What does wellness mean?

By Becky Hardy

Here we are again: another January (albeit one that’s slightly different to the Januarys of old) and, once again, we’ve ladled onto our already-pretty-full plates more promises, commitments, to-do lists and restrictions. New Year’s Resolutions, in other words. And even if you’re not the out-and-out ‘resolution type’, it’s hard to go into a new year and not have a resolve to do something even just a little different to how you did it last year.

The problem, we guess, is determining whether these changes will be positive. And we don’t just mean in the sense that you’ll maybe drop down from a size 14 to a 12. In fact, that’s the whole issue, isn’t it? A lot of our thoughts and beliefs about wellness focuses on the physical: what our bodies look like, what our levels of endurance are, what we’re eating, how often we exercise, how we sleep, how often we get ill.

But wellness – true wellness – is about something much more. Here at HLN, we’ve been spending a great deal of time delving into what wellness means for us, for experts in the field and for you, our readers. And it may surprise you that there’s a lot more to it than just getting back into your running shoes.

According to prominent health and wellbeing practitioners around the world, there are 8 dimensions of wellness – yep, eight – different dimensions of wellness. These break down into: Emotional, Environmental, Financial, Intellectual, Occupational, Social, Spiritual and Physical. Each category, so they say, is equally weighted and interrelated. And true holistic wellness comes when all of the eight are in equilibrium.

So, what do these 8 dimensions of wellness that we’re talking about mean? Let’s dive in…

WE GET SO EMOTIONAL, BABY

Now this one is a totally different kettle of fish. The tricky thing about our emotional wellbeing is that it’s entirely subjective. It’s hard to figure out exactly what we need to maintain or improve our emotional health, and why that may be different to our friends or family. Emotional wellbeing is all centred around things like managing stress levels and self-care. So communication – either just with yourself or with others – comes into play a lot.

A little tip from HLN: Spend at least 5 minutes of every day ‘decompressing’. Put down your phone, turn off the TV and just sit with your own thoughts.

OCCUPATION STATION

If you’ve ever had a job you’ve hated, then you’ll know the importance of occupational wellness. You can’t be occupationally ‘well’ if you hate your job, and the impact that can then have on all the other aspects of your wellbeing can be dramatic.

Similarly, though, you can have a job you love but your occupational wellness could still be stunted. How so, we hear you ask? Well, occupational wellbeing is about more than just enjoying work – it’s about whether you feel a personal sense of satisfaction with your job. Do you appreciate your contributions? Are your contributions appreciated by others? Do you feel a sense of personal growth and enrichment? If any of your answers to these questions are ‘no’, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to up and quit your job. But it may mean that you should take a good, hard look at your occupation, your skills and how you can speed up your professional growth.

Occupational wellness also hinges on finding that work/life balance. You may have the best job in the world, but if it’s meaning that you get home so late that you never eat dinner with your partner, you’re missing out on much-needed sleep or you can never make your friends’ birthday nights out (in non-COVID times, obviously), then maybe it’s not quite all it’s cracked up to be.

A little tip from HLN: Turn off your phone to work-related activities when you clock off.

RESPECT THE INTELLECT

There’s a reason we come home from a beginner’s pottery class and proudly display our new vases on Facebook (or, if you work for HLN, show off our ‘boob pots’ on Insta). There’s a reason why crosswords are a staple in every newspaper. It’s the same reason we were drawn to Spirograph and Monopoly when we were younger, and why we can’t walk past a piano with pressing a key or two, even though we have no idea how to play. That reason is that we, as humans, have this drive to be creative. We crave new ideas and knowledge and have an in-built passion for mental stimulation. This is all part of our intellectual wellbeing.

Being intellectual in this sense doesn’t mean being clever. It means learning to see the value of curiosity and lifelong learning. It’s about picking up that guitar that you haven’t played in years, or finally learning how to speak French. And it shouldn’t just be focused on scholastic or creative endeavours either – joining in on cultural or community activities can be just as stimulating.

A little tip from HLN: Read a book that interests you. Not one that you’ve been told to read by anyone else, one that you think you’re going to enjoy.

GOING UP TO THE SPIRIT IN THE SKY

Last but certainly not least, we turn our attention to spiritual wellbeing. This category focuses on our systems of beliefs, values, morals, ethics and principles and how we use these to guide us through life. It may sound pretty simple, but the truth is that work on our spiritual wellbeing is never done. It’s a constantly-evolving process of self-discovery and reflection. What we value most can change over time.

So how do we stay spiritually ‘well’? All we can suggest here is to stay true to yourself. And if you don’t know exactly what that means, then take the time to find out – try a little meditation, give yoga a go, spend some time travelling (when we’re allowed again) or start volunteering. Be accepting and open to listening to other people’s viewpoints, practice tolerance, love and forgiveness, but think critically about whether or not you agree and why. Not one of us will ever know the meaning of life, but looking after our spiritual wellbeing may well give us the tools to find fulfilment and purpose in the lives we have.

A little tip from HLN: Talk to people. What’s going on in the world can be a great place to start. Seek out other people’s views and think about what you can learn from them.