Written with contributions by Nikki Prosch, former SDSU Extension Health & Physical Activity Field Specialist.
Wellness is a term encompassing many different dimensions and living a healthy life involves an active process of adopting behaviors in many different interacting areas. An individual’s wellness includes aspects from a number of different influences, those including occupational, physical, environmental, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and social areas of life.
Occupational Wellness
Occupational Wellness is the ability of an individual to achieve balance between work and leisure time and finding enjoyment and satisfaction through work. It is achieved through enjoyment of your current career (Do you enjoy going to work each day?), managing work related tasks (Do I appropriately manage my workload and time?), and feeling of accomplishment and success through your career (Do my job duties contribute positively to my wellbeing?; Do I grow professionally or personally through my job?). Often times, occupational wellness may be overlooked as a contributing dimension to your overall wellness.
Physical Wellness
Physical Wellness is achieved through appropriately engaging in regular physical activity, eating a balanced diet, appropriately seeking healthcare and completing regular check-ups. Establishing a regular exercise routine – following the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, consuming a healthful diet following United States Department of Agriculture Choose My Plate recommendations, achieving the recommended hours of sleep, receiving annual check-ups, appropriately practicing safety measures, and seeking medical self-care all have a strong role in the physical wellness of an individual. Although this dimension of wellness may seem as if it encompasses a number of different areas, think of the multiple areas in your life that define whether or not you feel physically well. For example, if you did not get enough sleep at night, each day and over time your physical wellness takes the toll of this deficit.
Environmental Wellness
Environmental Wellness is achieved through respect and knowledge of the world around us. Appropriately protecting yourself from environmental hazards, minimizing negative behaviors such as littering and air pollution, awareness of the natural resources, and awareness of climate change are all ways to accomplish environmental wellness. This may also be an area of your wellness that is often forgotten; however the environment around us affects our lives in the present day and our lives in the future.
Emotional Wellness
Emotional Wellness refers to aspects of your mental health including your feelings, emotions, and reactions. Emotional wellness encompasses how you view yourself as well as how you cope with the challenges in your life. Some suggestions to preserve a positive state of emotional wellness include focusing on keeping a positive attitude, learning to adequately cope with stress, and acquiring self-awareness of your own feelings and those around you.
Spiritual Wellness
Spiritual Wellness is acquired through perceiving meaning and purpose in life. Spiritual wellness may be accomplished through exploring religion, cultures and/or participating in meditation; helping others through community service; engaging in activities that protect the environment; and finding some quiet time to participate in self-reflection.
Intellectual Wellness
Intellectual Wellness involves becoming a life-long learner by seeking intellectually stimulating activities. Through this process, it may be helpful to seek opportunities that you are interested in and can utilize critical thinking skills to question the world around you, expose yourself to new and exciting challenges, and learn through experiences.
Social Wellness
Social Wellness refers to how we interact with those around us – our friends, family, and colleagues. Social wellness involves establishing friendships, engaging in community activities, and recognizing when “fun” is needed in your life. It is especially important to have others around to provide support during challenging times.
Overall, maintaining optimal wellness involves a conscious, self-directed effort to make healthier choices within all of the wellness dimensions. It is an active process where you make choices to live a healthier lifestyle. By utilizing a holistic approach to wellness, you may find balance in various facets of life and enhance the meaning and quality of your physical health, relationships, and mental/spiritual wellbeing.
