Our relationship with ourselves is the most important one we will ever have, and often the one we struggle with the most. Unworthiness, perfectionism, comparison, and “not enough-ness” are woven into many of our lives, and causes immense pain. These themes and patterns then spill into our lives and create disruptions in all other areas of wellness. In order to participate in (and maintain) wellness in all of the other areas below, we must first believe that we are worthy and deserving of wellness, happiness, compassion, and love. Practicing Wellness requires us to attune to ourselves, and to know and understand our patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, as well as what is necessary, and effective, to get out of those patterns. So by nature, Sense of Self Wellness is arguably the first, and the most important foundation of Wellness if we want to achieve wellness as a whole.
Physical Wellness is attending to the Physical Body and participating in behaviors that promote health and sustainability for our physical forms. Physical wellness recognizes that our daily habits and behaviors have an impact on our overall health, well-being and quality of life. This includes intentionality around what we put in and on our bodies, how we move them, nourish them, and tend to ailments and illness.
Mental Wellness is attending to the Thinking Body by working to understand and change our outdated, embedded, and ineffective thoughts, beliefs, and interpretations. The lens through which we see the world gets tinted by our past experiences, and that lens impacts our feelings and behaviors. We tend to experience undue distress at the hands of our own minds. Mental Wellness is developing awareness around those ineffective narratives and learning new ways of thinking in order to see the world through a different lens- one that offers more compassion to ourselves and others, and results in more inner peace.
Emotional Wellness is attuning to the Emotional Body by first developing an understanding of what emotions are, what they do for us, and how and why we respond to them in the ways we do. It is the mindful art of identifying, understanding, and appropriately expressing our feelings. It is practicing acceptance and compassion for our feelings, and allowing them space to breathe and exist as communication. Emotional Wellness asks that we validate our feelings, invite them in, and give them a seat at the table without allowing them to start a food fight. Wellness includes increasing positive emotions, reducing vulnerability to painful emotions, skillfully responding (rather than reacting) to intense and overwhelming emotions, and recovering from difficult emotions to get back to baseline.
Spiritual Wellness is attuning to the Spiritual Body by seeking out experiences that allow us to feel more closely connected to ourselves, to humanity, and to whatever our “bigger than us” thing is. It is participating in activities that make us feel big and small at the same time. Spiritual wellness is expanding our sense of purpose and meaning in life, and connecting our inner and outer worlds to support us in living in our values and purpose.
Social Wellness is attunement to our connections and the people in our lives and our communities. It focuses on creating and nurturing healthy, meaningful, and supportive relationships with individuals, groups, and communities. Interpersonal Wellness includes developing secure attachments, enhancing bonds, building appropriate trust, practicing effective communication, participating in productive conflict, and setting and affirming internal and external boundaries.
Intellectual Wellness is attuning to the Learning Body through engaging in creative and mentally stimulating activities. It calls for lifelong learning and curiosity. Intellectual wellness can be developed through participating in academic learning, cultural involvement, community collaboration, and engaging in personal hobbies that expand our knowledge and skills, while allowing us to share our knowledge and skills with others.
Occupational Wellness is the practice of finding passion, purpose, and meaning in the work we do, and in our contributions to our communities. Wellness includes finding the overlap of our talents, passions, and our community’s needs, and participating in that overlap in a way that allows us to support ourselves and our families, while also keeping a healthy work/life harmony. Occupational Wellness calls for appropriate compensation for our skills, talents, and efforts, and aims for satisfaction around the content of the work we do, as well as the environment of that work- including the people and culture of our working community.
Financial Wellness involves the process of learning how to successfully manage our financial situation in a way that makes us more able to afford all the things and experiences required to fully experience our most authentic life. Money plays a critical role in our lives, and while money can’t buy happiness, the stress of financial instability adds to unwellness and makes having the time, energy, and resources for other areas of wellness much more difficult.
Environmental Wellness involves aligning our lifestyle in a way that values the relationship between ourselves, our community, and our environment. The core principles of environmental wellness are respect and connection (of all of nature, as well as the species living in it). It is choosing ethically-sourced products and doing what we can to protect and connect with Mother Earth.
