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| Laying the Foundation for Wellness Back to Enhancing Your Power Supply |
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| by Jennifer Bloome | |||
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Let’s begin at the end:
What is wellness? Wellness is finding a balance point in life, a balance point that allows fullness, happiness, and challenge. Achieving this balance point allows us to give freely to ourselves and to others in our lives; we are whole and complete. We achieve not just health, but wellness. So what’s the difference? Pictures of so-called health are in front of us everyday. We see people who are “healthy” displayed in television and magazine ads. These people are smiling and enjoying their lives as they showcase a particular brand of clothing or use the newest product. The underlying message is that with the perfect exterior, the interior will match. | |||
| More from Jennifer Bloome | |||
| This message is based on
the assumptions our traditional Western culture has made for decades: Wellness = the state of your physical
health: how much you weigh, your blood pressure, your BMI. If you can wear a size 6 or purchase a pair of jeans
with a 32-inch waist, you must be happy, right? These assumptions have led to a narrow, polarized view of health
vs. illness. This view asserts that if you don’t have an illness that shows up in defined lab results, then you
are healthy and have achieved wellness. The reverse is also true: if you do have an illness as defined by lab
results, then you are ill and cannot achieve wellness. A broader definition of wellness looks at health and illness as a continuum: “Healthy and Strong as an Ox” at one end of the spectrum with “Near Death’s Door” at the other end. At different points in your life, you may find yourself closer to one end of the spectrum, or the other. This continuum acknowledges that while you may be on the healthy side of the continuum, there are more things you could do to improve. |
Why Self-Care? Laying the Foundation for Wellness Guilty Pleasures A Brick in the Foundation: Social Support A Brick in the Foundation: Physical Health A Brick in the Foundation: Emotional Health Holiday Markers A Brick in the Foundation: Environmental Health A Brick in the Foundation: Intellectual Health |
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| This continuum begins to hint that our
choices make some difference about our level of wellness. This continuum also hints at the fallacy of the
messages we receive through advertising: Our exteriors do not make up our interiors. Our interior generates
our exterior. Fortunately, our culture is beginning to understand that wellness is more than just physical health, that our interiors are important. This is apparent in the discussion of body, mind, and spirit, which seems to be so prevalent these days. We also understand that health doesn’t just happen. Yes, good genes help, but many choices we make on a daily basis can override or enhance the body we were dealt. In order to achieve wellness we must consider the multiple dimensions in our lives: Physical: What are your weight, blood pressure, BMI, and type of diet? Do you wear a seatbelt when you drive? Do you know the signs and symptoms of major illness like diabetes or stroke? Do you exercise? Emotional: What are your thoughts and feelings like on a daily or weekly basis? Are you generally a glass half empty or half full? Is your head full of criticism for yourself? Social: What does your system of support look like? Do you have satisfying relationships? Are you nurturing older parents or sick children? Do you have relationships that drain your energy or add to it? Spiritual: Do you have a defined sense of a higher power? Do you have meaning and purpose in your life? Are your life’s activities in line with your meaning and purpose? Environmental: What kind of toxins are you exposed to during the day? How is your drinking water? Is your living space organized or cluttered? Intellectual: Do you have an active, open mind? Are you getting challenged enough or too much? Within each of these dimensions are choices about how we live on a daily basis. When we make the choices that lead us to the balance point, we are well. The balance point, as well as the choices that lead up to it, will be different for each person. These dimensions are dynamic, always in flux as life gives us new challenges. However, as you journey towards discovering your strengths in each dimension, you will be building up your interior and laying your foundation of wellness. Questions to consider as you lay your foundation:
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