Wellness and Mental Health by Carla Cook, MSW, LCSW, Clinical
Manager
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to increase awareness of the importance of mental
health and wellness in Americans’ lives and to celebrate recovery from
mental illness.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we will begin exploring practices that support the concept that balance is the key to wellbeing. Each month we will be examining specific aspects of the wellness wheel and how we can enhance and optimize each category to facilitate mental and physical health.
The wellness wheel is a self-exploration tool designed to support the wellness journey. It provides a visual representation of the seven dimensions of wellness to assess progress in each category and to thoughtfully consider how each dimension impacts your life. By examining each area of the wellness wheel, you can identify ways to enhance your overall quality of life, improve your health, focus on a well-rounded, healthy lifestyle, achieving a life of meaning and purpose and reaching your full potential.
Dr. William Hettler, co-founder of the National Wellness Institute developed the seven dimensions of wellness in 1976 as an integrated approach to wellness. The dimensions of the wellness wheel include physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, social, and occupational wellness. These dimensions are interconnected categories that individually contribute to achieving a balanced life.
The physical dimension of the wellness wheel pertains to your physical
health. It involves all aspects of physical activity, balanced nutrition, sleep
hygiene, self-care, and tending to your physical health with appropriate
medical attention when necessary.
Emotional Wellness refers to your feelings and emotions. What are your
emotional responses? Can you effectively identify, understand, and express
your feelings? By cultivating a foundation in emotional health, you are better
equipped to adapt to any transitional life events and more effectively
moderate stress. Take care of your emotional wellness by sleeping enough,
speaking to a therapist, or asking for help when you are in need, and
regularly evaluating your stress management techniques.
Intellectual wellness focuses on lifelong learning, broadening your
knowledge, and skill building. It encourages you to maintain an open mind,
cultivate curiosity, learn, and engage in creative activities to ensure your
mind stays healthy and active. Reading for pleasure, staying updated on
social and political issues, or mentoring others fall under the intellectual
wellness category.
Spiritual wellness concerns the core values, beliefs and ethics that inform
your actions and guide you through life. Spiritual wellness supports self-
examination and exploration of your purpose and meaning in life while
providing an opportunity to engage with a higher power. Spiritual wellness
supports the establishment of community bonds, whether through a religious
system, communing with nature, or practicing mindfulness and meditation.
Environmental wellness refers to the role your surroundings play in your
overall well-being. From a micro level within your own home environment to
a global scale, our physical environment impacts our mental health. It has a
massive impact on our mood and how we live our lives. Environmental
wellness focuses on the way you interact with your environment such as your
home, school, or workspace.
Organizing, decluttering, recycling, and completing household tasks are all
ways we can contribute to promoting a cleaner, more organized, and more
peaceful living space. Staying environmentally aware by educating yourself
and creating spaces that contribute to constructive emotions are other ways
to focus on your environmental wellness.
Social wellness examines the quality of your relationships with others.
Keeping a strong social support structure helps you feel connected and is
significant to your social wellness while moderating feelings of stress,
isolation, loneliness, or even depression.
Participating in group activities with family or friends, joining organizations,
remaining open to new connections, and nourishing respectful and
meaningful relationships is fundamental to maintaining healthy social
wellness.
Occupational wellness is the dimension that focuses on the fulfillment you
experience in your work and how financial stability impacts your life.
Investigating job satisfaction, finances, and career ambitions can support
your occupational wellness. Planning, maintaining financial health, and
finding a fulfilling profession all fall under this category.
The wellness wheel promotes self-examination, progress evaluation and identification of barriers. When establishing wellness goals, it is helpful to consider all seven dimensions of wellness and reflect on how each one impacts your life. Is there a certain area you are struggling with more than others? Do you feel any imbalances in your wellness wheel? This will help you gain more clarity into the wellness aspects to prioritize and identify areas that might benefit from more attention.
The goal of the wellness wheel is to examine yourself, evaluate progress, and
identify any barriers to living a more fulfilling life. Working with a professional
to gain additional guidance is a huge benefit when it comes to our personal
wellness journey and can help you with goal setting, life adjustments, and
taking the necessary steps to accomplish any lifestyle changes you set out to
achieve.
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