Wellness consciousness entails living life as a whole person. It includes physical, social, mental and spiritual health.
A person who possesses wellness consciousness is more likely to adopt preventive health behaviors. Moreover, people who are health conscious often seek information on their own and respond to it appropriately.
Physical Wellness
Physical wellness is the ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes adequate exercise, healthy eating habits and avoiding unhealthy behaviors such as substance abuse. It also involves managing stress and getting enough sleep.
This is a critical aspect of wellness because it helps you avoid the risk of chronic illnesses and diseases as well as improve your overall cognitive health. It can reduce the likelihood of developing degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia as you get older.
As a result, maintaining optimal levels of physical wellness is essential to your success in the seven dimensions of wellness. It also allows you to nurture other aspects of your life such as social, mental and spiritual wellness.
The most common approach to measuring health consciousness has been to use actual behavior measures such as food consumption, exercise and substance use. However, by understanding health consciousness as a psychological state, it can predict a variety of related variables with greater predictive power.
Social Wellness
Social wellness is the ability to connect with others and create a support system. It involves openly communicating, trust, empathy and listening.
This can be achieved by rekindling old friendships, nurturing new relationships and staying connected to the people in your life who care about you. It also includes making conscious acts of kindness and generosity to help others, recognizing the positives in ourselves and paying genuine compliments to those around us.
Cultivating your social wellness is like maintaining a flower garden–it takes intention, time, effort and care. But with a little attention and patience, you can make it bloom for your whole life.
Whether you have a long-time friend or you just met someone new, making an effort to build your social wellness can make you feel happier and healthier. Try joining a group, taking up a new hobby or volunteering in the community to get started.
Mental Wellness
Mental wellness is the ability to thrive, flourish, and achieve personal goals. It’s a state of well-being that includes finding meaning and purpose, being self-aware, and acquiring coping skills to handle the ups and downs of life.
According to the World Health Organization, mental health is as important as physical health, with 14% of global disease burden attributed to disorders and illnesses. However, many people don’t have diagnosed mental illnesses, yet they still struggle with pervasive stress and anxiety, feelings of loneliness, and other challenges that interfere with their lives.
Employers can nurture mental wellness in their employees by offering programs like Mindful Mondays, time for self-care, and a variety of employee-led initiatives. These are proven to boost productivity, raise morale, and improve retention.
Spiritual Wellness
Spiritual wellness is a holistic, mental, physical and social experience that promotes a sense of purpose and meaning in one’s life. Whether tied to religious faith, moral philosophy or inherent connection to something bigger than oneself, spirituality is always a personal choice.
Those who are spiritually healthy often make time for prayer, meditation or reaching out to a higher power. This allows them to pause and think about their life’s purpose, while also fostering greater mindfulness.
In addition, they are more likely to have compassion for others and the capacity to love and forgive them. They also act altruistically and enjoy joy and fulfillment in their lives.
Spiritually well individuals are aware of their place within a global community and understand that they have a shared interest in the common good. They act in harmony with the environment and balance their own needs with those of others. They take care to consciously consider their impact on others and act in accordance with their values, principles and morals.
