Wellness Dimensions Vocabulary

Chapter 9: Wellness, Advancing Life Satisfaction, and Critical Thinking Performance

Case Study: Jen's Freshman Finals

• Jen, a freshman, is stressed and fatigued preparing for finals.
• She aims for a 3.5 GPA, pulling all-nighters and consuming excessive coffee and fast food.
• Her screen time has increased by 33% in two weeks due to mindless scrolling on Instagram.
• Jen worries about her performance due to her struggling study schedule.

Questions Raised

1. Which wellness areas are affected by Jen's choices?
2. What adjustments can Jen make to improve her wellness?
3. What strategies can Jen use to enhance her wellness?

Chapter Overview

• The chapter aims to enhance the understanding of wellness and personal well-being.
• Self-care: Taking care of oneself through revitalizing behaviors.
• Wellness: A broader concept including eight dimensions: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, occupational, financial, environmental, and intellectual.
• The chapter will help establish and maintain these dimensions to maximize educational experiences.
• Chapter 9.1: Defines wellness and relates its dimensions to student life.
• Chapter 9.2: Applies a holistic wellness perspective to nutrition, exercise, sleep hygiene, stress management, and social media use.
• It also examines critical thinking, mindfulness, goals, time management, and metacognition in maintaining personal wellness.

Chapter Objectives

• Identify and define the eight dimensions of wellness.
• Describe how wellness dimensions relate to performance and life satisfaction.
• Describe how time management and goal-setting strategies can be used to achieve balance.
• Define wellness in terms of nutrition, exercise, sleep hygiene, and social media use.
• Describe the relationship between stress management and wellness.
• Describe how critical thinking and mindfulness inform wellness.

9. 1 The Wellness Dimensions

Objectives Covered

• Identify and define the eight dimensions of wellness.
• Describe how the wellness dimensions relate to performance and life satisfaction.
• Describe how time management and goal-setting strategies can be used to achieve balance.

What is Wellness?

• Reflection: How do successful adults maintain a fulfilling lifestyle?
• Historical view of health: Absence of physical illness.
• World Health Organization (1948) definition of health: "A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
  • Supports a holistic and preventative view.
• Wellness definition: An active process of gaining awareness and making choices toward a satisfying and fulfilling existence (Hettler, 1984; National Wellness Institute, n.d.).
• Wellness includes actions and decisions that lead to health and well-being across various dimensions.
• Beliefs and approaches to wellness form early in life (ages 20-24).
  • This includes the transition to college.
• Forming healthy habits during this stressful time can be difficult.
  • Increased expectations to perform and achieve success exacerbate this.
• Developing awareness and supporting holistic wellness during college improves academic achievement and persistence.
  • This includes higher GPAs (Cereola et al., 2014; Finkelstein-Fox et al., 2018; Maddi et al., 2009).

Eight Dimensions of Wellness

• Understanding the dimensions of wellness promotes holistic well-being.
• Eight dimensions supported by mental health services:
  • Physical
  • Emotional
  • Social
  • Spiritual
  • Occupational
  • Financial
  • Environmental
  • Intellectual

Wellness Dimensions Explained

• Physical:
  • Taking care of the body through:
    • Healthy diet
    • Regular exercise
    • Sufficient sleep
    • Good hygiene
  • Includes the need for movement.
  • Requires self-control regarding:
    • Tobacco
    • Drug use
    • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Personal responsibility in:
    • Regular medical checkups
    • Seeking medical attention when needed
• Intellectual:
  • Participating in mentally challenging and creative learning activities.
  • Fosters curiosity, expands knowledge, demands self-control, and promotes open-mindedness.
  • Exploring new ideas, discovering new skills, and engaging in unique learning activities.
  • Requires active problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Emotional:
  • Being aware of feelings and psychological needs.
  • Foundation upon which self-esteem is built.
    • Self-esteem definition: The value you place on your own characteristics, abilities, and behaviors (Woolfolk, 2014).
  • Includes the ability to:
    • Manage stress
    • Regulate emotional reactions
    • Cope with life challenges
  • Requires actively monitoring expectations and expressing feelings appropriately.
• Social:
  • Emphasizes the value of satisfying personal relationships and community support.
  • Promotes effective communication for building intimate relationships and friendships.
  • Efforts to benefit the community by supporting the wellness of others and natural environments.
• Spiritual:
  • Involves discovering purpose and meaning in life experiences.
  • Promotes making choices aligned with values, ethics, and morals.
  • Drawn upon from:
    • Religious faiths
    • Spiritual practices
    • Philosophical ideas
  • Seeking a balance between inner needs and outer challenges.
  • Learning about how beliefs inform one's way of being in the world.
  • Discussing different viewpoints to promote tolerance and enhance curiosity.
  • Pondering what it means to live in personal harmony.
• Occupational:
  • Recognizes the value of work-life balance and the relationship between career satisfaction and personal enrichment.
  • Highlights the benefit of exploring career options that align with personal values, interests, and beliefs.
  • Factors that influence occupational development:
    • Educational requirements
    • Salary
    • Location
    • Work-life balance
    • Benefits
• Financial:
  • Balance between well-being today and financial preparation for tomorrow.
  • A state of psychological well-being where one feels in control of current finances and financial future.
  • Promotes:
    • Financial planning
    • Saving
    • Budgeting
  • Increases feelings of security and stability while decreasing stress and anxiety around finances.
• Environmental:
  • Focuses on an individual's personal spaces (dorm rooms, study spaces, work environments).
  • Satisfaction level with the space's:
    • Functionality
    • Tidiness
    • Cleanliness
  • Low satisfaction can lead to:
    • Increased distractibility
    • Lowered productivity
    • Feeling scattered

