Archive for the ‘wellness’ Category
Understanding Wellness
Wellness
There are seven components to the wellness: emotional, mental, physical, social, spiritual, vocational and environmental. All of these components constantly require some energy, but many people lack balance among all areas. That is, most of their energy is tied-up in one or two areas such as emotional and social. Neglecting the other four or five areas causes problems throughout the system. It can be compared to trying to maximize gas mileage. You can devote a lot of time and energy to keeping your car tuned up and the oil changed, but if your tires are under-inflated and you are carrying a 50-pound bag of dog food in the trunk constantly, you are not going to reap the full benefits. The same thing is true for your body. If you are trying to maximize the use of the energy you have, you must attend to all aspects of your life, not just the ones that obviously need attention. Think about the last time you were stressed out. Most of your energy was going to the emotional component of wellness and the other areas such as social, physical and environmental started having problems. You neglected your relationships or tended to be more irritable. You probably got sick easier and had difficulty sleeping and there was just no energy left over to clean. Look over the following areas and identify imbalances and ways to correct them.
Components of the Wellness Model
The emotional aspect of the person involves any energy expended in the course of experiencing feelings.
The mental aspect is defined as those processes that receive, encode and disperse information. Their personality, their self-concept, and their mental abilities including creativity and problem solving shape people’s mental component.
The physical aspect of the person encompasses all of the physical/physiological processes that demand energy. These include neuroprocesses, digestion, respiration, immunity, exercise etceteras.
The social component of people includes all of the activities involved in forming and maintaining relationships with friends, family and coworkers. Examples are: communication skills and forming and maintaining nurturing relationships
The spiritual component is the energy dedicated to defining and living a purposeful life characterized by recognition of the connection to others and the universe and engaging in behaviors that promote balance and harmony with oneself and the universe. Most religions are based on principles similar to spiritual wellness, but spirituality is a way of /ife, not just a set of doctrines. People may choose to define their spirituality according to the doctrines of one or more religions, but it is not until they embody the intention of the doctrines and actually live by them that they will be spiritual. Spiritual wellness involves defining and living by a set of values and ethics with reflection upon their consequences for the greater good, and behaving in ways consistent with those values.
The vocational aspect is the energy dedicated to defining and reaching career goals. This includes: deciding on a career path, defining vocational needs and goals including:geographic location, benefits, opportunities for advancement and the environment within which one will work.
The environmental aspect is the energy dedicated to maintaining a positive, productive, relaxing environment for all of your senses.
Consider ways that people can multi-task in order to attend to all areas of themselves while accomplishing an energy intensive task such as moving or spring-cleaning which inevitably takes time and energy. Emotionally, it can be very draining, or people can take a little more time and look at some of the “treasures” they uncover in the very back of the closet. Environmentally, people can also attend to their surroundings to make them less dis-stressful. If people thrive on order, do not just throw everything into the middle of the floor and try to re-organize. Label the boxes. Plan a strategy for re-organization before starting. Finally, consider setting a relaxing mood with aromatherapy and music. Mentally, there is little effort needed if there is a plan-of-attack. People should figure out ahead of time how to move the piano down three flights of stairs so they are not stymied when the movers arrive. Physically, they should make sure they have enough rest, energy and good food–not just M&Ms and Mountain Dew. Also, use good form, bend at the knees, get help lifting overly heavy objects etceteras. Socially, make it a cleaning/moving party, get help, someone to talk to (someone to rub your back when you get tired). Vocationally, for people who move/clean on the weekend, plan on being sore on Monday. They will discover muscles they never knew they had. People’s allergies might also act up. Monday probably will not be very productive. Plan on either having an easy day, or taking the day completely off :-}
Think about ways you can help yourself go with the flow instead of swimming upstream. More suggestions can be found at Doctor-Is-In the sister site of the Counselor’s Community or Counselor Continuing Education and Self-Help Manuals .
