Wellness is about so much more than having good physical health. True wellness is rooted in metal, emotional, social, occupational, financial, and physical well-being. Wellness is fed and watered by practicing healthy but simple habits that allow us to grow and blossom. For those living with chronic illness or challenges to their mental or emotional health, true wellness may seem intangible, even impossible, even impossible. Yet for all of us. however difficult our circumstances, the wellness journey is one infinitely worth taking, with even the smallest steps, particularly if those small steps are all we can take and rewarded by great joys.
Wellness and Well-Being
The word “wellness” is often misunderstood. When we talk about “wellness”, it is often physical health at the forefront of our minds. We hear someone told they look “well” when they have lost weight, toned their abs, or dyed their hair to hide the gray. We link “wellness” with physical activities: running, weight lifting, eating healthily. Above all, we link the possibility of achieving “wellness” with the metal strengths and decision-making that can bring about physical changes in the body or maintain the body in peak condition such as the will powder needed to diet, run marathons, or hit the gym every day.
In contrast, when we talk about “well-being”, we rarely mention physical fitness or appearance. We talk about emotional states of being, such as happiness and peace of mind. If asked to visualize well-being, we may imagine resting in a tranquil garden, enjoying an ocean view from a sunlit terrace, or sharing a meal with family and friends. We link “well-being” not with the ability to bring about physical changes but the ability to enjoy the moment, to view the past with pride, and face the future with equanimity.
The Wellness
Yet true wellness is well-being and true well-being is wellness. True wellness is based in physical, mental, and emotional health. It recognizes that physical health is not irrevocably linked with physical appearance. By freeing our minds from the chains of this self-defeating link, we can also break free from crash dieting and from exercising only so we can lose a few pounds. Instead, we can focus on truly feeding our physical health by building lasting habits of good sleep, sustainable exercise, and rounded nutrition. There may indeed be a need for willpower to set up those habits. However, that willpower will gain more fire from self-worth than from the desire to change ourselves. The habits of eating well and exercising regularly are best sustained by the key components of emotional well-being: enjoyment and peace of mind.
Likewise, our emotional and mental health cannot be separated from our physical health. Feeling sick or exhausted can challenge our enjoyment even of that tranquil garden, as those living with chronic pain or illness know well. Yet, for all of us, it is our connections with others that can sustain us through even the greatest challenges. The habit of mindfulness, focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while accepting our emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations that can allow us not only to enjoy that garden but to plant it and grow it in our own minds. Our emotional and mental well-being are the greatest resources we have for physical health, just as our physical health is a foundation of mental and emotional health.
In short, true wellness is the physical, mental, and emotional ability to enjoy life to the fullest. True wellness is the physical, mental, and emotional freedom to be our best self-loving, kind, generous, helpful, creative. True wellness is the self-esteem that grows not from how good we look to the world, but from being about to give a kind word, help a friend, and do a little good in the world.