Whole Wellness: It’s More Than Physical Health
Being well can be a challenge for everyone for various reasons. One of these reasons is because we’re focusing on just one portion of wellness. We aren’t viewing wellness from the macro perspective. Many people believe that wellness is simply working out and eating well. That’s it. This is just ONE small piece of wellness. If you want to FEEL good, we must take a step back and learn about wellness in a holistic way. In short, all eight aspects of wellness are important to live a balanced, whole life.
So, what are the eight aspects of wellness?
· Physical Wellness
· Emotional Wellness
· Financial Wellness
· Occupational Wellness
· Environmental Wellness
· Social Wellness
· Intellectual Wellness
· Spiritual Wellness
Some of these you might have heard of before, like physical and emotional wellness. Others might not be as familiar to you, like occupational or financial wellness. Wherever you are in your knowledge about holistic wellness is right where you’re supposed to be. We are always learning new things every day if we’re open to it (this is part of intellectual wellness). It’s important to note that many activities can touch many different aspects of wellness. For instance, if you regularly meditate this can touch emotional, intellectual, and spiritual wellness. Lifting weights can be physical and emotional wellness. Journaling can get into all aspects of wellness depending on what you’re writing about that day! With this in mind, we’re going to go through what is included in each aspect of wellness.
Physical Wellness
Physical wellness is the most well-known aspect. It also can be the most misunderstood because many people view it on a very basic level as physical movement and eating healthy. Physical wellness means taking care of our physical bodies in whatever way feels good for you! Contrary to popular belief, physical wellness is not just working out and eating healthy. It also includes making sure you are hydrated enough, getting enough sleep, going to your preventative health appointments, managing your stress in a healthy way, and making sure you have good sexual health practices.
Emotional Wellness
Emotional wellness is another aspect that many people are familiar with and know there are many ways to positively increase it. Emotional wellness is being able to manage our emotions and adapt to the changes that life inevitably throws our way. This can include being aware of our emotions, being able to talk to others about your emotions, having a strong support system, setting appropriate boundaries with yourself and others, being able to relax and be present, and feeling content.
Financial Wellness
Financial wellness is your ability to understand basic finances and making financial decisions that allow you to secure your future and enjoy life in the present. It is understanding the soul of money, sharing your assets with others (through philanthropy or investing), and helping those in need. Having a successful relationship with money is crucial in understanding behavior related to spending and saving. Interestingly, financial wellness is an integral part of the deep human connection. This is an area of wellness that may not be on everyone’s radar, but it can be one of the most important ones! Financial wellness includes things such as creating and managing a budget, learning about your debt and how to manage it, building good credit, understanding your employee health benefits, and understanding your retirement options.
Occupational Wellness
Occupational wellness is all about your career! It’s about your ability to explore various career options and find ones that you enjoy the most. It isn’t solely about the career you have currently, but also how you want to grow and change within the career path that you choose. It also includes finding the place or type of employment where you are able to express yourself, your ideas are heard, and your creativity is respected and utilized. Some ways that we can work on our occupational wellness are engaging in work that is interesting, having work-life balance, communicating and collaborating with others, and feeling inspired by your work.
Environmental Wellness
Environmental wellness is about our connection to the world around us. It helps us to connect with nature and helping to stimulate healthy environments that surround us. This is one aspect of wellness that brings about community because taking care of our environments is sometimes bigger than just us. Some things that contribute to our environmental wellness are conserving energy, recycling, enjoying time in nature, creating an atmosphere that feels good to you, and learning about what types of environments you tend to thrive in.
Social Wellness
Social wellness is another aspect that is bigger than us because it’s about community. It is defined as being able to build and maintain relationships and support networks. This area of wellness really helps us to understand that balancing our lives is really a team effort! Balanced social wellness can include reflecting on your social needs, keeping in touch with others, joining a group or club, volunteering in your community, active listening, and knowing your social limits.
Intellectual Wellness
Intellectual wellness is all about being a lifelong learner! It is being open to finding new ways to expand our knowledge about ourselves, others, and whatever interests you. Some ways that we can improve our intellectual wellness are learning a new language, reading for fun, working on puzzles, playing games, playing a musical instrument, and creative writing or free writing.
Spiritual Wellness
Spiritual wellness is sometimes misunderstood. It is finding meaning and purpose in life and connecting with ourselves in a spiritual way. This may or may not include a religious aspect. We can improve our spiritual wellness by reflecting on our purpose, spending time in solitude, finding meaning in life, expressing gratitude, doing inner work such as working with your inner child or doing shadow work, feeling connected to a higher power whether that is your highest self, a mythical being, or a religious being.
To be balanced in our wellness and in our lives, we should touch each of these aspects of wellness regularly. This can be easier said than done, but I promise that it can also be simple and effortless if we believe it can be. Remember when I mentioned that there are several activities that are connected to many aspects of wellness? Here are some more that we can utilize to be efficient in our self-care:
- Yoga (physical, spiritual, emotional)
- Meditation (spiritual, emotional, intellectual)
- Reading (intellectual spiritual, emotional, occupational
- Walking (or running, jogging, or simply being) in nature (spiritual, physical, emotional, environmental)
- Learning how to effectively set boundaries (social, emotional, intellectual, occupational)
- Taking time for rest (physical, emotional, occupational, spiritual)
Spending just a few intentional minutes per day on activities associated with our holistic wellbeing could be exactly what we need to feel connected to ourselves again. Plus, any of these ideas can be added to your daily or weekly routines! For instance, you can try saying positive affirmations while making your morning coffee, practicing gratitude while brushing your teeth, listening to an audiobook or podcast on your commute, taking a friend along to your weekly yoga class, or meditating while out for your walk.
Courtney Lillie
Intuitive Energy Healer
Wellness Coach
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