What exactly is "Wellness"?
"Wellness" is a term having many meanings to many people. Some look at it a concept of holistic proportions, others in my home state of Colorado consider it a term for Medical Marijuana and others describe it as a "catch phrase" for health, fitness and nutrition programs in the business world. The problem with the term is that "wellness" is not a regulated profession. There are no standards to determine what wellness is and what it is not. Therefore many "wellness experts" open shop in any of the various industries that decry themselves as wellness. Now all of these definitions are fine and dandy and the term will continue to evolve, but let me tell you what "Wellness" means to me....... an academician.
First off, Wellness is what researchers call a "construct" - something that is not easily measured or defined. How would you know wellness if you saw it? Would the super fit, yet emotionally and socially weak individual be well? What about the paraplegic that skydives on a regular basis and climbs mountains, is this person well? Or the person that has nothing yet gives to all, are they well? The local Pot Shop down the street, is this wellness? As you can see, wellness is not as easy to define as you would think at face value. And with that stated, wellness has been defined and thoroughly researched in academics for a long time. I would like to share that information with you.....
To the Dr., "Wellness" is not a generic term. It is a scientific research model which helps academia to measure (see Picture 1) and predict human behaviors and their overall health based on "dimensions" or categories of a person's (or group's) lifestyle habits, see Picture 2.
Picture 1: The Model of Wellness
I have come across many dimensions of the model since its inception in the 1970's but the one's I use most and believe "capture" the vast majority of behavioral variance (difference) in activities are: Physical, Career/Occupational, Emotional, Environmental, Spiritual, Intellectual, Social and Financial Wellness. Imagine this concept figuratively using your favorite homemade pie as a visual example. In a perfect world, people that are considered "thriving and well" would have eight, equally sliced portions of pie, the pie would be perfectly round and would represent balance in each wellness dimension. Research indicates this symmetry of behaviors promotes harmony and an enhanced "quality of life" over the years. It does not promote the chronic diseases we see today like obesity, diabetes, strokes, heart attacks, dementia, Alzheimer's and high blood pressure among others.
Picture 2: Dimensions of WELLNESS
Now consider those people I mentioned earlier: the super fit, the paraplegic or the person who has nothing? Their pie's would not be cut the same and their slices would be very different in size, yet who of these truly would be considered "well"? At face value, most would say the super-fit person because they look like a million bucks on the outside! Yet I would beg to differ, the other two thrive in life despite of their physical and financial situations. Hence, the Model of Wellness allows research to determine who truly is well, where people stand in their wellness endeavors and who is not well. Using this baseline of information, Dr.WellnessRx will develop a personalized program to enhance anyone's quality of life or a business program! Because the model is so powerful in helping with behavior change, I would like to define each dimension for you and give an example of behavior that exemplifies it.
Physical Wellness: Involves assessment of the "health related" components of fitness. These include: muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, aerobic (cardiovascular) conditioning and body composition, a means to determines lean body mass from body fat. Physically well people are active, can do manual labor as well as walk all day. They are mobile, self-sufficient and can handle most actively demanding endeavors. They are not frail nor worried about falls, tumbles or stumbles.
Career/Occupational Wellness: Pertains to one's preparedness, ambition, interest and commitment to a career where personal satisfaction, a sense of self-worth, autonomy and not necessarily financial wealth are the cornerstones to this dimension of life. Those well-off occupationally generate personal intrinsic satisfaction in the job they do. They do not look at challenges as problems, more so they look at them as opportunities. The ability to grow, advance, contribute, be involved, and truly enjoy your job in a comfortable work environment is what Career wellness is all about.
Emotional Wellness: Is all about assessing self-esteem (how one feels about them self), self-efficacy (a personal assessment of one's abilities, resources, supports and skills to accomplish specific tasks), self-concept (how one perceives them self), an ability to develop satisfying, long-term and intimate relationships (not just sex) with people. Constructively dealing with feelings and how to best let them materialize productively is also a part of emotional wellness.
Spiritual Wellness: Those strong spiritually have a very well defined guiding set of beliefs, morals, values and principals that give purpose to their life, especially when things get tough. They are resilient and capable of loving, forgiving, are compassionate, they serve and enjoy serving. Religion can influence spiritual wellness but one does not have to be religious to be spiritually well.
Intellectual Wellness: The pursuit of knowledge, intelligence, wisdom and the ability to critically think for one's self are paramount to intellectual wellness. Locus of Control (who's responsibility is it?) is also a huge part of this dimension. Having a sense of humor, creativity, mastering skills, identifying and solving problems, finding solutions, having an ability to change your mind and questioning "why?" are paramount to having strong intellectual wellness.
Social Wellness: Good communication skills (listening too), being personable and working/playing/interacting with others, balancing relationships, expressing appropriate emotions and contributing to your community through business and personal endeavors are all a part of social wellness. Those that thrive with social wellness are extroverted, open to try new things and meet new people, are easily approachable and do well in new environments.
Financial Wellness: Having a sound understanding of personal and business finances, how the money market works and predicting future money needs are the foundations to being financially well off. Making quality investments, saving, assessing your "standard of living," retirement needs and preparing for financial changes, including having children, vacations, hardships, college, and many other money needs must be considered when striving for financial wellness. Financial wellness means people prioritize costs, save for rainy days, are frugal in purchases, have a long term plan for personal, family, medical, and fun activities. They research their actions first and make educated choices on most purchases.
Environmental Wellness: Respecting nature and those species living in it, conserving energy, recycling, enjoying being outdoors in natural settings, taking acting to protect the world around you, leading a lifestyle that is respectful to our environment and minimizes any harm done to it. Environmentally well people also have a strong awareness of their surroundings and volunteer their time to a worthy cause.
As you can see, there is much more to wellness than it being a generic term used for many of today's new "holistic wellness" businesses that are popping up all over the country. Wellness is a well thought out and defined process that when applied to individual and business program development, provides a clinical method to improve the health status and quality of life to both people and business alike. It is a valuable tool Dr. WellnessRx utilizes to develop "Best in Class" programs for clients.
