Wellness is much more than being free of ill health. It embraces a number of areas that contribute to the harmony and contentment of a balanced life. You can’t give what you don’t have, so making time for contentment within these areas permits us to evolve into and share our best pieces.
- Physical wellness involves good nutrition, regular exercise and preventive care. When out of balance, it is best regained by looking for a root cause rather than any one symptom.
- Emotional wellness is feeling good about yourself and your life. It includes awareness and acknowledgement of our feelings, of how we express, our relationships and varying levels of stress
- Mental wellness entails noticing where your thoughts are and how they make you feel. It includes how you feel about your responses which are the only thing you can rely on controlling
- Spiritual wellness is seeking a meaning to our life and all life that is part of the web of existence. It includes finding the philosophy that resonates to your understanding of a higher purpose in life. It is not necessarily linked to a religious affiliation. Spiritual wellness leads to tolerance of self and of others, to respect of all life and its right to be.
- Intellectual wellness involves learning, creativity and finding solutions or options to cope with various circumstances. This is a life-long process that inspires us to explore new horizons within our interests and is part of why life need never become a stagnant experience
- Social wellness involves taking part in our community, exploring different situations and skills, feeling comfortable in social situations and permitting yourself options for new experiences
- Occupational wellness is our attitude to work and our work relationships. It includes finding balance between work and leisure
The wide range of preventive care available today allows more personal influence over our health. While our parents often considered self-care as a luxury, it is recognized today as an empowering practise to maintain health. Various therapies and workshops may expand our receptivity to use of nurturing forms of natural care, expand recognition of stress and options for healthy management, or help us learn more appropriate responses to defuse distressful reactions. In short, there’s much to experience in making the journey fun.
