When you think of “wellness”, what comes to mind? For most people it's walking their 10,000 steps, for some it’s eating organic, and for others, it is their diet. More too often we see wellness defined as a self-care or personal wellness. Though personal wellness is a part of total wellness, it's so much more intricate than that. There are 6 areas of wellness, that when working together, creates total wellness: emotional, occupational, physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual.
Emotional wellness is defined as the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times. Environmental factors, relationships, stress, physical health, and more can be negative factors; however, what needs to be stressed more is that most of these factors are not in our control. So how can you be emotionally well? Learning how to be a manager of your emotions is the first step. This does not mean repressing emotions but dealing with what you feel in a healthy way. Talking with someone about your emotional concerns and sharing your feelings with others in a healthy way can help you.
Occupational wellness is achieved if you are doing work that is meaningful to you and that aligns with your values and financial obligations. Improving your occupational wellness can be as simple as doing a job that you enjoy. If that is not possible at the moment, then stay focused on working towards what you want, but in the meantime, find the positives at your current job and make connections with your co-workers.
Physical wellness is simply doing what you can to help strengthen and care for your body, which does not mean the same for everyone, but there are some basic things you can do to be physically well. To achieve physical wellness it is important to eat well - eating food that agrees with your body, knowing what foods make you feel different, and excluding them from your diet. Also, get up and get moving.
Social wellness refers to our relationships with other people and how we interact with them. It has been proven that individuals who have healthy, supportive relationships tend to be happier. You can improve your social wellness by building a community of people around you that have similar interests, like-beliefs, and who support you in personal growth.
Intellectual wellness is the practice of continuing to grow intellectually. We all know that there is some intrinsic reward associated with learning especially when it comes to things we care about. Grow intellectually well by reading books and magazines, staying up to date on current events, practicing problem-solving, or learning a new skill.
Spiritual wellness is achieved through building awareness of purpose and our place in the world as a whole, serving the community, spending time in nature, and meditating. It does not have to be associated with organized religion but it can be. However, being spiritually well can help find purpose, self-awareness, morality, and integrity.