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Wellness is a framework made up of seven basic concepts. These concepts can be used in many ways to help us organize, understand, and balance our own human growth and development. This means that everything we do, every decision we make, every thought we think, and every attitude and belief we hold fits into this framework. The following text is a quote from Truman State University that defines these seven basic concepts (retrieved 3-08-11 from http://successcenter.truman.edu/wellness.asp):
Social Wellness The social dimension encourages contributing to the common welfare of your community. It emphasizes the coexistence of you, society, and the environment along with the pursuit of harmony in your life. It involves developing friendships, healthy sexual behaviors, the ability to interact comfortably with others and generally works for harmony in personal and community environments.
Intellectual Wellness Creative and stimulating mental activities are the basis of intellectual wellness. An intellectually well person uses the available resources, in and out of the classroom, to expand their knowledge and skills for the betterment of their self and society as a whole.is the strong desire to learn from challenges and experiences. It encourages ongoing intellectual growth, and creative yet stimulating mental activities that provide the foundation to discover, process, and evaluate information.
Spiritual Wellness is the willingness to seek meaning and purpose in human existence; being open to diverse multi-cultural beliefs and backgrounds. Being spiritually sound enables one to seek out the perfect harmony between that, which lies within one's own spirit as well as with outside forces that coexist. The question “Who am I and why do I exist?” is the starting point of your journey into spiritual wellness. Through your journey, you will observe and appreciate the beauty of your surroundings and begin to learn the value of things you cannot understand. As you grow spiritually, you seek a harmony between your emotions allowing for avoidance of emotional peaks and valleys. You continually allow your actions to be guided by your beliefs and values.
Emotional Wellness centers on the acceptance of your emotions and feelings. Included is the ability to realistically evaluate your limitations and effectively cope with stress to develop positive self-esteem in order to arrive at personal decisions based upon the integration of one's attitudes and behaviors. An emotionally well individual maintains healthy and satisfying relationships with others.
On the path to emotional wellness, your acceptance and awareness of a wide range of feelings in yourself and others becomes more apparent. The ability to manage, understand and express your emotions will be enhanced leading to the development of relationships based on mutual commitment, trust, and respect. During your exploration, life will become more rewarding, hopeful, and exciting.
Physical Wellness encourages regular physical activities, proper nutrition and health care, such as exercise or sports, and personal hygiene. Activities leading to high levels of wellness, including nutritional knowledge, exercise, and appropriate use of the medical system are encouraged while detrimental activities, including the consumption of drugs and excessive alcohol are discouraged.
Throughout the journey to physical wellness, one should strive to spend more attention on building flexibility, cardiovascular, and muscular abilities. The relationship between sound nutritional practices and health will become more apparent and appreciated. Physical wellness allows you to understand your body’s warning signs and take responsibility by appropriately adjusting your lifestyle.
Occupational Wellness involves gaining personal satisfaction and finding enrichment in your life through work. It focuses on the integration of various components of the wellness framework into planning for a healthy future, such as career, family and future wellness. It develops the understanding that decisions and values may change as new information arid experiences are attained. Your choice of profession, job satisfaction, career ambitions, and personal performance are all important components of occupational wellness. Value your own personal satisfaction and your contribution to society. Choose both paid and unpaid activities based on your skills, talent, and values that are exciting and rewarding.
Environmental Wellness involves a number of different aspects of personal and societal responsibility. We may not think much about Environmental Wellness as part of an overall wellness plan, but our environment and how we feel about it can have a huge impact on the way we feel overall.
Environmental well-being includes trying to live in harmony with the Earth by understanding the impact of your interaction with nature and your personal environment, and taking action to protect the world around you. Protecting yourself from environmental hazards and minimizing the negative impact of your behavior on the environment are also central elements. Leading a lifestyle that is respectful to our environment and minimizes any harm done to it is a critical part of environmental wellness.*
Wellness is...:*
a direction in which by its nature, moves us toward a more proactive, responsible and healthier existence.
the integration of the body, mind, and spirit.
the loving acceptance of ourselves today and the exciting free search for who we choose to become tomorrow.
choice living; a compilation of the daily decisions we make that lead us to that person we choose to become.
As you can read from the above, wellness is a CHOICE! Tonight, I will provide an action plan that can help you get started.
*As defined by Truman State University, 2011.
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