Using A Holistic Approach To Wellness For Better Well-Being And Balance

What does the word wellness or well-being mean to you? Perhaps it means having good physical health – you eat well and exercise regularly. Maybe for some it means having a strong spiritual foundation, while others simply think of it as the absence of sickness.

The word ‘wellness’ is actually quite vague, and it can mean different things to different people. What we can generally agree on is that wellness includes more than just diet and exercise. It’s about having a sense of fulfillment and balance that allows us to live our best lives.

How do we achieve balance? For working moms, we struggle with the constant juggling and emotional shifts between our jobs, our kids, our family, and ourselves. For us, a healthy balance between work, family, and self is often elusive. One of the reasons it might so difficult for us to find that balance is that we aren’t looking at all aspects of our well-being.

Wellness Has Many Dimensions

Working moms mainly think of wellness in terms of their mental, emotional, and physical health. Understandable. We typically deal with a lot of emotional and physical stress trying to balance work and family, with not much time or energy remaining for self-care. But did you know that there are many more dimensions of wellness beyond the mental, physical, and emotional?

If we look at wellness as a whole, it consists of the social, intellectual, occupational, physical, emotional, and spiritual realms. While many of us pay particular attention to one or two realms, the other areas are also important if we want to achieve true balance.

Why should we think about wellness in this multi-dimensional way? This holistic view gives you a broader perspective and deeper insight into how to improve your overall well-being, and creates a path for a more balanced lifestyle. You might realize that you’ve been neglecting one dimension or simply could benefit from focusing more on another.

The Dimensions Of Wellness

Physical

The physical dimension of wellness includes the things we usually associate with physical well-being – diet, exercise, and sleep. Having good physical wellness is not about being at the pinnacle of fitness, but about working towards optimizing your physical health. It’s worth mentioning that being physically well doesn’t necessarily mean that you are in tip top shape. You can be healthy and not well! You can improve your physical wellness by:

Eating a nutritious diet
Getting a sufficient amount of sleep every night
Exercising regularly
Staying up to date with shots and immunizations
Getting regular physicals at your doctor’s office
Minimizing unhealthy behaviors like drinking and smoking

Intellectual

Intellectual wellness is related to the pursuit of knowledge, personal growth, and the pleasure we get from learning new things and sharing our gifts with others. You can improve your intellectual wellness by:

Learning a new skill or language
Learning about a new culture
Reading books, articles, and magazines
Staying up to date on the latest research in your field
Exploring new topics and interests

Occupational

Occupational wellness refers to the satisfaction you get from your job or workplace. Are you doing work that is meaningful to you? Is it an inclusive and positive environment? Are the things that matter to you supported by your leaders? Every job has its stressful moments, but a generally positive work environment can have a huge impact on your overall well being. You can improve your occupational wellness by:

Finding meaning in your work
Maintaining good relationships with your colleagues and leaders
Being a positive influence on others
Setting up an ergonomic workstation and decluttering your space
Minimizing workplace hazards
Managing your finances
Exploring the resources and perks offered by your job
Adjusting your schedule to promote work life balance
Incorporating self-care techniques at work to manage stress

Social

Healthy relationships, an appreciation of nature, and an understanding of your importance within your community help contribute to social wellness. It’s not necessarily about the number of connections you have, but rather, their strength. You can improve your sense of social wellness by:

Going out and talking with friends and family
Working to strengthen your current relationships
Connecting with others who have shared interests
Volunteering or contributing to your community
Appreciating nature and the environment

Spiritual

Spiritual wellness is about the connection you feel to a higher purpose or meaning in life, and the appreciation of natural forces that exist beyond what we can see. Spiritual wellness doesn’t just mean being a religious person. It’s more about exploring your beliefs and finding meaning in your life. You can improve your sense of spiritual wellness by:

Going to a place of worship
Reading religious books
Being tolerant of others’ worldviews
Exploring your own belief systems and your connection to a higher purpose
Living your life authentically

Emotional

Emotional wellness is related to how well you are able to recognize your emotions, deal with stress, and address your overall mental health needs. Stress is a near constant for working moms who juggle work and family life every day – it’s no wonder this area tends to get a lot of attention in our circle. Being emotionally well means that you can maintain a good outlook on life and handle the inevitable challenges in a generally positive way. Some ways to improve your emotional wellness include:

Journaling and self reflection
Finding time for self-care
Meditating
Seeking help from a professional when needed
Practicing gratitude
Recognizing and accepting your own and other’s feelings

All dimensions of wellness affect and interact with other. Occupational wellness heavily affects emotional and physical wellness, while physical wellness can affect social wellness. When we look at all the different realms as a whole, we can appreciate how each one can impact the other.

Work On One Thing At A Time

Now that we have a better idea of all the areas that contribute to wellness and how they interact with each other, how do we go about implementing that knowledge into our daily lives?

The first part is recognizing that you can’t do everything at once – the more balls you have, the harder they are to juggle. As a working mom I simply do not have the time to socialize AND exercise AND sleep 8 hours a night AND do self-care regularly. I’m lucky if I manage a couple of those things in a day. Even the thought of trying to fit all that into a day stresses me out – it’s just not realistic.

We may not be able to do everything all at once, but we wouldn’t want to anyway. Focus on one things at a time. With time, consistency, and a strategic approach to wellness, we can improve our overall well-being and life satisfaction.

Every dimension of wellness is connected to the other, and each one has an impact on our overall well-being. It’s a big picture, but we don’t have to take it all in all at once – that only leads to more stress! Prioritize your needs, and accept that things are fluid and can change over time. The goal is not to be perfect, but to strive towards living a more balanced and fulfilled life one day at a time.