Total wellness is much more than physical health, nutrition, and exercise. True health involves the full integration of seven dimensions—physical, emotional, relationship to self, financial, social, spiritual/purpose, and our habits and actions. Each of these pillars support each other and interact in a way to help promote a good quality of life. Your outlook on life and how you accept yourself as an individual is exemplified in the following seven traits.

Financial

You don’t need to be rich to be physically healthy or happy. Staying on top of financial concerns and tackling debt positively affects your physical, mental, emotional health, and overall happiness. If financial concerns are keeping you up at night, it’s time to take a look at what changes you can make in your financial lifestyle.

If your money is running out before your monthly bills are paid, monitor your spending habits for a month to find out where the money is going. A financial counselor can help you make wise investment choices, and a credit counselor can help you get your credit card or student debt payments under control. If the issue is that you’re not making enough money for the long hours you’re working, it may be time to take on a second job, or change jobs.

Social

The ability to connect with and relate to the other people is important. Being able to establish and maintain healthy relationships with friends, family, and colleagues has a positive effect on our social wellness. People with meaningful social relationships are happier and healthier, and the quantity and quality of our social relationships can even help us live longer.¹

As social creatures, we have a natural desire to be close to our families, to socialize with our friends, and to meet new people—basically, to join in. Making time to connect with others is one of the most inexpensive ways to improve your overall health.

Physical

Most people think exercise when they hear the words physical health. Absolutley, moving is a super important part of physical health. And, a healthy diet, adequate sleep, and good hygiene also play important roles. It’s recommended adults get between seven to nine hours of shut-eye nightly.² If you’re wanting to improve your sleeping habits, try avoiding coffee, tea, and other caffeinated energy drinks. Block out distracting noise and lights, and don’t bring the laptop to bed.

In addition to increasing physical activity, a healthy diet is crucial to wellness—it provides important nutrients and helps maintain an appropriate body weight. ³ A healthy plate for adults consists of mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains with a modest portion of protein. However, 87 percent of American adults don’t meet the daily requirement for vegetables and 76 percent don’t meet their daily fruit requirements. Diversifying your plate with a range of colorful fresh produce and wholesome grains provides the macronutrients you need to help support your physical health.³

Emotional

At times, life’s ups and downs can take us on an emotional roller coaster. Emotional health requires the ability to navigate feelings, and act and interact appropriately with others as well as being able to identify, assess, navigate, and effectively share our feelings with those around us. Emotional health comes when we’re able to acknowledge and share sadness, fear, anger, and stress, as well as love, hope, and joy in a productive manner that helps us cope and meet challenges.

If you’re struggling at all, consider seeking the support of a counselor or therapist. Create a list of people who support you and don’t be afraid to ask for help. To help you measure your growth and progress, keep a daily journal.

Relationship to Self

How we view and relate to ourselves can have a huge impact on our health. The ability to keep an open mind and welcome new ideas and experiences helps us make good personal decisions, have rewarding group interactions, and improve our communities. Personal acceptance enhances the ability to improve skills, learn new concepts, and inspire a desire for lifelong learning. Keeping your mind positively engaged increases your knowledge base, improves your mood, and helps you grow as a person. Self-discovery and personal improvement provides self-satisfaction, boosts confidence, and gives you the ability and motivation to strengthen other pillars of health. Many people find participating in community activities, volunteering, academic endeavors, and other avenues of personal growth enhance our relationship to ourselves.

Habits and Actions

A healthy life depends on habits and actions. Creating positive habits takes time and requires consistent actions every day to make them stick. Starting a new wellness regime like going to the gym, running, or eating right, may seem overwhelming at first. The good news, these get easier and easier over time and with repetition. Soon, those new habits will be a breeze. Ask your medical practitioner for help formulating a lifestyle incorporating healthy habits and actions at your annual checkup. Behaviors, habits, and actions that are mindful will reduce fatigue and stress, while destructive habits like the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs undermine your goal of optimal physical wellness.

Daily actions helps train you to adopt good habits—taking you closer to your goals. Start small with individual actions like making a healthy choice at a restaurant, taking the dog for a daily walk, or taking “me time” when you feel stressed. Set a target goal for specific actions and when they’ve become second nature, add a new one. Gradually increase the number of deliberate actions to build on the new habits you’ve formed.

Spiritual/Purpose

We’re a lot happier and healthier when we’re able to establish peace and harmony in our lives. Developing congruency between our actions, ethics, values, and realizing and embracing our own perception of the common purpose contributes to our spiritual wellness. Our spirituality creates balance by providing a meaning, direction, and sense of purpose to our lives. Spiritual wellness and purpose will look different to everyone and is a unique, personal journey for each person.

Spirituality and purpose don't need to involve a belief system or religion, though many people do feel a spiritual connection through prayer or belief in a higher power. Other people cultivate their purpose through meditation, practicing mindfulness, or participating in activities with a connection to nature or animals. How you choose to discover and practice your spiritual health and purpose is entirely up to you. Developing your spirituality and defining your purpose will give you tools to check your intentions, maintain a values-based approach to living, and guide your everyday actions to align with your values.

The path to holistic wellness is different and unique to every individual, not a one-size-fits-all journey. Understanding the seven pillars of all-around health will give you a solid base to build on in order to achieve your goal of optimal wellness.

 

References

1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150158/

2 http://www.sleephealthjournal.org/article/S2352-7218%2815%2900015-7/fulltext

3 https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/