Wellness and how to get it
WHAT IS WELLNESS?
Wellness is a modern word with ancient roots. The key tenets of wellness as both preventive and holistic can be traced back to ancient civilizations. In 19th-century Europe and the United States, a variety of intellectual, religious and medical movements developed in parallel with conventional medicine. With their focus on holistic and natural approaches, self-healing and preventive care, these movements have provided a firm foundation for wellness today.
Wellness is defined as the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.According to health and wellness definitions, wellness has a direct influence on our overall health, which is essential for living a healthy, happy, and fulfilled life. The primary difference between health and wellness is that health is the goal and wellness is the active process of achieving it.
There are two important aspects to this definition. First, wellness is not a passive or static state but rather an “active pursuit” that is associated with intentions, choices and actions as we work toward an optimal state of health and well-being. Second, wellness is linked to holistic health—that is, it extends beyond physical health and incorporates many different dimensions that should work in harmony.
Dimensions of Wellness
There are six main aspects of wellness that we want to address: physical, mental or intellectual, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental. In order to be considered "well," it is imperative for none of these areas to be neglected.
Physical
Physical wellness is about taking proper care of our bodies so that our bodies can function properly and optimally. Physical wellness encompasses various elements, like activity and nutrition. Physical wellness is about being able to complete daily activities without extreme fatigue or physical stress and avoiding destructive habits (sedentary behavior, drugs, alcohol, tobacco).
Intellectual
Intellectual wellness encompasses creative and stimulating mental activities. It’s about our ability to open our minds to new ideas and experiences that can benefit our personal and professional lives. Intellectually well individuals have a desire to learn and apply new concepts, improve their existing skill sets, and seek new challenges.
Emotional
Emotional wellness is also commonly referred to as mental wellness. Emotional wellness is our own ability to understand and accept ourselves and successfully cope and deal with the challenges and obstacles life and work bring. Emotional wellness is being able to identify how you’re feeling and why; it’s about acknowledging and effectively channeling anger, fear, sadness, stress, hope, love, happiness, frustration, etc.
Spiritual
Spiritual wellness is our ability to establish peace and harmony in our lives and to be fulfilled by what we do by aligning our values with our actions.
Spiritual wellness is about having a set of guiding beliefs, principles, and values that give meaning, purpose, and direction to our lives.
Social
In simple words, social wellness is the ability to relate and connect with other people, at work, at home, in our neighborhoods, and at Church.
Social wellness is about building and maintaining positive relationships that add value to our and other people’s lives.
Environmental
Environmental wellness is being aware of nature, our environment, and our immediate surroundings. It is about protecting the environment and protecting ourselves from environmental hazards. This requires that people think of air, water, and land quality and take the necessary steps to protect it.
The Appeal of Integrative Medicine
In 1847, the American Medical Association (AMA) was established to try to regulate medical care. This governing body controls state medical boards and determines whether doctors can receive or maintain hospital privileges, and whether they can keep their medical license. A medical license can be revoked for reasons other than incompetence, such as deviating from what is known as the "standard of care." The NIH (National Institute of Health) defines 'alternative medicine' as non-mainstream practices that are used in place of conventional or traditional medicine.
So why would someone look to alternative medicine? One reason is that 150 million Americans suffer from at least one incurable chronic disease. A common criticism of traditional medicine is that medical doctors have a tendency to treat symptoms with medications because there is no known cure. (FDA approved drugs come with a list of potential negative side effects, 75 per drug on average.) A frequent criticism of alternative medicine is that it relies on anecdotal evidence and is not based on clinical trials, plus the occasional sensationalism or false claims made by certain dietary supplements. Both sides to the traditional vs alternative medicine have their points, but both sides are also wrong in some of their arguments.
This is why more people are becoming aware of the need for bringing traditional and alternative practices together in Integrative Medicine.
The appeal of integrative medicine is:
- Empowerment of the individual to participate in and take responsibility for his or her own health
- Recognition and emphasis on lifestyle issues, such as proper nutrition, exercise, adequate rest, and emotional and spiritual balance
- Treatment of the individual as a whole person, as opposed to a series of parts
- Emphasis on preventing disease and maintaining health
