Being Well Leads to A Balanced Life
0
By Anne Donegan Costas
This post will focus on the 5 dimensions of wellness. These dimensions each hold an inportant link to being well and living a balanced life. I will only be giving you highlights of each one. There will be links at the bottom of this article should you be interested in reading more about the area(s) of wellness.
Physical Wellness
Physical Wellness is vital to having a healthy productive life. Our physical wellness has everything to do with how we feel, how much energy we have, and how we move through our day. Our lives and how we feel on a regular basis hinge, in my opinion, on the Physical and Spiritual Dimensions. When these two are working life just seems to work for me.
If you don’t like to exercise you can take easy steps to get it into your day without going to the gym or getting out your weights. For example, when you go shopping park as far as is feasible from the door and you can walk to and from the store. Be creative when wanting to get some physical movement into your daily routine.
If your have already made physical wellness part of your daily routine–Good for You!! Keep it up. If you are wanting to start a program it is important to get help from a professional–a Doctor, Wellness Coach at the gym or someone with knowledge of health and wellness. You will need to start slowly. Walking still remains one of the best exercise programs around. The great thing about it is you don’t need any equipment and you can do it in your neighborhood. This might be a great way to start for you. Riding a bike, lifting weights, yoga, zumba, ballet and more are all ways to help us get our exercise in for the week.
Whatever works for you and with your schedule is what is important. The main thing is you want to put a plan in place that you will follow through on! Remember to talk with a health professional before starting any kind of exercise program.
Intellectual Wellness
There are many ways to keep our brain active. Depending on whether you work outside the home, or from your home, or you are retired has a lot to do with what you might be interested in doing to stay intellectually well. You might want to go back to school and take a continuing education class. It could be academic or might be on pottery making or cooking. The popular puzzles (sudoko & crossword puzzles) are good. There are games that people download on their iphones or computers that take strategy and thinking. These are all great ways to keep your brain stimulated. A word of advice–stop all kind of technology about an hour before bed. Otherwise, your brain may be overstimulated and you could have trouble getting to sleep.
READ! Talk to your friends about good books they have read. Magazines, newspapers and the internet offer a vast array of subject matter to read and study.
Emotional Wellness
Young people and adults alike need to have someone they are able to talk with about important decisions that need to be made or issues that are being dealt with and might be wearing us down emotionally. Being able to write about or talk about these frustrations often allows us to work through them without going to see a therapist.
However, there are times when seeing a trained professional is best. You will feel frustrated and you might feel as though you are spinning your wheels unable to make good decisions. If you feel this way and don’t have someone to talk with please find a trained professional to help you. Ask a school counselor for names in the area, look in the phone book, talk with friends you trust, talk with your minister or priest.
I like to think of seeking help as taking charge of your life, wanting to grow into a better person, and learning to solve problems.
Social Wellness
Social wellness has a lot to do with how we function socially. Some of us feel comfortable around others and some of us do not. Going to church, talking with friends at work during break or lunch, going out to lunch or dinner with friends are all examples of interacting socially. Gatherings during the holiday seasons might be fun ways of connecting for some of us.
If you don’t ever go out and don’t enjoy being around others you might ask yourself why. Keep a journal and journal some of the ways you feel when you are around others. What are you thinking? What do you worry about? Talk to someone if journaling is not helping. Being well does involve social wellness and is important for our all around well being.
Spiritual Wellness
Spiritual wellness is one of my favorites and as I stated above is very important to me and I hope to you. I am a Christian and believe in one God who had Jesus, his son, come to earth in the flesh. My life and how I am doing is directly related to how my relationship with God is doing at the time. I find that I must spend time in prayer, in studying God’s work, and in talking with others about God’s promises. If I am not doing this then my life feels out of whack and off balance.
My relationships with others, my work, my play is all off when I don’t spend time with God everyday.
The way you find your spiritual food is vital to your health. If you feel you need help in this area I have links at the bottom of this article for further reading.
Be Well!
Click here for more Wellness Information