Where to start?
I know I talk and write about this sometimes mysterious word called 'Wellness' and for many it might feel like an overwhelming-what-the-hell-gibberish-nonsense. So what I wanted to do is to cut it down into bite size pieces and encourage you to make your well-being a priority by addressing at least one of the dimensions of wellness that uniquely impact your health.
Now it's almost impossible to have all pillars balanced equally at all times because that's not how life works. Sometimes it's more of something and other times it's somethings else. This doesn't mean that you can't achieve an overall healthy balanced structure, it means that you might need to check in every once in a while to see what needs to be tended to.
Wellness. The absence of illness.
So what is this wellness that I keep mentioning? Well I see it as personal as each individual but to keep it simple - Wellness is the state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort. A committed lifestyle that integrates all the dimensions of wellness.
And because wellness can mean different things in different contexts to different people, many have divided it into six unique dimensions of wellness that together make someone's life happy and healthy.
Physical – Taking care of your body.
Emotional – Tune-in to your thoughts and feelings.
Social – Participating in positive social relationships.
Spiritual – Listen with your heart and live by your principles.
Intellectual – Encourage creative, stimulating mental activities.
Occupational – Choose a career that suits your personality, interests and talents.
Physical Wellness
Physical wellness promotes the balance of physical activity, nutrition, and mental
well-being to keep a overall healthy body.
Being physically active is crucial to keeping your body in its top condition. A few
proven benefits of physical activity are strengthened bones and muscles, reduced
risk of disease and stroke, and more energy. It is important to nurture your body by
eating a well-balanced diet.
Ways to stay spiritually healthy:
Physical activity.
Avoid tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.
Prioritize sleep.
Manage Stress.
Practice safe sex.
Emotional wellness
Emotional wellness is having the ability to understand and accept how you feel
independently and interpersonally. It involves optimism, self-esteem, and self-
acceptance.
Maintaining a healthy emotional life is important to overall health. Taking care of
your emotional health allows you to accept how you feel and grants you power over feelings. You are able to form more desirable relationships with others and appreciate emotional expression.
Ways to stay spiritually healthy:
Get eight hours of sleep.
Keeping a journal.
Talk to someone you trust.
Social Wellness
Social wellness is the ability to successfully interact with people by developing
friendships, healthy sexual behaviors, or participation in the community. It
allows us to have relationships that can offer support and guidance.
Social wellness allows you to build healthy relationships with others. Having a
supportive social network allows you to develop assertive skills and become
comfortable with who you are in social situations. Surrounding yourself with a
positive social network increases your self-esteem. It also enables you to create
boundaries that encourage communication, trust, and conflict management. In
addition, having good social wellness is critical to building emotional resilience.
Ways to stay spiritually healthy:
Keep in touch with supportive friends and family.
Participate in group discussions.
Join a club or organization.
Spiritual Wellness
Spiritual wellness is the willingness to seek meaning and purpose in human
existence; being open to diverse multi-cultural beliefs, religious faith, values, morals
and ethics that help guide your life. It also can mean knowing which resources to
use to cope with issues that come up in everyday life.
Spiritual wellness allows you to develop a set of values that help you seek meaning
and purpose in life. It allows you to appreciate your life experiences for what they are, therefore creating balance.
Ways to stay spiritually healthy:
Practice acceptance.
Spend time practicing mindful relaxation.
Spend time in nature.
Intellectual Wellness
Intellectual wellness allows you to have an open mind or strong desire for new ideas,
challenges, and experiences that can be applied to personal decisions, group
interaction, and community betterment. It also encourages ongoing intellectual
growth, and creative yet stimulating mental activities which provide the foundation
to discover, process, and evaluate information.
Intellectual wellness allows you to become more mindful and better-rounded. It
leads to exploration and stimulates curiosity. Curiosity is important because it motivates
you to try new things and develop an understanding of how you see the relationship
between yourself, others, and the environment.
Ways to stay spiritually healthy:
Read for pleasure.
Stay updated on local and world news.
Choose a creative hobby.
Occupational Wellness
Occupational wellness involves preparing and making use of your gifts, skills, and talents in order to gain purpose, happiness, and enrichment in your life. The development of occupational satisfaction and wellness is related to your attitude about your work.
Achieving optimal occupational wellness allows you to maintain a positive attitude and experience satisfaction/pleasure in your employment. Occupational wellness means successfully integrating a commitment to your occupation into a total lifestyle that is satisfying and rewarding.
Ways to stay occupationally healthy:
Be open to change and learn new skills.
Create a vision for your future.
Explore a variety of career options.
No matter where you are in life, wellness is a dynamic, ever-changing, fluctuating process. It's a lifestyle - a personalized approach to living life in a way that allows you to reach your fullest potential each day. Don’t worry about getting it perfect; just get started, and become the best kind of person you can be.
Comments