When we hear the term “wellness”, we often think about physical health such as nutrition, exercise and weight management. However, wellness is much more than that. It’s a holistic integration of physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Using structural equation models, we found that EI was related to healthy behaviors indirectly through health consciousness. These indirect effects were significant with sound goodness of fit measures reported for all models.
Physical
Physical wellness includes caring for your body through proper nutrition, exercise and rest. It also includes avoiding harmful habits such as drug abuse, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. This holistic approach to well-being enables you to take control of your life and your health. It also allows you to develop a strong sense of self-responsibility and to nurture your inner strength.
In addition, people who are healthy in the physical domain are more likely to be interested in a variety of other life domains. They are more apt to engage in behaviors such as volunteering, which can have wide-ranging benefits. For example, it reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and creates a sense of purpose. It is a natural law that what you put out into the world comes back to you.
Most people who are healthy in the physical domain have a strong interest in spiritual wellness as well. They tend to seek meaning in human existence, which provides them with a sense of balance and helps them appreciate their life experiences. Some people operate through a level of consciousness called heart-consciousness, in which their thoughts and personal interests take a back seat to the needs and values of others. A few people operate at a higher level of consciousness known as enlightenment.
Mental
Wellness consciousness teaches you to focus on the activities that benefit your body and mind. This can include a healthy diet, physical exercise, and positive thinking. Being health conscious can also teach you self-discipline, which can help you maintain your daily habits and reach your health goals.
It increases your awareness of the world around you, and helps you become more aware of yourself. This can help you better understand your emotions, and be less reactive when life doesn’t go as planned. Being health conscious can also help you stay positive, even during tough times.
Research has shown that health consciousness is associated with higher levels of emotional intelligence. However, it is not a standalone factor that predicts health behaviors. To examine this, researchers compared the relationship between EI and health behaviors, and then analyzed whether the effect was mediated by health consciousness. They ran several models, increasing the number of groups at each iteration and retaining information criteria (BIC and CAIC). All constructs were correlated with one another and had satisfactory psychometric properties, including convergent and discriminant validity. Using mediation analyses, they found that health consciousness significantly predicted decreases in the likelihood of belonging to the Unhealthy group relative to the Healthy group, and these reductions were related to increments in EI.
Spiritual
Spiritual wellness is the ability to reflect on life’s meaning and purpose. It involves a belief system, values and morals that give a person a strong worldview and sense of harmony with their surroundings. People who are spiritually healthy have clear ideas about right and wrong, which drives them to behave consistently. This could mean following a religion, or just having a general sense of balance and self-awareness.
A person with spiritual wellness has compassion for others and themselves, and is able to forgive past mistakes. They are also able to find joy in their lives, even during tough times. A spiritually well person is able to see obstacles as opportunities and knows that they happen for a reason, not against them.
Spiritual wellness can include practicing meditation, prayer, chanting or yoga, or just finding time for reflection. It can include writing in a journal, or taking time to appreciate the beauty of nature. It is also a good idea to join a spiritual community, such as a church support group, or even a grief group, as this can help you cope with the losses of life. Developing these skills will allow you to reach your full potential and thrive in all aspects of wellness. Contact us to learn more about aging well at Rolling Green Village.
