Most us think of nature or of the home we live in when we consider what our “environment” is. However, our true environments are made up of so much more than this. Furthermore, our environments play a tremendous role in influencing our health behaviors and outcomes. The simplest way to define our environments is to break them down into three primary categories: the people we spend time with, the places we spend time frequenting, and the things we spend time doing. By analyzing these three areas of our lives, we can get an accurate picture of the positive and negative influences in our life and the strength they carry.
People
Motivational speaker Jim Rohn is quoted as saying, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” This may be a bit too simply derived, but the basic idea remains true. We humans have a tendency to assimilate to the social norms, behaviors, and expectations of the “tribes” we end up a part of. For example, consider a young man who usually only drinks a beer or two every once in awhile. He recently joined an intramural basketball team that plays 3-4 evenings per week, and became fast friends with his teammates. After every practice or game, the teammates go out for drinks together. The young man soon drinks more heavily and more habitually, doing his best to match his teammates drink for drink despite his lack of previous partying-type experience. One night after drinks with the team, he’s had a few too many but gets behind the wheel anyways, causing an accident and catching his first DUI case. The people in his life influenced him environmentally in multiple ways that led to poor, addictive choices and tragic outcomes.
Places
A modest estimate of the number of hours an average adult in the USA who works full-time will spend outside of their home at work (assuming it’s a location-specific job) in their lifetime is 104,000 hours. Add to that all of the hours we spend at other people’s houses, out and about running errands, participating in community activities, etc. and you begin to realize we don’t actually spend that much time in our homes. Of course our home plays a role in defining our environment, but based purely on time-spend, all of the other places may play an even larger role. For example, consider a woman who recently suffered a traumatic experience of sexual harassment from a boss at her workplace. She feels trapped because this job is her main source of income and there are bills to pay, but she no longer feels safe going to work each day. She could get another job, but she has a 3 year old daughter and daycare expenses are astronomical these days – she simply cannot afford the time it takes to look, apply, interview, etc. She begins to experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. The place in her life that she most relies on for her family’s livelihood is influencing her environmentally in a way that is hurting her mental health.
Things
This area of our environment boils down to one simple question: what do you do with your free time? Some of us have hobbies, group sports or special interest clubs, church groups or nonprofit volunteering, etc. that keep us relatively busy. Many of us are parents which is a full-time job all on its own. All of us also have a “bad habit” or two, some activity that doesn’t necessarily produce healthy outcomes for us. For example, consider a person who scrolls Facebook or Instagram for the last 90 minutes or so each night as they lay in bed before falling asleep. They are assaulted with comparative posts, advertisements, tragic or enraging news stories, and the occasional funny meme or cute animal photo. In the mornings, this person usually struggles to wake, and feels in a generally sour mood – almost certainly due to sleeping poorly. The thing this person made an evening routine influenced them environmentally in a way that has led to poorer physical and emotional health.
One of the best ways to make a positive change in your life, especially as it relates to your own wellness or recovery journey, is to analyze and reset your environment. The Willow Center can help you along the way! Call us at 317-852-3690.
-Written by Chase Cotten, Community Director
