What is Wellness?

What is Wellness?

Wellness is defined as not just the absence of disease, but as a complete state of mental, physical, and social well-being that allows for better quality of life. we see in our state of health from day to day is only the tip of the iceberg. The underlying causes of preventable diseases rest deep below the surface (in basic things such as diet, lifestyle, and mental health) and when these things are not addressed, major illness will occur.

A key concept in wellness states that our well-being is reflected in the energy we take in versus the energy we put out. For example, self responsibility and self love are the foundation of this energy system. Breathing, sensing and eating are the primary ways we bring energy into our system. Moving, thinking, feeling, communicating, intimacy, working/playing, and finding meaning in life are the primary ways that we expend energy in our lives. If the output of energy is greater than the input of this energy in these 12 main areas, major imbalance and disease will occur, which will in turn affect all areas of a persons life.

Self Responsibility and Wellness

“I recognize that I am fundamentally responsible for my health”

When you read this statement what do you feel?  Is there a feeling of uneasiness, a feeling of assurance, or even a feeling of defensiveness that passes through you?  There are so many people looking for answers to their health problems “out there” these days.  People search the internet, go to physicians, holistic healers, spiritual healers in search of a magical cure that will take their problems away, forgetting to look at their own lives for clues and answers on how to improve health conditions and overall health.
A study in 2006 was published in the Preventing Chronic Disease journal that showed that 70 -90% of deaths caused by cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, strokes, and obesity could have been prevented by simple lifestyle change. In fact, it is well known in the medical community that some diseases early on can be managed by diet alone (that is without medication).  The problem is that traditional medical doctors may not have time (due to the constraints of a traditional schedule) or the knowledge of how to properly adjust lifestyle according to your needs or the condition in which you suffer.  This is where self responsibility on the part of the individual comes into play.  Seeking further knowledge help or assistance nutritionists, health coaches becomes the responsibility of the patient. Being assertive and asking questions of the doctors that are treating you becomes the responsibility of the patient and families.  This is part of taking an active role in your healthcare and wellness.

However, self responsibility goes further than just being assertive. It’s recognizing that you have choices and being aware of the consequences of your choices. It is constant evaluation and re-evaluation of your feelings, senses, breathing, and surrounding environment.  It may be finding wellness in the midst of a chaotic situation. Many people have used the chaotic nature of their surroundings to justify not taking care of themselves. This is not only the act of avoiding responsibility but also this reflects a lack of self love.

The extreme of self responsibility is self criticism or self blaming.  This imbalance can be as unhealthy as avoiding responsibility altogether.  An example of over-responsibility might be obsessing about “should haves” and “if I would have” statements.  A person who is caught up by the “should be” syndrome may be on either end of the self-responsibility imbalance but most often is more prone to self criticism.  Again, this in the long term will affect a person’s sense of self worth and self love.

A good balance of self responsibility and self love sits at the core of over all wellness, and affects all other dimensions greatly.  If there is too much of one or the other often issues develop from physical illness that relate to poor lifestyle develops to depression, anxiety which lead to problems in the home and workplace.  Issues of intimacy and communication and finding meaning in life may also be affected by this imbalance.

In the second part of this series, we will discuss how breathing affects all dimensions of wellness.
For more information on the Wellness Inventory and health coaching visit:   www.mindbodyspiritwellness.org.

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