8 DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS

Wellness refers to complete health, rather than just your physical health. Wellness is not only being free of disease, illness, or stress but also having a purpose in life, being emotionally healthy, taking an active involvement in your work and in your leisure time, having joyful relationships and being happy. Wellness involves all aspects of your life beyond your physical health. To enjoy fulfilled and happy lives, it is important to take care of your well-being and to invest time in your wellness.

1. Emotional Wellness

Emotional wellness involves being able to cope effectively with the difficulties of life, being emotionally aware, and having healthy relationships with yourself and others. People with healthy emotional wellness are confident, have control over their feelings and behavior, and have good coping mechanisms for dealing with difficult situations. Building resiliency allows us to overcome the hurdles of life.

2. Spiritual wellness

Spiritual wellness is about having a sense of purpose and meaning in life that revolves around your personal beliefs and values. Spiritual health can involve a connection with nature, self-reflection, meditation, prayer, and more. Being spiritually healthy means you have strong values, a feeling of inner peace, and meaning in life.

3. Intellectual wellness

Intellectual wellness is about exercising the mind, learning new things, and expanding upon ones’ knowledge and skills. Being intellectually healthy can help you with mental growth which helps with your concentration, memory, and critical thinking skills.

4. Physical wellness 

Physical wellness involves eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, doing enough regular physical activity, and preventing and managing illness and health conditions. Not being physically healthy can lead to numerous health problems or diseases. Developing a healthy lifestyle and making healthy choices will improve your overall wellness.

5. Environmental Wellness

Environmental wellness refers to being in a nurturing and healthy environment as well as having awareness and respect for the environment around us. The environment around you can greatly impact how you feel. For example, people who live in countries that have a lot of rain and cloudy days might suffer from seasonal depression which will affect their emotional health, social health, spiritual health, and possibly more. Having a positive environment around you as well as doing your part to take care of the earth will help you to feel overall more fulfilled.

6. Financial wellness

Financial wellness refers to being financially literate, in charge of your finances, and responsible with your money. Struggling with finances and having an unsettled financial situation is a problem that can cause a lot of stress to you and your family. Staying on top of your finances is important for improving your everyday life.

7. Occupational wellness

Occupational wellness involves having a fulfilling and enriching occupation, whether that be professional work or academic work. A common cause of stress for many Americans is their jobs and the demands that come with it. Having a work-life balance is extremely important to your overall health and wellness. The first step to achieving this is having a job that you enjoy and are passionate about. It is also important to have a positive work environment and be surrounded by people who support you and your goal

8. Social wellness

Social wellness involves having a strong support network, feeling connected to other peoples, and having a sense of belonging. Feeling isolated, lonely, or disconnected from others can lead to negative physical and mental health outcomes. Healthy relationships we make with family and friends are essential to our well-being, both social, emotional, and spiritual.

J. Flowers Health Institute