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Wellness Exchange in Action: Steps to Boost Your Well-Being

Worried woman on laptop searching for tips to help with her well-being

Life can be stressful. These stressors can range from work issues, interpersonal conflicts, to the daily stressors such as sitting in traffic. Community social service workers face unique challenges by caring for others that can really impact their overall well-being. Having effective tools within your toolbox when life stressors pop up can be a protective factor for your overall well-being. In this article, we will be exploring what the Wellness Exchange Program is, and go through some practical, simple steps for moving towards wellness.  

What is the Wellness Exchange Program? 

The Wellness Exchange Program was adapted from the Alberta Health Services Wellness Exchange Toolkit by Provincial Health Services Authority. It was created to help individuals build a resilience toolkit and modelled after skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) group format. The Wellness Exchange Program can be used in both disaster response recovery and in non-disaster settings to help manage life’s stressors. Training is delivered through a five-week series of one-hour workshops covering these topics:

  1. Problem Solving
  2. Positive Activities
  3. Managing Reactions
  4. Helpful Thinking
  5. Healthy Connections

1. Problem Solving 

Have you experienced a problem in the past that you had difficulty solving? Maybe it took you a very long time to come to a resolution, and this could have caused distress and disruption for a long period of time. This module explores a structured way of problem solving which encourages participants to influence what they can by taking a step-by-step approach. This can increase our confidence and propel us to explore options for problem solving with more confidence 

  • Action Plan: Write it down
    Do you know that writing things down uses a different cognitive process than merely thinking or contemplating on a matter? One simple way to effectively problem solve is to write things down. This could be a pros and cons list or a brain dump of what you’ve been reflecting on. Writing can increase our critical thinking, memory and creativity in regard to problem solving.1

2. Positive Activities 

Positive activities are the things we do that can really improve our overall wellbeing. When are you most likely to do things, you enjoy or that improves your mood? When it comes positive activities, for some people it might be weather dependent, meaning, they’re likely to do enjoyable activities during the warmer months. Having a plan with activities you can do year-round can help increase your mood and improve your mental health.  

  • Action Plan: Rate How You Feel
    Becoming an observer of ourselves can be a very effective way of growing our understanding of what brings us joy and how to self soothe in times of stress. Keep a record of how you feel before and after engaging in a positive activity. For example, if you listen to music after a long day, or exercise during your lunch break, go ahead and observe how you feel after. Rate your mood before and after the activity on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. You may come up with some interesting and insightful data on what works well for you. 

3. Managing Reactions 

Most people find managing their reactions while facing a stressor to be difficult. Learning to regulate reactions can help protect our wellbeing, our relationships and also help with responding in ways that are healthy and helpful. This module explores the purpose of emotions and guides participants to identify their own stressors and reactions, while reacting a plan on how to react in healthier ways. 

  • Action Plan: Notice your thoughts
    When you’re experiencing a reaction that you don’t think is helpful, take a moment to notice some of your thoughts. For example, you can say- “I notice I am having a thought that…” then specify what the thought is. This can bring awareness to what are thoughts are and also help us look at our thoughts more objectively.2  

4. Helpful Thinking 

Our thoughts can have a big impact on how we see the world, ourselves and even our future. This module explores different common unhelpful thinking styles and strategies for more helpful thinking. Learning these skills can help persons improve their overall mood and increase feelings of wellness and hope. 

  • Action Plan: Keep a Thought Journal
    It can be challenging to work on unhelpful thinking if we are unaware of what those unhelpful thoughts are in the first place. A first step could be to journal or keep a record of what some of these unhelpful thoughts are. Ask yourself, is there another way I can look at this that is more helpful yet true? Helpful thinking is not false positivity. It is a structured way of creating a narrative that is both true and helpful.  

5. Healthy Connections 

Social support and connecting with others can reduce feelings of isolation, increase belonging and is a vital contributing factor to our well-being. This module can help a participant identify the areas they need support in when it comes in their social life and create a plan for getting or giving support in a way that is effective and aligns with their values. 

  • Action Plan: Express gratitude/appreciation to someone in your life
    Take a moment to express gratitude to someone who supports you. Expressing gratitude to a safe person within your social circle can have a twofold benefit. It can help improve the mood of the person expressing gratitude since it focuses on the positive areas in that person’s life. Also, by expressing gratitude to someone you appreciate, it helps strengthen the relationship and bond. This expression of gratitude can be big or small for example, a verbal affirmation or something else that aligns better with your values and relationship.  

Get Involved 

Ready to enhance your well-being and connect with your peers? Join us in building a healthier and more resilient sector. Sign up for the Wellness Exchange Program. 

References 

  1. Metropolitan State University of Denver Writing Center. “Writing as a Thinking Tool.” Metropolitan State University of Denver, https://www.msudenver.edu/writing-center/faculty-resources/writing-as-a-thinking-tool/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025. 
  2. Harris, Russ. ACT Made Simple: An Easy-to-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. 2nd ed., New Harbinger Publications, 2019.