A Guide to the 7 Dimensions of Wellness

Over 95% of the world's population has health problems. Many of those problems are preventable. These health ailments aren't all physical, either; many people suffer from mental health problems.

What Are the 7 Dimensions of Wellness?

The term wellness encompasses much more than your physical health. It refers to your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Achieving optimal wellness is also associated with happiness and contentment.

Living a good life is much more than going to the gym every day and lifting the heaviest weights.

To achieve balance in your life, there are 7 different elements commonly referred to as the dimensions of wellness. These are:

• Physical 
• Emotional
• Intellectual
• Social
• Environmental
• Occupational
• Spiritual

To minimize the amount of stress in your life and to live a fulfilled and happy existence, pay attention to each of these 7 factors.

By making a few lifestyle changes, you can make it easier to nurture each of these dimensions of wellness.

Physical Wellness

Let's start with the most obvious one: physical health. We all know we should exercise regularly and eat well to maintain our physical well-being.

Our physical wellness is one of the most crucial pillars of well-being. If you don't have your physical health, it can affect every aspect of your life, from your ability to do your job, to the ease at which you can do chores, to interacting with your family and friends.

Physical activity not only makes your body more robust but also improves your mental well-being, your cognitive abilities, and your memory.

To maintain optimal physical wellness, try to do some movement every day. Even if that's walking more steps than usual or doing some light stretches. Do more intensive cardio exercise at least three times a week.

Another easy way to look after your physical health is to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Ensure you get adequate balanced nutrients and eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables; they should be the center of every plate.

For optimal physical health, try to refrain from smoking and drinking alcohol.

Another aspect to take note of for your physical health is to get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation is detrimental to both your mental and physical health.

Emotional Wellness

Many of us don't enjoy talking about our feelings and emotions. You need to realize that emotional well-being is part of a healthy life! Our emotional well-being can be more difficult to take care of than our physical well-being.

When you feel something negative and push it aside and don't deal with it, it can come to the surface later and make you behave in a way you regret.

Try to recognize your feelings, why they arise, and what triggers them. If you can tune into your emotions, you will find it easier to manage them and to connect to others.

Talk to your friends and family if you are struggling with something and tell them how you feel. This will help them understand why you may be behaving out of character.

Learn some ways to release emotions and reduce stress, so you don't become overwhelmed. Breathing and meditation are excellent ways to do this. 

If something traumatic has happened to you, don't hold it in. Seek professional help from a counselor or therapist. Talking things through is extremely important for your emotional health.

Intellectual Wellness

To keep intellectually active, try to seek out new experiences. Just because you are no longer in school doesn't mean you should stop learning.

Life-long learning is something to embrace if you want to maintain intellectual wellness. Embracing critical thinking and surrounding yourself with activities and people who challenge you are essential aspects of personal growth.

Learn something new regularly. It doesn't need to be a new skill; you can learn something interesting from a book or do some brain-teasing puzzles. Discuss what you learned with friends and family.

Join an online class or workshop to enhance your skills in something that interests you. You could also join a local book club or course that interests you.

Challenging your cognitive abilities will help slow down your brain's aging. Keeping the brain active is an essential aspect of preventing diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Social Wellness

In the modern age, there's a loneliness epidemic, and it has a significant impact on both our physical and mental health.

We are social beings, and not being around others can have adverse effects on our health and wellness. As people move away from family and friends to new cities for work, they lose a sense of community. We also spend much more time online talking to friends over the internet.

For our social wellness batteries to be full, we need to spend time in real life with people we care about. Social connections are essential to survival; studies even show they are a biological necessity. Losing someone close to you can manifest in physical pain.

Spending time with those you care about releases dopamine into your brain and provides that happy feeling of belonging.

Actively seek out social time by joining clubs or societies where you can meet like-minded people.

Environmental Wellness

Environmental wellness refers to looking after the world around you. The way humans evolved over the centuries has made us selfish. If you want to feel balanced and live in harmony with the world around you, you need to look after the natural world.

Try following the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra when it comes to your use of resources. Reduce the number of things you buy and when you make a purchase, think to yourself first, "do I REALLY need this?"

Reuse items in your house; for example, repurpose glass bottles and jars, fix broken furniture, mend or repurpose old clothes. If you need to get rid of something, try to recycle it. It's the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of things you no longer want.

Compost food scraps, recycle paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum. Donate things that no longer serve a purpose for you. Ride a bike, walk, or take public transport over driving your car for short, one-person journeys.

If we all take small steps to build a more circular economy, we can all improve the planet's health. A healthier world will, in turn, mean a healthier population.

Occupational Wellness

If you don't do work that fulfills you, it can become draining, cause stress, and lead to burnout.

We all need to do some type of work to survive. But don't worry, you don't need to change the world to find satisfaction in your work.

If you have a job that uses your skills and gives you the feeling of accomplishment, it can ultimately affect the way you feel about your work. Achieving goals, completing tasks, and being creative are all important aspects of your occupational wellness.

Unhappiness at work is a leading cause of stress. You may not love the overall mission of the company you work for, but if you can find some joy in the tasks you complete for them, it can help you feel more satisfied.

If you want something to change with your work, try talking to your employer. They can help you understand if there are any other opportunities within the company. You may be able to take training or up-skilling classes to improve your prospects for growth.

Finding satisfaction in the workplace can be challenging, especially when you're making money for somebody else. If you can't find joy in your day-to-day job, start a side hustle that drives you; you never know it could one day become your full-time hustle.

Spiritual Wellness

Being spiritually well doesn't have anything to do with your god or any particular spiritual practices. It is more about the alignment of your thoughts, actions, and words.

If you know what you believe in and how you act on those morals and beliefs in the outside world, you can live a more harmonious life.

For example, you may believe that kindness is the most important trait a human can have. That manifests in your good treatment of others.

Spending some time reflecting, journaling, and meditating can help you improve your spiritual wellness.

Improve Your Overall Well-being

If you want a long and happy life, think about incorporating aspects from each of the seven dimensions of wellness into your daily life.

You don't have to have every element perfected, but striving to improve each area can help you gain a sense of balance.

For more help with achieving this balance, take advantage of our healthy lifestyle wellness program. It provides tools you need to build healthy habits.