Dr. Dawn-elise Snipes
http://www.articlesbase.com/stress-management-articles/understanding-wellness-95642.html
What Is Wellness?
Well, there are many ways that you can try to describe the concept of “Wellness” but some of the most widely used and the once that most people agree on are the following:
? Absence of “dis-ease”
? Feeling of well-being associated with a healthy environment
? Feeling of well-being despite unhealthy environment
? Ability to fulfill life’s demands and work towards a higher purpose
? A purposeful life that ensures joy, love, health and longevity
Who can be well?
? Can a person who lost his feet in a war be a picture of wellness?
No, although s/he is mentally and spiritually fit but not physically. There are exceptions where physically unfit person might be more active and successful in life like Craig Hutto who lost his right leg in a shark attack in 2005. A stand-out high-school baseball and basketball player, he has vowed to get back in the game.
? Is a person who repeatedly gets ear infections a picture of wellness?
No, the immune system in some human being is not fully developed and cannot tackle infections and they fall in this category of unwell persons.
? Can a person who had a difficult childhood be a picture of wellness?
Yes or No. Yes, if the person overcomes fully the trauma of difficulty in his/her childhood and does all physical and mental exercises as normal human being. No, if s/he continues to have some sort of physical or mental stress.
? Is a person who is obese a picture of wellness?
No, a person who is obese can not be termed as a picture of wellness. Obese person can develop serious health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. Preventing and treating obesity is difficult. Causes of obesity differ from person to person and are still not fully scientifically understood. They include genetics, environment and behavior.
Thus precisely a fit or well person can be termed as one who is intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, physically, socially and occupationally sound.
Wellness is becoming more and more of a common term but it was not always like that. No more than 10-15 years ago nobody could care less about wellness. Sure we had problems but if we just closed our eyes they might disappear. But they didn’t and that is why the is one of the major trends of the future.
Mikael Rieck
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/what-is-wellness-108132.html
Wellness Programs in the Workplace
Have you ever heard of wellness programs in the workplace? If so, there is a good chance that your employer feels strongly about the benefits of this type of program. However, wellness programs in the workplace are not common among every company in every industry. In fact, there are many companies that are behind the times when it comes to employee wellness.
In order to fully understand what wellness programs have to offer, you really need to know what benefits can come from this. Generally speaking, wellness programs are implemented in order to inform and assist employees in living a healthier lifestyle.
There are many different details that go into wellness programs in the workplace. Although not all wellness programs are the same, most of them are similar when it comes to several details. For instance, most wellness programs in the workplace touch on general health topics, dealing with mental and physical health, and even offering health screenings. With all of these factors being offered, it is easy to see why so many companies are considering a wellness program, or are taking a closer look at programs they currently offer.
So what is the point in offering wellness programs in the workplace? Remember that employees spend on average 47 hours per week at the office. And the fact of the matter is that this is only increasing as time goes on. In addition, technology such as laptop computers and cell phones are making it easier than ever before for work to follow employees home. In turn, all of this cuts into the amount of time that an employee can devote to their health and wellness. Not only will this put employees at risk for health problems, but it will also negatively affect their work performance. As you can see, a lack of health and wellness will burden both the employee as well as the employer.
Quality wellness programs in the workplace can go a long way in helping employees to lead a better life both in and out of the office. Studies have also shown that a wellness program can also help companies to increase their bottom line; and what employer is not interested in doing that?
There are many primary benefits that go along with wellness programs in the workplace. Some of the more popular ones include: increased productivity, lower health care costs, fewer physical injuries, reduced job turnover, and increased loyalty among many others.
Overall, wellness programs in the workplace are becoming more and more common. With so much to offer, it is safe to say that companies without these programs will be moving in this direction over the next few years. Remember, wellness programs in the workplace are beneficial for both employees and the employer.
John Payton
http://www.articlesbase.com/human-resources-articles/wellness-programs-in-the-workplace-121111.html