Wednesday

8 Dimensions of Wellness


public domain image for 8 dimensions of wellness
The 8 petalled paris japonica

Wellness, or our sense of well-being, is all about how we feel about life and how we function. It involves many dimensions that make up the whole person. Like the eight petalled flower there are eight areas that influence our ability to function at a healthy level:
1. Physical Wellness — a lack of illness and/or disability and the role you take in maintaining your body for strength, vitality and energy.
2. Emotional Wellness — an ability to cope and manage stress and being at peace with who you are.
3. Intellectual Wellness — the ability to think, reason and remember and staying open to new ideas.
4. Social Wellness — the ability to connect with a support system of family and friends or the wider community.
5. Occupational Wellness — the ability to contribute, use skills/abilities.
6. Spiritual Wellness — understanding of your place and purpose, having a sense of purpose and meaning beyond self. 
7. Environmental Wellness — feeling safe at home and around your area and the impact you have on the planet and the planet has on you.
8. Financial Wellness — having sufficient money to meet basic needs. 

Humans are made up of a body, a mind and a soul. When one area of our life is out of balance the other areas are affected. In our society great emphasis is placed on the physical or emotional but often the spiritual is neglected.

So I am off to think about each of these eight areas, to see if I have a balance in all the aspects of wellness? I think it will help me decide where things are going well in my life and where they need improvement?

Besides physical wellness, which is an area anyone would probably like to improve, where else would you like to see change in your life?

FURTHER READING: Why Do We Get Sick? Why Do We Get Better? A Wellness Detective Manual

9 comments:

  1. I am definitely lacking in the spirituality department... I really need to work on that... Life is certainly about balance... maintaining it isn't easy :)

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    1. Yes you are so right, we can get tipped over one way and lose our balance. In this western world spirit is often neglected...alone time is essential.

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  2. Hi! I am always continuing to look for opportunities to help other lives to be better. Focusing on other people helps me to maintain a better perspective on my own world. I am currently making rice bags and corn bags to warm up and use to place on a sore muscle or warm the bottom of the bed at night. I am hoping to connect with local women diagnosed with breast cancer so they know that people care and they are not alone. Wonderful post and such a good reminder about life priorities. Thank you!

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    1. Hi Valda, so good to hear from you and all the good things you are doing...wonderful. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it. I think doing helpful things for others would have a great impact on your wellness on many levels.

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  3. Very inspiring!! Loved your blog! :)

    Well I was wondering if we could follow each other? Do visit my blog and let me know where you follow and I will follow back right away!! :)

    Have a fantastic weekend!! :)
    Charu
    http://www.myglossyaffair.com/

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  4. Hi Charu, I'm glad you felt inspired by the blog. I have followed you on Google + as I love having friends in other countries. Hope you have a good week.

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  5. I can see how my blogging is helping with most of those areas - just need to rest more. Thank you for sharing with the health hop.

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  6. I loved the wholistic approach to wellness that you laid out. Beautifully done!

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    1. Thank you Dave - I'm striving for the whole and seem to be currently working quite a bit on No. 5 (hey! I just noticed a spelling error there)

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Thanks for your input - we love comments