “I like to make new musical playlists each season. The songs act as a feel-good soundtrack while driving or at the end of each day.” 

Jessica: “Every morning I carve out time for quiet reflection over a cup of coffee. I also go for a walk or run every day.”

Michelle: “I love waking up early each morning, taking at least 10 minutes for myself to journal, and spending quality time with my son playing with blocks or legos before heading to work.”