When we think about health, we often think about the physical aspect of a healthy lifestyle. Accomplishing the highest form of health and wellness requires people to explore and balance the four key dimensions. As humans, we are influenced by many factors of life that are intertwined and can have negative or positive effects on our overall wellness.
These factors are identified as the health and wellness dimensions, which include physical, social, emotional, and environmental health. To be able to manage each dimension we must first understand what it is and how it can have a hold on our life, attitude, and feelings. Let’s break down each of these dimensions and see how we can adopt a lifestyle that maintains the balance between them.
Physical
This is the most common dimension of health that people often worry about the most. It pertains to your physical wellness, so your body’s health and functions. Learning about your diet and nutrition, avoiding habits that could have adverse effects on your physical health, and adopting habits that strengthen your body are all part of this health dimension.
In this dimension, we will look at flexibility, endurance, and strength. Having poor physical health could be a result of partaking in bad habits such as smoking, lack of exercise, intake of junk food, excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol. It is relatively easier to track and monitor your physical wellbeing through your health vitals and signs of discomfort in your body.
Managing good physical health can also positively impact your emotional health, because on a psychological level when you feel good and look terrific you enhance your self-esteem and sense of direction and determination.
Social
The social dimension of health is often the most disregarded dimension despite its strong impact on us. This dimension focuses on the healthy and toxic relationships we build throughout our lives from the first friend we make to our spouses and kids. It is influenced by your interactions with others and their impact on you as well.
Social wellness stems from building positive relationships with people and being a positive impact on those around you. It is also connected to your interaction with the community and how you build strong connections with it.
Seeking a positive social connection with people will help you establish selflessness and develop a trusted circle of friends and family who will help you improve yourself. Living in a safe and healthy community will also impact your physical and emotional health aspects, taking you a step closer to holistic wellness.
Emotional
Emotional wellness is the one that plays the most on your mental health as it impacts your mental wellbeing through your feelings towards the situations that occur to you. This dimension is determined by how self-aware you are, how accepting you can be to your emotions as well as others.
One of the ways emotional health can be identified is through monitoring how well you cope with new or stressful situations. Your ability to maintain a healthy mind by fueling it with positive thoughts, using a logical approach to making decisions, and allowing yourself time to process and accept your emotions.
Maintaining a healthy emotional life will help you become a well-rounded dependable person who has emotional intelligence and realizes the importance of expressing feelings, empathising with others, and appreciating support.
Environmental
This brand of health is focusing on our relationships and connections with nature and our environment. Protecting your nature and maintaining a safe environment to live in will help us preserve our physical health and in turn our mental health.
A safe environment eliminates the rise of bacteria and diseases which allows us to have the ability to build our communities and continue our social connections without fear of infections. Additionally, your consciousness towards the environment shows compassion and strengthens your empathy towards yourself and others.
Armed with this knowledge about the key dimensions of health, we urge you to work towards building a holistic, sustainable, and balanced life. However, it is important to avoid stressing yourself trying to make everything perfect. Remember to take small steps towards your goals rather than big leaps that might harm your progress. Explore easy and simple ways that will help you maximise your personal wellbeing, within all aspects of health.