A Comprehensive Look at Wellness: From Health to Holistic Wellness
When you mention the word wellness to people, they may not have the same idea of what that means as you do. Wellness encompasses so much more than just feeling better physically; it involves your mental and emotional well-being, as well as your community and spiritual health. It’s about promoting wellness in every part of your life, from your physical appearance to your finances to your relationships with others. But this holistic view can be easier said than done—there are so many different factors to consider!
What is Health?
According the Oxford languages Dictionary, health can be defined as the state of being free from illness or injury. With that definition in mind often when we think of health, we often think of the physical dimension. This refers to our physical state and includes things like exercise, nutrition, and sleep. However, health is much more than just the physical. It also includes the mental, emotional, and social dimensions.
What is Wellness?
Next, when most people think of wellness as simply being healthy. However, wellness is much more than that. The National Wellness Institute defines wellness as “an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence. Furthermore, wellness encompasses multiple dimensions, including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, environmental, and occupational. Wellness also features a multitude of practices, small or big, that go beyond the practices that are commonly highlighted by mainstream media.
Let’s Dive Deeper: Holistic Wellness
While the definition of holistic can vary, a common definition considers holistic health as encompassing all aspects of the whole the person including physical, mental, emotional, social, environmental, and spiritual. Another definition of holistic wellness relates to the use of alternative and natural practices. Holistic wellness can also be viewed as the interconnections of all aspects of your being (e.g. mind, body, and spirit). Interestingly, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the key factors influencing an individual’s state of health have not changed significantly over the past 20 years. When looking closer at these factors, it’s said that quality of medical care accounts for 10%, heredity accounts for 18%, environment is 19%, and everyday lifestyle choices are 53%. Therefore, when it comes to achieving and maintaining our wellness, it’s clear that there are many factors involved.
Conclusion
There are many dimensions to wellness, and it looks different for everyone. At Well Together we believe It is important to be creative and open-minded when thinking about ways to improve our wellness. Additionally, we believe the starting place is looking beyond the practices that are commonly highlighted by mainstream media and take a deeper exploration of our own individual needs and find what works best for us. There are endless possibilities when it comes to improving our wellness, so let's get started!
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