Personal Tips for Strengthening all Dimensions of Health and Wellness

 Dimensions of Health and Wellness:

                                

As indicated in a previous post titled "Are you truly Healthy?" there are several dimensions of health and wellness which are intricately connected, and all have a direct effect on our health. As expressed previously, all dimensions need to be developed to achieve optimal health, wellness and wholeness.  As a recap, dimensions of health and wellness include: 

• Physical- incorporating the development of a healthy lifestyle including good nutrition, physical activity, developing habits of adequate rest and sleep, participating in routine health screenings and avoiding the use of alcohol, tobacco and other harmful substances.
• Spiritual- involves deriving meaning and purpose in life which relate to our beliefs and value system.  It involves "getting outside of ", "transcending" the 'physical' self. 
• Emotional- involves acknowledging feelings and taking the liberty to express them in healthy ways as opposed to suppressing them.  This may also require reaching out for needed help.
• Occupational- involves the assessment and necessary adjustment steps regarding whether your occupation is a good fit with respect to your knowledge, skills and abilities.  This also includes the congruence between personal values and the occupational culture, and whether there is work-life balance and the ability to share and celebrate accomplishments.
• Financial- involves the ability to earn income, sufficiency of income to meet basic needs as well as provide for enjoyment of leisurely activities.  This incorporates planning and management and saving towards life, emergency and retirement goals.
• Intellectual- involves the potential for continued growth and evolvement by utilizing the mind.  This enables the brain to be constantly active and the horizon to be widened. It involves learning new things and exploring new topics, interests and perhaps hobbies. 
• Social- involves developing and maintaining a 'trusted' support system of not only family members but friends, and possibly colleagues and others with whom you feel a sense of community.   These alliances exist not only for the benefit of mutual support but also as a built-in system of accountability.
• Environmental- involves the ability to have access to nutritious foods (not food deserts), clean water, clean air, a feeling of safety in the surroundings, and reduction of waste by reusing and recycling resources as possible.  

Some Models have also included creativity as a Dimension of health and wellness:

• Creativity- involves the focus on self-expression by developing, enhancing and/or showcasing unique skills and abilities.  Research findings have suggested a connection between creativity and well-being.

When dimensions of health and wellness are weakened, they have an effect on each other and on overall health and wellness.  In this current post, I am transparent in sharing how I personally strive to achieve this balance that leads to optimal health, wellness and wholeness. 

        My Journey to Optimal Health, Wellness and                                      Wholeness:                                                                                                             

         I have always had the yearning to achieve optimal physical health for as long as I could remember, hence my career choice of Public Health and Nutrition even as a teenager.  I have always been very mindful and have made a conscious effort to select healthy food choices which include the concepts of variety, adequacy, balance, nutrient density, moderation, and portion control.  I am always mindful of cooking methods and choose dry heat methods primarily- searing, roasting, stir-frying, grilling, broiling, and baking.  Using appropriate healthful substitutions to cultural dishes has also been a saving grace.   When traveling as I am doing during this summer and previous summers, I take the time to map out appropriate hotels and restaurants that include breakfast in their prices.  Subsequent to this is carefully reviewing the quality of the breakfasts served.  It was quite a delight on my trip to Malaga, Spain to see the variety of healthy foods being offered at breakfast.  

                                    

                                             

                                           

 

                                           

                                          

However, variety alone does not ensure that one will eat optimally.  In this setting, I have personally witnessed someone consuming four boiled eggs in one sitting.  This is where nutrition knowledge regarding adequacy, moderation and portion control comes into play.  

Following are some of the breakfast choices that I have personally made to ensure variety, adequacy, balance, nutrient density, moderation, and portion control:

  

                                           

When traveling, in particular, a healthful breakfast can then be followed up by either a late lunch or early dinner that is carefully chosen for nutritional adequacy as well as to meet budgetary needs.  Careful identification of appropriate restaurants that meet both nutrient and budgetary requirements is therefore key. 

                                              

In addition to dietary aspects of physical health, I have adopted a routine in which I take early morning walks that contribute to my goal of at least 10,000 steps per day.  In addition, I incorporate an intense Afro-beats dance workout of 17-20 minutes duration: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi67Z-omZ6AAxWgSjABHYz4B0AQtwJ6BAgSEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D29Yn8g7V0QA&usg=AOvVaw2ZTR9bP9BNIER_w4UWpqAd&opi=89978449   

Particularly with remote work and work which involves sitting quite frequently at a computer, movement is of utmost importance in the daily routine.  I also keep up and participate in routine health screenings, limit alcohol consumption to celebratory occasions such as my recent milestone birthday.  I have never, nor will I ever begin consumption of tobacco and other harmful substances.

                                           

                                              

Daily Early morning walks is where the physical and spiritual dimensions come together for me.  There is nothing more beautiful than being awake to witness the gradual dawning of a new day.   Early mornings are glorious and a constant reminder to look upwards for all the assurance and inspiration that I will ever need. I feel closest to God at this time, I pray, walk and talk out loud.  I examine and acknowledge my thoughts and desires and I spend time co-creating and manifesting by speaking those things into existence and more importantly, following up by taking appropriate action. There is also nothing like nature to really point out to us our place in the grand scheme of things...a continual humbling experience.

