Healing: Cura Personalis
The most recent copy of my undergrad alumni magazine bears the title: “Cura Personalis.” Being a Jesuit institution, it is not unusual to see Latin phrases bandied about as if everyone knows them. However, I didn’t study Latin and before reading the lead article could only guess what that phrase might mean. Personal cure? Self-healing? Self-care?
“Cura Personalis” means “caring for the whole person,” body, mind, and spirit, and is a hallmark of Jesuit spirituality. (Those Jesuits are still teaching me, 20+ years after graduation!) The magazine article emphasizes not just wellness but well-being and not just on an individual level but the physical, mental, and spiritual health of the whole community. Each piece contributes to the whole and when one part hurts, there’s an impact on everything else.
It is not surprising for a college magazine to highlight this subject. Mental and emotional health affect your performance, whether academic or something else. At my husband’s alma mater, five students died by suicide in the first six months of the current school year. My alma mater created a new position: assistant vice president for student well-being and incorporated mental health days into the academic calendar.
Those of us outside the ivory tower are impacted as well. As a society, we are in a mental health crisis. Our poor mental health affects our physical health, our decision-making, how we drive, and what we post on social media, to name just a few aspects of our lives. Our quality of health impacts our behavior, which impacts the world around us.
How are you caring for your whole person? Fresh air and sunshine? Stretching and yoga? Engaging in meaningful relationships? It’s important to pay attention to your mental health as much as your physical health. Don’t dismiss symptoms out of hand. Notice your triggers and when you feel irritable to see if there’s a pattern.
Your well-being is important. Cura Personalis. Make sure you’re caring for your whole self. You caring for your whole self helps me care for my whole self helps us care for our whole community.