The Six Dimensions of Wellness

The six dimensions of wellness are: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental and social. Health and wellness or more then how you feel physically, or simply the absence of disease.

During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been ending all of my correspondences with “Stay well!“ To stay truly well, we need to consider all six dimensions above.

To remain physically well, remember that you should achieve at least 150 minutes of moderately intense aerobic activity per week and two sessions of strength training per week. This will help maintain your strength and readiness to work. It will burn stress and reduce anxiety. It well even improve your immune system and help prevent disease.

Emotional wellness relies on being able to compassionately and empathetically listen to others as well as being present and in touch with your own thoughts and feelings.

Spiritual wellness comes with a realization there is a force in the universe much bigger than us. That there is something more than the ego and the self and that we should all be willing to pray to our respective Gods to ask for strength and guidance.

I know that we have all been guilty of binge watching to some degree during this pandemic. Don’t forget however to mix in some mental exercises. Embrace life long learning, intellectual wellness and problem-solving.

I could write a book about the environmental determinants of health and wellness. In short, a healthy work and living environment translates to a healthy life. It is clear to see now that an infectious virus in our environment is a detriment to all of the determinants of our health.

Social wellness is about communicating and interacting with others in a healthy manner. Over the past several weeks, we have had to be creative to keep those people that we love involved socially in our lives. Although it is not a perfect substitute to physical closeness with friends and family, videoconferencing has proved to bring many people together virtually that otherwise have not been included in their lives.

Stay well!