In follow up to an earlier article I am going to continue with discussing the major aspects of human wellness. Remember that wellness if more than just physical health, it is a "lifestyle choice characterized by personal responsibility for and optimal enhancement of physical, mental and spiritual health". (Hales and Lauzon)
Wellness includes 6 major dimensions: Social, Occupational, Spiritual, Physical Intellectual and Emotional wellness. Let's take a look at each of these:
Social Wellness
Social wellness allows us to "explore the depths of our souls and the height of our emotions" (Hales and Lauzon). Social wellness encompases our ability to relate and contribute to society, to assist other human beings and to value the concept of being interdependant on freinds, family, coworkers and the environment around us. Being Socially well requires that we are able to enter into intimate relations, that is relations that allow for open, trusting sharing of close thoughs and feelings. Remember it is not necessary for intimate relationships to be sexual in nature!
Looking at marriage statistics is a good way to put the importance of social wellness into persepective! Married people are happier, healther and liver longer, in fact research shows that single men have a mortality rate 250% higher than married men, and single women have a mortality rate 50% higher than married women. Marriage has also been shown to decrease suicide risk, drinking and substance abuse, mental health disorders and to improve physical health! Wow! Who knew that Social wellness could do all that :)
Occupational Wellness
Finding enrichment through work can enhance our well being, after all we do spend the majority of our day at work! So the challenge is to find a career that is consistent with your personal values, interests and beliefs, and that allows you to share your talents with others.
Remember that even if you have the perfect job, all work and no play makes for a dull world! There is overwhelming research to show that regular vacaction improves health! In fact I was just watching a news piece this morning that was comparing the health of Europeans to North Americans, we were dismal in comparison to our cross ocean neighbours! And what was stated as the major cause of this difference?!? Vacation! Europeans are more likely to leave work at work, to participate in social activities and recieve an average of 5 paid weeks of vacation a year, compared with our average of just 2 weeks! It's important to rest, rejevuanate and relax! You will perform better at your Occupation with regular breaks, thus vacation also increase occupational health and satisfaction.
Intellectual Wellness
The brain is the only organ in your body that is capable of self awareness, so keep it healthy! Intellectual wellness is our ability to think about and learn from new information and life experience. It provide us with the ability to question and evaluate information, as welll as think critically about life and health information. Continual exposure to intellectual growth and stimulation has been shown decrease the risk and severity of diseases like dimensia, in other words...use your brain or loose it! So if you are one of those people with a desk piled as high as a mountain that never steps outside the office, maybe it's time to consider enrolling in that continuing education seminar you've been dreaming about for years!
Spiritual Wellness
As mentioned in earlier articles, spiritual wellness is our ability to find purpose in life and to experience love, joy, peace and fullfillment. Spiritual wellness unites all other aspects of wellness together. It challenges us to find inner harmony, and share this harmony with every dimension of our lives.
Emotional Wellness
Emotional wellness is our ability to feel positive and enthusiastic about life. People who are emotionally well, are not without emotional concerns in life, rather they are able to express and mange their feelings. Those individuals who excell at emotional wellness recongnize problems and are able to ask for help when they are feeling blue! So let's all work on this together....express your emotional feelings to a freind today, and be sure to listen and support this freind through their feelings in return.
Physical Wellness
Physical wellness is our attention to our bodies physical needs and nutrition. In order to be well, we must firt be healthy. Great health requires that our bodies are fit, that is that we have a basic level of strength, endurance and flexibility. It also requires a strong nutrition program and health Body Mass Index.
Physical wellness, participating in regular physical activity, allows us to decrease stress and clear our minds, which in turn allows us to work on other areas of wellness. The positive endorphins released during exercise boost our mood, and increase our chances of finding happiness and fullfillment!
Not convinced? Well why not come try it for yourself!! Contact me to recieve a free fitness analysis and trial workout at spa lady today.
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