“Wellness” What Does It Really Mean?
Achieving holistic wellness should be an important part of everyone’s life.
According to the World Health Organization, wellness is…
“A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
According to the National Wellness Institute, wellness is…
“A conscious, self-directed, and evolving process of achieving full potential”
Holistic wellness is not static but is an active ongoing lifelong process. In means making choices that lead toward better health in various dimensions of one’s self and life, and becoming aware of one’s own growth and life potential on a daily basis.
When considering wellness we must take into account the entire scope and range of our lives, physically, mentally, spiritually, personally, environmentally, planetarily and also universally.
This means that we must look at our life from birth up until the present moment, the people around us, and the state of the world at the present time and if taking wellness to the ultimate level we must consider our position and place in the universe and even life itself.
This is the largest scale of wellness that we can possibly consider. Holistic wellness takes into account all of these things. It encourages and supports the development of wellness within and throughout all of these areas of our life. Holistic wellness is self-care for the complete well-being of our mind, body, spirit and life.
Dimensions Of Holistic Wellness
There are several different dimensions of holistic wellness that encompass the whole person and various elements in his or her life.
- Emotional wellness involves mood and taking care of your emotional health. It is about paying attention to the development of inner resources, stress reduction, relaxation, and self-care.
- Physical wellness involves preserving a healthy body and getting care when necessary. Physical health includes, diet, exercise, adequate sleep, stress reduction, preventative care and generally taking care of the physical body.
- Mental wellness involves having a clear mind, maintaining the expansion of your knowledge, taking care to keep the mind working at its best, and to maintain clarity, focus, and concentration. Additionally, this dimension of wellness means developing a way of thinking that promotes mental wellness, positive thinking, utilizing creativity, having a strong curiosity and a desire to learn, and maintaining optimal focus, concentration and memory.
- Social wellness involves performing social roles comfortably and effectively, and creating a support network that fosters increased sociability. Social wellness includes obtaining and maintaining connections that facilitate a sense of belonging with other humans, and basing relationships on commitment, trust, honesty, and respect.
- Spiritual wellness means developing a collection of values that help you seek purpose and meaning out of life. Wellness of the spirit refers to when our actions, thoughts, and emotions are in a state of balance and entails cultivating a mindset and way of life that promotes peace, harmony, and balanced development in all areas of life and self. Learning to stay in the moment, mindfulness, practicing gratitude, and learning and appreciating who you really are key components of spiritual wellness. Three methods to achieve spiritual health are through mediation, prayer, and relaxation.
- Environmental wellness involves being inspired to live a life that respects the environment. It is about encouraging yourself to live in peace with the Earth and protect the environment and yourself from environmental hazards.
- Financial wellness involves learning how to manage your finances. Money is important to everyone’s life and, when financial troubles are the greatest causes of stress for many people that can affect our mental and physical health. Learning to successfully manage expenses, taking time to plan and budget, striving when possible to improve monetary situations and accepting your financial limitations while living within your means are key in attaining financial wellness.
- Occupational wellness involves being happy with one’s occupation and valuing one’s contributions to the workplace. It inspires enrichment in one’s work life and personal satisfaction.
- Wellness in quality of life refers to the level of complete balance and satisfaction in your overall life and making the necessary improvements to avoid feeling oppressed, suppressed and depressed.
Why Holistic Wellness Matters
Are you struggling to cope with the issues that you are facing in life?
Do you find yourself caught up in a cycle of bad habits and you long to break them?
All of us are on a personal journey and for most of us, the road doesn’t have to be a difficult one. Although there are many situations in life that you can’t control, wellness gives you the power to develop personal strategies to improve your physical and mental wellbeing.
Why should think about your personal wellness? Here are 5 important reasons why wellness matters to you:
- Reduce stress levels in your daily activities
- Strengthen and expand your personal skills
- Improve your confidence and self-control
- Regain your zest for life
- Build relationships built on trust, honesty, and respect
You can achieve an optimal level of holistic wellness by simply following a lifestyle that includes the practice of every day habits that strengthen your body, mind, spirit, work life, and consequently your quality of life.
By making changes to these aspects of your life and by paying attention to your health, you can enjoy extremely positive effects for your body, mind, and spirit!
