Dimensions of Wellness:
Change your habits, change your life!
People often think about wellness in terms of physical health — nutrition, exercise, weight management, etc., but it is so much more. Wellness is a holistic integration of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, fueling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit. Although it always includes striving for health, it’s more about living life fully, and is “a lifestyle and a personalized approach to living life in a way that… allows you to become the best kind of person that your potentials, circumstances, and fate will allow”.
Wellness necessitates good self-stewardship, for ourselves and for those we care about and who care about us. For those in complementary health professions, such as homeopaths, wellness is a profession as well as personal responsibility. In order to ensure high-quality patient and client services, we have an ethical obligation to attend to our own health and well-being . Sufficient self-care prevents us from harming those we serve, and according to Green Cross Standards of Self Care Guidelines, no situation or person can justify neglecting it.
Wellness encompasses 8 mutually interdependent dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental. Attention must be given to all the dimensions, as neglect of any one over time will adversely affect the others, and ultimately one’s health, well-being, and quality of life. They do not, however, have to be equally balanced. We should aim, instead, to strive for a “personal harmony” that feels most authentic to us. We naturally have our own priorities, approaches, and aspirations, including our own views of what it means to live life fully.
The 8 wellness dimensions are:
Physical Dimension
- Caring for your body to stay healthy now and in the future
Intellectual Dimension
- Growing intellectually, maintaining curiosity about all there is to learn, valuing lifelong learning, and responding positively to intellectual challenges
- Expanding knowledge and skills while discovering the potential for sharing your gifts with others
Emotional Dimension
- Understanding and respecting your feelings, values, and attitudes
- Appreciating the feelings of others
- Managing your emotions in a constructive way
- Feeling positive and enthusiastic about your life
Social Dimension
- Maintaining healthy relationships, enjoying being with others, developing friendships and intimate relations, caring about others, and letting others care about you
- Contributing to your community
Spiritual Dimension
- Finding purpose, value, and meaning in your life with or without organized religion
- Participating in activities that are consistent with your beliefs and values
Vocational Dimension
- Preparing for and participating in work that provides personal satisfaction and life enrichment that is consistent with your values, goals, and lifestyle
- Contributing your unique gifts, skills, and talents to work that is personally meaningful and rewarding
Financial Dimension
- Managing your resources to live within your means, making informed financial decisions and investments, setting realistic goals, and preparing for short-term and long-term needs or emergencies
- Being aware that everyone’s financial values, needs, and circumstances are unique
Environmental Dimension
- Understanding how your social, natural, and built environments affect your health and well-being
- Being aware of the unstable state of the earth and the effects of your daily habits on the physical environment
- Demonstrating commitment to a healthy planet
Making the right choices for health and well-being can be challenging. Although we know what is good for us and how we can do — and be — better, we may not act on it, or if we do, we may, in due course, slide back to familiar ways. Human behavior — what we do, how we do it, and whether we will succeed — is influenced by many factors, 2 of which are of particular relevance when it comes to wellness: self-regulation and habits.
Homeopathy offers support in restoring our body’s balance, health, and vitality. It’s important you seek professional advice from a qualified registered homeopath or your GP to ensure you are receiving the best possible treatment for all that you are experiencing.
Would you like to learn more about homeopathy so you can help your community, family, friends, and animals? The College of Natural Health & Homeopathy offers NZQA accredited Diplomas in Homeopathy. Study fully online, part-time, and from the comfort of your own home, anywhere in the world!
Start your journey today in becoming a Homeopathic Practitioner, and enrol now in one of our Diplomas in Homeopathy!
(Adapted from) Source:
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health
Debbie Stoewen