Survey: Pandemic has driven better level of personal wellness awareness

According to a recent survey conducted by Young Living, an essential oils company based in Lehi, the COVID-19 pandemic has driven a greater level of awareness and understanding of personal wellness and heightened the importance of self-care and mental health. In the survey, 5,000 adults from around the world were asked about their wellness habits.

The survey found that more than half (57 percent) of global participants report they place more emphasis on taking care of their mental health since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In addition, 53 percent of participants report they’ve developed new wellness habits during the pandemic, 42 percent of participants resolved to set aside more time for their personal wellness in 2021 and 36 percent want to maintain the wellness habits they established during 2020.

The survey also revealed that stress is a huge barrier to happiness, affecting participants daily lives, jobs and more. With typical outlets for stress relief unavailable due to the pandemic, the survey revealed that more individuals conceptualize wellness as a component of mental health now than they did before the pandemic.

The report found that 48 percent of participants stated they are stressed on a typical day and 5 percent are so overwhelmed they almost can’t function. Seventy-three percent of survey respondents spend less than an hour a day engaging in wellness practices and 28 percent of women who responded didn’t take any days off work in 2020, compared to 23 percent of men.

The reason most participants cited for not spending more time on wellness right now are continuing COVID-19 restrictions.

Many of the survey participants said they have taken this time to learn how to take better care of themselves to work through the stress the pandemic has caused with almost half of participants (48 percent) making wellness and self-care a top priority.