Wellness in Daily Living

• Prioritizing Wellness:
  • Building a well-rounded life.
  • An intentional and aspirational approach to living.
  • The journey to greater well-being commences daily through choices made with time and attention.
  • Entails being thoughtful and selective in determining what to achieve and what kind of person to become.
• Time Management:
  • Routines, resources, and methods of planning a balanced week.
  • Planning helps prioritize and predict the workload.
  • Ideal weekly schedules offer structure, adaptability, and flexibility.
  • Are areas of wellness currently included in your ideal week?
  • Prioritizing tools may help make adjustments to your week, goals, and to-dos.
• Example: Weekly To-Do List and Wellness Areas
  1. Read for all four classes (Intellectual/Occupational Wellness)
  2. Write paper for English (Intellectual/Occupational Wellness)
  3. Go to work Monday and Thursday 3-10pm (Financial Wellness)
  4. Oil change for car
  5. Call mom back (Social/Emotional Wellness)
  6. Meal preparation for the week (Physical Wellness)
  7. Catch up on sleep (Physical Wellness)
  8. Lunch with friends Monday, Wednesday, Friday (Social/Emotional Wellness)
  9. Attend a club fundraiser (Intellectual/Occupational/Social Wellness)
• Eisenhower Method:
  • Important & Urgent:
    • Catch-up on sleep
    • Write 1/2 rough draft of paper today
    • Read for 1 class today
    • Text mom
    • Go to work Monday
  • Important & Not Urgent:
    • Finish paper draft Tuesday
    • Lunch with friends 1 day this week
    • Go to work Thursday
    • Read for two classes Wednesday
    • Read for one class Thursday
  • Not Important & Urgent:
    • Meal preparation - roommates
  • Not Important & Not Urgent:
    • Call mom back
    • Send completed draft paper to writing center for edits
    • Reschedule 1-2 lunches with friends
    • Attend club fundraiser
    • Oil change
• Boundaries:
  1. I will go to sleep by 10pm each day this week
  2. I will read for my Tuesday class today by noon
  3. I will ask my roommate to help meal prep for both of us this week
  4. I will write my paper today by 3pm
  5. I will reschedule 2 lunch dates with friends and limit to 1 per week
• Intentionality makes the difference in accomplishing goals in different areas of wellness.
• Goal setting and metacognitive strategies can help focus and prioritize areas of wellness.

Setting Wellness Goals

• Dedicating oneself to personal wellness prioritizes life satisfaction.
• Constructive habits form by engaging in healthy, enriching activities regularly.
• Formulating one small goal for each of the eight wellness dimensions is a good start.
• Activity 9.1.1: Goal Setting Wheel and Planning Guide
  • Rank satisfaction level with each core life area (0-10).
  • Identify low areas causing an uneven wheel as opportunities for growth.
  • Set goals and make changes based on this.

Additional Tools

• Wellness assessments can also help gain awareness around areas of wellness.

Chapter 9.1 Summary

• Wellness can be understood in terms of eight primary dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, financial, environmental, and occupational.
• Everyday choices and personal priorities impact overall wellness.
• Time management and goal-setting strategies can help to prioritize, gain balance, and improve areas of wellness.

Key Terms

• Self-Esteem: The value you place on your own characteristics, abilities, and behaviors.
• Wellness: A continual active process of gaining awareness and making choices toward a satisfying and fulfilling existence.