Introducing the Eight Dimensions of Wellness
What Is Wellness?
Wellness is the direct pursuit of activities, choices, and lifestyles that lead to a holistic state of health, according to the Global Wellness Institute. In other words, the actions we take to manifest happiness, rather than the feeling of happiness itself. This separates wellness from well-being - though the media and corporate messaging tries to combine the two.
Achieving wellness requires proactiveness and self-responsibility. Well-being simply refers to the emotional combination of happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment.
How Do We Achieve Wellness?
Achieving wellness requires changing habits and, according to Wilmington Psychotherapy’s founder Jim Doxey, “Change is action-oriented.” Whether this is exercising more often or making time to relax, change is necessary for improvement. Improvement does not just manifest itself. We are responsible for making changes in our own life to improve wellness and increase feelings of well-being.
As simple as it may seem in theory, starting a healthier habit is the most difficult part of building one. Hopefully, breaking ambition down into three levels will help make that step seem less overwhelming.
Intention
In order to make wellness changes, we first have to want them. It takes looking at our life through an outside lens either from our own realizations or the concerned observations of others. This helps us see how improving wellness can solve some of our most pressing issues. This does require a level of self-criticism that acknowledges where change is necessary without completely running us down with negativity and or feeling overwhelmed.
In these times, seeking help is not only beneficial, but recommended. Public therapy groups can provide reassurance, as people who understand struggle are more likely to see the positives in our personalities that we, ourselves, may have forgotten. Such community validation can help turn crippling guilt into active motivation.
Choice
Achieving wellness often means making choices that differ from our comfortable routine. Deciding to do mundane changes, like checking the banking app every morning or foregoing the office donuts, might be inconvenient or frustrating in the moment. However, it helps to remember that wellness is about “playing the long game,” where every small choice contributes to building lasting improvement.
Action
To quote the Netflix show Bojack Horseman, “It gets easier. Every day, it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day. That’s the hard part.” This is spoken by an unnamed side character who is seen at the start of nearly every episode in the second season running up a giant hill. In the sweltering heat or the pouring rain, a silent running gag (pun not intended) turns into a solid point: consistency is difficult, but key.
Making wellness a habit takes dedication, but we do eventually reach a level where not fulfilling our healthy routine results in more uncomfortable feelings than avoidance. Reaching this level of action is, essentially, the goal.
Where Do We Start?
There may be so many aspects of our lives that need to be changed that finding a starting point can seem impossible. Especially because it looks different for everyone, depending on what makes us individually happy. However, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has mapped eight universal dimensions of wellness that affect all our lives, regardless of circumstances:
Emotional: Our feelings, how we express them, and how often we practice optimism.
Spiritual: Values, beliefs, the morals we find important, and our perceived reason for being.
Intellectual: Expansion of our knowledge and fulfillment of creative ideas.
Physical: The health of our body, including detox, diet, and exercise.
Environmental: Where we live and how our surroundings influence our attitude, comfort, and sense of safety.
Social: Any network of trusted family, friends, and colleagues.
Occupational: How we spend our time in work, school, or community and the level of fulfillment it brings.
Financial: Our income, expenses, fiscal habits, and foundation for the future.
In this series, we’ll explore every one of these elements in full. We will provide education as well as advice for what sort of action you may take to improve each dimension of wellness. If you need any further help, please don’t hesitate to reach out and Contact Us. Our staff at Wilmington Psychotherapy engage the mind, body, and spirit together to proactively create positive changes for those who need it with wellness therapy.
Sources:
Global Wellness Institute. What is Wellness? https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/what-is-wellness/.
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration. (2016). Promoting Wellness: A Guide to Community Action, pg. 1-2. https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/d7/priv/sma16-4957.pdf.
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration. (Jul 2016). The Eight Dimensions of Wellness, The Wellness Initiative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDzQdRvLAfM.
Paxton Patterson. (Apr 2017). The Eight Dimensions of Wellness, College & Career Ready Labs: Instructional Videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NR4_5dt7JA.
Bob-Waksberg, R. (July 2015). Out to Sea, Bojack Horseman, (2)12, 24:24. Netflix.