The Six Dimensions Of Wellness

Part of understanding the body and treating symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, joint pain, and overall discomfort is realizing that the body is an intricate system that functions as one. In modern medicine, we have become used to seeing different specialists for different body systems ( i.e the endocrine system, the nervous system, etc.). However, in all reality, the body is made up of all these systems to work together to maintain homeostasis.

Wellness is best defined by the National Wellness Institute as, ” An active process through which people become aware of, and make a choice toward, a more successful existence (The Six Dimensions Of Wellness)”.

In general, wellness is applied in one’s life to incorporate all aspects of health. Similar to the systems in the body, wellness is not just isolated to one part. The National Wellness Institute has promoted and defined there to be six dimensions of wellness.

Emotional

Occupational

Physical

Social

Intellectual

Spiritual

These dimensions dive deep to incorporate mental health and physical health. Mental and physical health are closely intertwined and often times relate to each other. By applying the six dimensions of wellness into your life, you are treating the body as a whole and allowing yourself to embrace the mind-body connection for optimal wellness.

Emotional:

The ability to be alone and have your own feelings and thoughts not overwhelm you, expressing emotions in a healthy way, and to be able to be compassionate towards others’ emotional state.

Occupational: 

The work you put in every day and understanding that it has a purpose and point to fulfill not only the necessary job duties but also the soul.

Physical:

The practice of regular physical activity, healthy eating/nutrition, and a regular healthy sleep schedule. These are essential elements to fuel life and heal the body.

Social:

To be able to regularly socialize and react with others. This includes interacting with people in all aspects of life and engaging in a healthy living environment.

Intellectual:

Not only referring to education, but allowing the mind to open up and connect to the lively world around.  Intellectual wellness has a main focus of creativity while exploring problem-solving and critical thinking.

Spiritual:

Knowing that there is a purpose in life that the life you are living is meaningful.

Essentially, by applying these six dimensions of wellness into everyday life, a person becomes more aware of how each dimension is connected to another and how they contribute to healthy living. Emotional health has a lot to do with mental health. By aligning emotional health with mental health, the physical health the body receives is less inflammation, a healthier gut, and more mental clarity.

Similarly speaking, occupational health has a lot to do with physical health. If the occupation one has is constantly exhausting them and causing high levels of stress, the hormones in their body will start to become off balance. This will affect their health in the way that they will not be sleeping as well, causing fatigue and the body to react with inflammation because it is not getting an adequate amount of rest to properly heal.

Physical health is important because by incorporating regular physical activity into one’s life, endorphins will be released more often. Physical activity is used to treat many mental health disorders as well as prevent many physical disabilities.

Often times, anxiety or stomach issues can be brought on by social events. Social wellness works on healthy communications with others around you while also being able to be comfortable and confident.

Intellectual wellness happens as individuals explore and connect with others. If one is not complete or working on the intellectual wellness side of things, this can cause depression and poor health due to not being stimulated and interactive.

The last dimension of wellness is spiritual.  Spiritual wellness does not mean that you believe in a specific thing, but rather that your life has a meaning and you have a purpose.

By incorporating these six dimensions, it allows the human body to connect with itself. by opening up the communication between the systems, a new level of wellness can be achieved.

The six dimensions of wellness is a more holistic approach to healthy living. These dimensions will help individuals reach their full potential while learning and acknowledging their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to health. I highly recommend incorporating the six dimensions of wellness into everyone’s life as the healing benefits it can bring are remarkable. Treating the body as a whole and realizing that your gut health is related to your brain health is eye-opening and creates a lot of room for potential healing. – Kenna Vaughn, Senior Health Coach 

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, and nervous health issues or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health protocols to treat injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. To further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900. 

References:

Norris, Kevin M. “Finding Balance: 6 Dimensions of Wellness.” Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights, 1 Apr. 2013, www.washingtonblade.com/2010/06/10/finding-balance-6-dimensions-of-wellness/.

“The Six Dimensions Of Wellness.” The Six Dimensions of Wellness – National Wellness Institute, www.nationalwellness.org/page/Six_Dimensions.