Wellness is a process that most university students do not put at the top of their list of priorities. This could be due to a number of reasons, such as priorities of school over wellness, lack of understanding and knowledge when it comes to wellness, lack of resources, etc. One resource that is well-known and easy to understand is the Wellness Wheel. The Wellness Wheel is a guide (and a process) to help you live a balanced and fulfilling life. The Wellness Wheel is broken down into the seven dimensions of wellness: spiritual, emotional, physical, intellectual, social, environmental, and financial. In the upcoming weeks, I will be posting on the Student Life blog about one of the seven dimensions of wellness. The goal of this series is to help students understand the elements of wellness and how it leads to overall health and a well-balanced life.
Spiritual wellness is a personal process of understanding your beliefs, values, and ethnics.
Emotional wellness involves understanding and accepting yourself and your emotions and having the ability to cope with the challenges in life while still keeping a positive outlook on life.
Physical wellness is developed through healthy eating habits, physical activity, and other actions that will support your overall health and wellness.
Intellectual wellness is accomplished through expanding knowledge, continually challenging your mind, and having the desire to learn new things, stay curious and improve skills.
Social wellness is the ability to connect, develop, and maintain healthy relationships with those around you (friends, family, and co-workers).
Environmental wellness is the ability to recognize the impact of our personal and environmental decisions, and recognize our own responsibility of taking care of the quality of our environment and surroundings.
Financial wellness is being aware of your financial situation and taking the steps to manage it wisely.
If you are interested, there is a wellness quiz you can take: http://www.sfu.ca/students/health/resources/wellness/wellnessquiz.html
Together, we can learn about wellness and how to maintain our own wellness!
Resources:
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/recreationandwellnesscenter/wellness/wellness-wheel/