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 might 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, and the feeling that we are living our best lives.
Working moms often struggle with achieving that balance between the constant demands of our jobs, our kids, and our families.
For us, achieving a sense of wellness most likely means having good physical and emotional well-being, a healthy work-life balance, good social support, and enough time for self-care.
While it’s important to focus on those things, it’s also good to keep in mind that there are other dimensions of wellness beyond the emotional and physical.
In this post, we’ll talk about the six dimensions of wellness and how each one contributes to our overall well-being.
Wellness has many dimensions
We mainly think of wellness in terms of our mental, emotional, and physical health.
Understandable. Working moms 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 a few realms, the other areas are also important in achieving overall balance.
Why should we think about wellness in this way? I would argue that a holistic view of wellness gives us a broader perspective and deeper insight into how to improve our overall well-being, and creates a path for a more balanced lifestyle.
By looking at the whole picture, we might realize that we’ve been neglecting one aspect of our overall wellbeing or simply could benefit from focusing more on another.
The 6 dimensions of wellness
Emotional
Emotional wellness is related to how well we are able to recognize our emotions, deal with stress, and address our 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 our 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 our own and other’s feelings
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 our physical health.
It’s worth mentioning that being physically well doesn’t necessarily mean that we are in tip top shape. It just means that we’re paying attention to our physical needs and making the best choices we can.
We can improve our 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
Occupational
Occupational wellness refers to the satisfaction we get from our jobs or workplaces.
Are we doing work that is meaningful to us? Is it an inclusive and positive environment? Are the things that matter to us supported by your leaders?
Every job has its stressful moments, but a positive work environment can have a huge impact on our overall well being. We can improve our occupational wellness by:
- Finding meaning in our work
- Maintaining good relationships with our colleagues and leaders
- Being a positive influence on others
- Setting up an ergonomic workstation
- Decluttering our spaces
- Minimizing workplace hazards
- Managing our finances
- Exploring the resources and perks offered by our jobs
- Adjusting our schedule to promote work life balance
- Incorporating self-care techniques at work to manage stress
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.
We can improve our 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 our field
- Exploring new topics and interests
Social
Healthy relationships, an appreciation of nature, and an understanding of our importance within our communities help contribute to social wellness.
It’s not necessarily about the number of connections we have, but rather, their strength.
We can improve our sense of social wellness by:
- Going out and talking with friends and family
- Working to strengthen our current relationships
- Connecting with others who have shared interests
- Volunteering or contributing to our communities
- Appreciating nature and the environment
Spiritual
Spiritual wellness is about the connection we 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 our beliefs and finding meaning in our lives.
We can improve our sense of spiritual wellness by:
- Going to a place of worship
- Reading religious books
- Being tolerant of others’ worldviews
- Exploring our own belief systems and our connection to a higher purpose
- Living life authentically
Striving for progress, not perfection
Now that we have a better idea of all the areas that contribute to wellness, how do we go about working on each dimension?
The first part is recognizing that we just can’t do everything at once – the more balls we have, the harder they are to juggle.
As a working mom I simply do not have the time to exercise AND sleep 8 hours a night AND do self-care AND read books for 30 minutes every every day. Even the thought of trying to do that stresses me out – it’s just not realistic.
Instead, we play the long game. We prioritize our needs and focus on one thing at a time. We do things in small chunks – 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there – and eventually, we’ve reached a happy and sustainable balance.
With patience, consistency, and a strategic approach to wellness, we can improve our overall wellbeing and life satisfaction.
The goal is not to be perfect, but to strive towards living a more balanced and fulfilled life – one dimension at a time.
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