HEALTH and WELLNESS
It’s a popular saying that “Health is Wealth” . Beyond our physical health, I think wellness should also be as important. This is because our health is basically about our body physically while wellness deals with every aspect of our well-being inclusive of our physical health. Sometimes, these words are used interchangeably but they are different.
According to the World Health Organisation, “Wellness is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. The National Wellness Institute also describes wellness as a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential. So, we can say that Wellness requires much more than just surviving but thriving. It requires consistency in growth and balance, healthy habits, and positive attitude to everyday life. With wellness, you are also able to subdue stress and live a quality life.
There are eight known dimensions to wellness which are;
1)Physical Wellness- This relates to our body; the state of our physical health alone.
2)Emotional Wellness– This relates to our reactions to people, situations or circumstances we face as we live daily.
3)Spiritual Wellness- This directly affect our faith, beliefs and values; the decisions we make and the kind of life we choose to live.
4)Financial Wellness- This relates to our Perspective about money and how we use it.
5)Occupational Wellness– This relates to the conditions of our workplace, career or specializations, and how we manage our work and relationships within that environment.
6)Social Wellness- This is majorly about our relationship with people; how we see, speak and act and interact with people.
7)Intellectual Wellness- This focuses on how we think; our knowledge and information-based capacity and capabilities.
8)Environment Wellness- This focuses on our care for our environment. It involves establishing a sustainable lifestyle in protecting natural resources and eliminating pollutants/excessive waste.
HEALTH and WELLNESS
These dimensions covers the totality of our well-being as individuals. There are a few ways we can improve on our wellness. I have practised and still practise them, because it has produced good results which has affected my physical health directly.
I saw a caption recently which read that “Sometimes the mental chain are the hardest one to break”. I totally agree with this statement because I have realised that “our lives are a product of the quality of thoughts we allow” indeed.
Therefore, to improve on wellness as individuals, we need to have a steady and consistent mind for growth and self development. Growth comes with change and habits. We must be willing to learn, re-learn and un-learn no matter how hard it is.
2) The relationships we keep also influence our lives directly or indirectly. So, we should be mindful of the relationships we keep as they can equally have a great effect on our well-being.
3) We should seek knowledge; seek to know the truth and ask questions. They say a man who asks questions is never lost. We should be intentional about what we want and be courageous enough when we fail or make mistakes.
HEALTH and WELLNESS
There are lots of sick people with terminal diseases or disabilities who still keep a positive attitude to life till the day they die. A good example is Cobhams Asuquo, a blind musician who is known to have being born blind but doing incredibly well in the music industry today.
Our well-being is very crucial has a great impact to how we live our lives. We should start today to take heed, and be sure that we are indeed healthy and well.
HEALTH and WELLNESS
By Sharonshay