Wellness: What Does It Mean?

Following are descriptions of the Six Dimensions of Wellness, the various facets of our lives that make us who we are. Throughout the course of the year, we are challenging you to examine these areas of your life and to set your own goals about how to improve each aspect.

Wellness is a proactive approach to living an optimal lifestyle. Wellness is an active process through with the individual becomes aware of and makes choices toward a more successful and healthy existence. The individual takes a primary role in his or her wellness.

Six Dimensions of Wellness:

Emotional Wellness

Emotional Wellness involves an awareness and acceptance of personal feelings while, being sensitive and responsive to the emotional states of others. The degree one feels positive and enthusiastic about self and life and the realistic assessment of one's limitations, the development of autonomy, and the ability to cope with stress are all components of good emotional health. Optimism, trust, self-esteem, self-acceptance, self-confidence, self-control, satisfying relationships, and an ability to share feelings are just some of the qualities and aspects of emotional wellness.

"Wellness is an active process through which individuals become aware of and make choices toward a successful existence."

Intellectual Wellness

Intellectual wellness encourages creative stimulating mental activities. An intellectually well person uses the resources available to expand his or her knowledge and improve skills along with expanding potential for sharing living and working environments with others. The hallmarks of intellectual health include an openness to new ideas, a capacity to question and think critically, and the motivation to master new skills, as well as a sense of humor, creativity, and curiosity.

"Wellness is a lifelong approach to aliveness designed to make one more happy and effective."

Environmental or Planetary Wellness

Increasingly, personal health depends on the health of the planet - from the safety of the food supply to the degree of violence in a society. Other examples of environmental threats to health are ultraviolet radiation in sunlight, air and water pollution, lead in old house paint, and second-hand tobacco smoke in indoor air. Environmental Wellness requires learning about environmental threats to our health and protecting ourselves against such hazards - and doing what you can to reduce or eliminate them.

"Wellness is an approach which encourages individuals to seek lifestyles that enable them to achieve their highest potential of well-being."

Physical Wellness

Physical Wellness encourages improved cardiovascular capacity, flexibility, strength, regular physical activity, knowledge about food and nutrition, medical self-care, and appropriate use of the medical system, and discourages the use of tobacco, drugs, and excessive alcohol consumption. The habits you develop and the decisions you make today will largely determine not only how many years you will live, but the quality of your life during those years.

"Wellness is a way of life.... It is a positive approach to living."

Spiritual Wellness

To enjoy spiritual health is to possess a set of guiding beliefs, principles, or values that give meaning and purpose in your existence. Spiritual wellness includes the development of a deep appreciation for the depth and expanse of life and natural forces that exist in the universe. This includes learning how to experience love, joy, peace, and fulfillment; and knowing how to help ourselves and others achieve their full potential. Spiritual wellness is an antidote to cynicism, anger, fear, anxiety, self-absorption, and pessimism.

"Wellness is an integrated method of functioning which is oriented towards maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable, within the environment where she or he is functioning."

Interpersonal and Social Wellness

Interpersonal and social wellness encourages contributing to one's human environment to the common welfare of one's community. It emphasizes interdependence with others. It includes the pursuit of harmony in one's family, as well as relationships with others. Developing interpersonal wellness means learning good communication skills, developing the capacity for intimacy, and cultivating a support network of caring friends and or family members. Social wellness requires participating in and contributing to your community, country, and world.

"Wellness is an approach which encourages individuals to seek lifestyles which enable them to achieve their highest potential of well-being."