Do you want to feel happy and healthy?
To be truly happy and healthy the key is to take a holistic approach to your health and well-being. Eating a healthy balanced diet and taking care of your body daily are vital parts of being well but there is much more to it if you want to live and experience a happy, healthy life.
Holistic wellness involves looking at wellness as a whole, recognising the different aspects of wellness and how one affects the other. Only when all of these are in balance can you feel truly happy and well in your life. When one aspect is lacking or unhealthy, it can affect the others, as you try to compensate in other areas.
There are 8 main aspects, or categories of life, that lead to wellness, these are the physical, spiritual, emotional, environmental, intellectual, social, occupational and financial. When you are aware of these it helps you identify areas of your life that you may need to work on in order to feel happier and healthier again. Below, you can find each of these described in further detail.
What are the main categories of wellness?
Physical Wellness
This includes a focus on proper nutrition, regular exercise, personal hygiene, appearance, sleep habits and anything that affects your body. When you can recognise and control your behaviours that impact your physical health, you are more able to control your weight, your ability to engage in healthy habits, and your ability to say “no” to unhealthy habits. This will lead to your optimal physical wellness. Instead of focusing just on your diet or exercise routine, physical wellness is really more about creating a life that supports healthy body functions and will allow you to live a long life. When your body is not functioning well, you may experience fatigue, pain, or other symptoms that tell you your body isn’t getting everything it needs.
Social Wellness
The social dimension of wellness encompasses most of your interactions with other people. From being comfortable enough with yourself to engaging with others in healthy ways, social wellness is a significant part of holistic wellness. Connecting with others helps you establish relationships, work well with colleagues, and find the emotional support you need to live a healthy, fulfilling life. Strengthening healthy connections with family and friends and forming intimate relationships that are based on mutual respect as well as supportive boundaries are also an important component. Social wellness allows you to be successful in so many other aspects of your life because you are nurtured and loved by others. If you don't have many social connections you could try joining a community group, club or volunteering.
Intellectual Wellness
Just as you want your body to be healthy, your brain also needs to be stimulated and exercised. Intellectual wellness involves developing your mind in new ways, continuing to learn, being creative, and solving problems. It also includes your openness to new ideas and experiences, improving your skills, and embracing continued growth and learning. In addition to learning opportunities, embracing cultural experiences and being open to new ways of understanding the world, also trying new hobbies in order to explore and discover more. Explore your personal interests and consider taking a class or reading more to expand your knowledge, anything to exercise your brain!
Occupational Wellness
Finding a balance with the work you do every day is an important part of overall wellness. We engage in work for a significant portion of our daily life, and if you are not personally fulfilled by what you do, it can make feeling balanced and happy very difficult. Occupational wellness means your work brings you personal satisfaction and you are also able to balance it with the other parts of your life that are equally important. Your occupational wellness focuses on finding your purpose in life, setting goals toward which you work, and learning to cope with the pressures and stresses of your job. Also doing something that is aligned with your values and gives you a sense of accomplishment.
Spiritual Wellness
Your spiritual wellness relates directly to how you find meaning or purpose in life. What are your values and how do your actions reflect these? We are each guided by our own spirituality, which may come from religion but this is not necessary to have spiritual balance. The most important aspect of this dimension is identifying for yourself your values and beliefs, then choosing a path in life that allows you to live by these. Consider practising meditation to slow down and connect to yourself daily. Use your thoughts and actions to drive purpose.
Emotional Wellness
The emotional dimension of your life is not just about your feelings but also your emotional presence and how comfortable you are with your emotions. It includes being able to understand your emotions, accept them, and regulate them as necessary. How well can you express your feelings and thoughts, do you have empathy for others and are you able to ask for help when you need it? Your emotional wellness includes how well you cope with the challenges of life, deal with stress and is about having a sense of mental balance, self-awareness, self-esteem, acceptance and your own journey to personal discovery all contribute to your emotional dimension.
Environmental Wellness
The environmental dimension includes how your environment influences you as well as your own personal impact on the environment. Your living and working space should be safe, free from clutter and make you feel comfortable, and your surroundings should support all aspects of your life. Do you have objects around you that make you happy? In addition, your environmental wellness includes your care for the environment, both in your personal space and in the world at large. Respecting and conserving natural resources, recycling, reducing plastics, connecting with nature, preserving lands for future generations, and caring for your space and the environment are all important aspects of your environmental wellness.
Financial Wellness
Financial wellness is not always included in the categories of wellness but is should be taken into account as poor financial wellness can impact other aspects of your wellness. The financial aspect includes all things relating to your financial well-being. How well do you budget, manage debt etc. Do you look for solutions or seek help if you are struggling. Are you taking care of your banking and checking any accounts regularly and spending within your means. Are you preparing for the future, investing and planning and saving for retirement?
Become more aware of these 8 categories of wellness to assess your own level of wellness
Being aware of the different categories of wellness helps you identify your priorities, making healthy living easier. Out of the eight categories of wellness above ask yourself where you been lacking or sensing the most tension? What could you work on and improve? Also what are the areas of wellness that have been bringing you the most happiness recently and what have you been doing well?
By looking holistically at all of these aspects you can better determine where adjustments need to be made, what parts of your life are helpful and supportive and what parts need attention, and where you are feeling the most vulnerable. It’s this intentional focus and taking action where necessary on all parts of your life which enables you to be happier and healthier, while also giving you the ability to completely transform your life. If you change one part of your life, it will affect the others.
When you are able to focus on all the dimensions of your wellness, and to successfully find balance between and among them, you will experience harmony and balance and be able to live a happier, healthier life.
If you want to assess your wellness in more detail you can download the FREE wellness assessment tool below to help you discover where your life is in or out of balance so you can see what you need to work on.
In warmth
Sharon K
Holistic Health and Wellness Coach
Reiki Master/Teacher
Download your Wellness Assessment tool below.
PS If you need help and support on your journey to a happier healthier you then I am here for you and you may be interested in the Live Happy Well Coaching Program.
Download the full program brochure here to learn more detail or visit the Holistic health page for general information.
Disclaimer
Information provided for general educational purposes only and not intended to replace medical advice