Wellness

Wellness is a framework that can be used in many ways to help us organize,
understand, and balance our own human growth and development.
Everything we do, every decision we make, every thought we think, and
every attitude and belief we hold fits into this framework made up of
six basic concepts.

Social Wellness involves
developing friendships, healthy sexual behaviors, the ability to
interact comfortably with others and generally works for harmony in
personal and community environments.

Intellectual Wellness
is the strong desire to learn from challenges and experiences. It
encourages ongoing intellectual growth, and creative yet stimulating
mental activities which provide the foundation to discover, process,
and evaluate information.

Spiritual Wellness is
the willingness to seek meaning and purpose in human existence; being
open to diverse multi-cultural beliefs and backgrounds. Being
spiritually sound enables one to seek out the perfect harmony between
that, which lies within one's own spirit as well as with outside forces
that coexist.

Emotional Wellness is having the
ability to acknowledge and accept a wide range of feelings in oneself
as well as in others. It is being able to freely express and manage
one's own feelings to develop positive self-esteem in order to arrive
at personal decisions based upon the integration of one's attitudes and
behaviors.

Physical Wellness encourages regular
physical activities, proper nutrition and health care, such as exercise
or sports, and personal hygiene. This type of physical activity
discourages dependence on tobacco, alcohol and other drugs
(prescription or street).

Occupational Wellness
focuses on the integration of various components of the wellness
framework into planning for a healthy future, such as career, family
and future wellness. It develops the understanding that decisions and
values may change as new information arid experiences are attained.

Wellness is...

a direction in which by its nature, moves us toward a more proactive, responsible and healthier existence.
the integration of the body, mind, and spirit.
the loving acceptance of ourselves today and the exciting free search for who we choose to become tomorrow.
choice living; a compilation of the daily decisions we make that lead us to that person we choose to become.

Incorporating Wellness into My Life - Action Plan

Awareness: Where am I unbalanced?

Knowledge: What options do I have?

Decision Making: What options should I consider?

Planning: What is the most realistic plan?

Action: When, where, and how can I take action?

From Counseling and Psychological Services, Wayne State University