                                             

                                                                         

 The daily practices of meditating, contemplating and journaling have also served me well and have strengthened the spiritual dimension of health and wellness.  I also pray for and over my immediate family members and pray with my young family members at appointed times which we all look forward to as we have continually seen awesome results and answers to our prayers.                

In an effort to strengthen the emotional dimension of health and wellness, I have continuously worked on being conscious and aware of my feelings at all times, acknowledging them not suppressing them, and striving to express them in ways that are healthy to me as opposed to ways that are pleasing to others.  In this respect, I have come a long way towards both spiritual and emotional freedom as I have outgrown the need to seek approval from others.  Also, casual, unsolicited opinions of others have no weight nor bearing upon my life.  On a positive note, I have learned to cherish my inner circle- my immediate family and close friends who uplift me and to whom I offer mutual support, positive regard, unconditional love and upliftment.

                                         

Synchronized with the emotional dimension is the social dimension of health and wellness.  The goal here has been to maintain this 'trusted' support system of not only immediate family members but also tried and true friends, and possibly colleagues with whom I feel a sense of community.  As mentioned previously, these alliances exist not only for the benefit of mutual social and emotional support but also as a built-in system of accountability. 

                                                                                                                                                                        Based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, as basic survival needs are met, and there is progression to acceptance, belongingness and love, there is continual progression towards the tip of the pyramid to Self-Actualization.   The path towards self-actualization for me has involved the strengthening of the intellectual dimension of health and wellness.  I continually strive for growth and evolvement by utilizing my mind and maximizing my skills and abilities.  There is a continued quest for learning new things, exploring new topics, interests and hobbies.  I also strive to share my knowledge, skills and abilities with the community at large through raising awareness of my services, providing blog posts, and thinking of creative ways to share valid information such as the development of a new You-tube Channel which will be dedicated to Health and Nutrition topics. Although a terminal degree has been attained, strengthening the intellectual dimension also involves maintenance of professional licensures and certifications, and consciously making the effort to keep abreast of new developments and research findings in the fields of Public Health, Nutrition and other related areas as well as participation in Continuing Professional Education.

Hand in hand with Intellectual Health and Wellness is Occupational health and wellness which involves the assessment and necessary adjustment steps regarding whether the current occupation or place of employment is a good fit not only with respect to level of knowledge, skills and abilities but whether there is congruence between personal values and the occupational culture.  Also, whether there is work-life balance, equity and a commitment to awareness and promotion of mental health.   

This dimension of health and wellness has always been challenging from the perspective of upholding my principles and integrity, as well as my drive and quest for learning new things, growing and evolving and expressing creativity.  I have enjoyed many positions where there was room for growth, creativity and expansion.  I have never been able to just sit in one place where the vision and mission no longer aligned with my personal vision and mission.   However, in each scenario that I grew out of, I was able to touch many lives as I continue to touch many lives now by what I do, and the mentorship that I provide in each situation.  Development of a Telehealth Practice has been one way of manifesting my personal vision and creativity while continuing to train a new generation of public health professionals in a job setting.

Strengthening the financial dimension of health and wellness has not only involved ability to earn income to meet basic needs but also to provide for the enjoyment of leisurely activities such as taking a well-deserved vacation. 

                                                   

                                                 

 I strive to do this at least once or twice per year and I strive to visit places that I have never seen before.  This also fits in perfectly with my quest for life-long learning and growing.   Strengthening the financial dimension of health and wellness has also meant incorporating planning and management of finances to achieve life, emergency and retirement goals.  With life the way we know it today, there is always need for flexibility in making adjustments and projections for meeting future needs.  As with the other dimensions of health and wellness, it is an ongoing process towards total freedom.

Last but not least, I continually work on strengthening the environmental dimension of health and wellness by continually accessing the nutritious foods, clean water, and clean air that are available to me while at the same time advocating for others who live in food deserts and who do not have similar access to clean water and air.  I also support anti-pollution efforts, contribute to the reduction of waste by reusing and recycling resources as much as possible, and work with others towards establishing a feeling of safety in the community. 

In my journey towards wholeness, I aim for as much balance as possible among the dimensions of health and wellness.  As indicated in my previous post, "Are You Truly Healthy?" I continually set small, realistic, and attainable goals and attempt to move towards their attainment one step at a time.  Sometimes there are setbacks in one or more dimensions of health and wellness.  My approach, as advised in a previous blog post, is to acknowledge setbacks and keep moving forward again one step at a time, one day at a time...towards optimal health and wellness, towards "Wholeness."

Look out for Health and Nutrition Topics on my new Youtube channel to be released soon:

https://www.youtube.com/@letstalkhealthandnutrition2855

     

Lorna C. Hylledig Ed.D., MSPH., R.D., L.D