What is wellness?
- workingwithinwelln
- Jan 14
- 2 min read
Wellness is the core focus of my podcast, blog, website and everything in between. When I ask people “what does wellness mean to you?” the typical answers I hear are fitness, nutrition, mental health, and sleep health - all of which are true. But wellness is so much more than that.
Harvard defines wellness through eight dimensions of health and well-being, and I think they offer a great framework for understanding wellness as a whole:
Emotional Health - involves the recognition and acceptance of all of our thoughts and feelings, whether positive or negative.
Environmental Health - means leading a lifestyle that values the relationship between ourselves, our community, and the environment. Individual wellbeing is affected by the environments we live in and we as individuals also have a significant impact on these environments.
Financial Health - means being mindful of your financial decision making.
Intellectual Health - consists of critical thinking, stimulating curiosity, problem solving, and creativity.
Physical Health - important aspects of physical health include exercise, nutrition, sleep, sexual health, and making healthy decisions around substance use.
Relational Health - focuses on establishing and maintaining meaningful relationships with self, other individuals, groups and communities and develops from our interactions and connections with others.
Spiritual Health - can stem from beliefs, faith, values, ethics or moral principles that provide purpose and meaning in our lives.
Vocational Health - consists of an occupation that aligns with our skills and values, challenges us, and gives us a sense of fulfillment.
In the Working Within Wellness podcast, I’ll be featuring professionals from each of these eight dimensions. They’ll share their journeys, what they do in their respective field, and offer advice for anyone interested in pursuing a similar career. And don’t worry - this won’t be the last time you’ll hear about these dimensions in the blog either!
For more information about Harvard's eight dimensions of health and wellbeing go to:
Comments