What is Wellness?

Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices towards a healthy and fulfilling life. It is more than being free from illness. It is a dynamic process of change and growth. Whilst wellness can mean different things to everyone, and can indeed change on a day to day basis, it can generally be characterised by good physical and mental health, happiness, and prosperity.

According to the World Health Organisation “Wellness is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Irrespective of a person’s age, size, shape, gender or ethnicity, it is wellness that is the cornerstone of quality of life. It determines how we ultimately look, feel, interact with others and thrive in life and work.

Wellness is the conscious development of the whole self. Embarking on a wellness journey is a process of searching for the appropriate “tools” to make you a healthier and happier human being, plus discovering your own effective methods to use these “tools” for continued growth and development. As there is a great variety on all aspects of life, there are also countless ways to cultivate yourself on an

ever-changing path of wellness.

It is important to see that all of the various concepts of wellness should include at least the following principles:

Holistic

Your health and well-being are the outcomes of the constant interaction between the several natural dimensions of life and wellness. Each dimension is interrelated with the others. The aim is to be conscious of yourself as a whole and complete person, living life as fully as possible.

Balance

While acknowledging the constantly changing nature of your life, you look to balance it by giving significant attention to each of the dimensions. Lack of sufficient attention to any one dimension will result in less-than-optimal development as a person, and may possibly lead to chronic unhappiness.

Self-Responsibility

A well person owns up to his or her responsibility for health and happiness and does not allow others to take control over decisions he/she needs to make for him/herself. Self-responsibility presupposes self-awareness, including the process by which one becomes increasingly more aware of both the causes and consequences of his/her behavior.

Positive and Proactive

Wellness requires primarily positive perspectives and values by which to live. It also requires a strong sense of purpose and conscious, deliberate action. These are our starting assumptions, and they have stood well through time. However, they provide merely a simple framework. What you put inside that framework is totally up to you.

Day to day you may want to consider your nutritional choices, how active you are, paying attention to how much sleep you get, how many times you smile or laugh, who you choose to spend your time with, how you effectively manage stress, how much alcohol you consume or how you plan your financial wellbeing.

There are many ways to enhance your wellness, and you can find all the help you need from PAM Life. Why not make contact with one of the PAM Life Wellness Coaches to discuss how you can develop your Wellness and take the Wellness Assessment to identify any areas which you may want to consider focusing on.