The Seven Dimensions of Wellness and The International Council on Active Aging PDF

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Running head: THE SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS

The Seven Dimensions of Wellness and The International Council on Active Aging

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THE SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS

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THE SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS AND THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON ACTIVE AGING

Introduction

Due to the many concerns of life, it is now common for people to feel overwhelmed, stressed and most of the times unhappy because things are not going the way they would. This is the case with most adults who are otherwise pursuing wellness. In that case, for many, in has become hard to achieve the peace of mind because of juggling conflicting priorities and distractions from unexpected sources like friends, the media, work, et cetera. To many, wellness is takes the dimension of physical and emotional wellbeing. However, wellness has much more than that and according to the International Council of Active Aging (ICAA), wellness is the, “ability to understand, accept and act upon our capacity to lead a purpose-filled and engaged life” (ICAA, 2019). Thus, it is a dynamic process through which we are able to make conscious choices in a bid to achieve a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Wellness is thus composed of seven dimensions which include physical, spiritual, emotional, environmental, intellectual, occupational and social.

Preview Through research, the definition of wellness has kept on improving. This is because the interconnectivity of the various dimensions is still being established and their contributions to the holistic wellness. Although definitions had been made about wellness by various researchers and bodies like WHO, it was not until 1976 when Dr. Bill Hettler, who was the co-founder of the National Wellness Institute in the United States came up with a model of wellness that

THE SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS constituted of six dimensions of wellness (Green, 2017). The environmental dimensions of wellness was however added later to complete the current list of seven dimensions. Many researchers have since researched on these individual dimensions and their significance towards holistic wellbeing are overwhelming. For instance, a study by Barwais, Cuddihy, and Tomson (2014) sought to prove effects of physical activity on total wellness on individuals by studying two sets of people. One set included those whose jobs demanded regular movements from point to point while the other group had jobs that they spent most of the time sitting. The researchers proved that physical activity was critical in determining total wellness as it contributes to the physical wellness.

THE DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS

Physical wellness Physical wellness is a dimension that is critical for us to maximize on our potentials as it concerns the body. All the seven dimensions are interconnected in a manner that they provide an environment for living and meeting the needs and wants of an individual. A healthy body is critical in facing and handling the various aspects of life including successful implementation of regular physical activities. There is a lot required for one to achieve and sustain physical wellness and some of the requirements include maintaining a healthy diet, engaging in physical fitness activities and embracing rest and sleep as a means of rejuvenating the body. These go a long way in mitigating the risk of developing chronic diseases while improving our quality of life.

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The dimension of physical wellness significantly requires an early attention as it significantly determines how healthy one is at later age of life especially when he joins the older adults club (Fullen, 2019). Engaging in physical activity, eating healthy and regular medical check-ups cannot be over emphasized. The wellness level of an 85-year old adult in the United States, Brazil or Kenya would be to a larger extent, be determined by how serious he took matters physical wellness in his early stages of life. This is because physical wellness is not subject to geographical location. Therefore, being active at younger stages of life ensures a healthy body for the next phase of life.

Emotional wellness

Emotional wellness is another critical dimension towards a holistic wellness. When we are emotionally stable, we are able to control the stressors that we encounter and balance other aspects of life. It is with emotional stability that one is able to have a positive view of self, others and the environment. Although some level of stress is important in life as it could be a propelling force towards achieving targets, a stressful life inhibits one from maximizing on other potentials of life. For instance, according to American Psychological Association (2015), about 40 percent adult Americans lay awake at night for lack of sleep resulting from various stressors. In that case, the lack of sleep eventually affects physical wellness which eventually increases the emotional instability.

Debilitating stress levels lead to anxiety, digestion problems, and insomnia and is also linked to heart disease. In that case, being able to control one’s feelings is essential in helping on to balance issues. Emotional wellness is exhibited by the ability to cope with challenges, behaving and respectful manner and being trustworthy. To improve on this wellness dimension,

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one can ensure to embrace a routine where distractions are minimized, embrace an optimistic attitude and seeking extra help when need be like through counseling and stress management skills.

Spiritual Wellness

The spiritual dimension of wellness is equally essential in achieving a holistic wellness. Spiritual wellness refers to the possession of guiding principles, values and beliefs. These helps shape one’s direction in life and encompass high levels of commitment, hope and faith to beliefs that give an individual sense of purpose and meaning. Much research has been done on this dimension that proves that having a perspective in life guided by principles values and believes is essential achieving total wellness. Additionally, being aware of the meaning and purpose of life helps an individual to question and appreciate what can be understood and at the same time appreciating what cannot be understood or explained.

Spirituality helps individuals to live in harmony as values dictates that one embraces forgiveness, being grateful and compassionate. Thus, spirituality helps us in managing relationships with the external environment as we manage our own internal feelings and emotions. Thus spiritual wellness is key in determining the stability of one’s connection to the world and own internal stability as it helps in balancing forces within and those without. There are a number of ways of achieving spiritual wellness including subscribing to a group based faith where you help each other in diverse ways, meditation, praying and mindful exercises (Lynch, 2019).

Intellectual Wellness

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Intellectual wellness involves engaging in creative activities that keep our minds stimulated. The outcomes of the creative and intellectual activities help our minds to remain alert and interested of the developments of the activities. Expanding our knowledge through learning new things as a lifelong undertaking is essential in remaining intellectually healthy. According to WHO, Canadians have now an increased life expectancy by six years as per a study that covered 1990 and 2012. This has been contributed to by increased knowledge such and embracing lifelong learning. This is important to minimize the rate of cognitive decline as we age (HowardMorris et al., 2016).

Some of the avenues to learn new things include going to places that would expose you to new things like attending cultural events, live concerts and even watching movies. Research also shows that activities like singing can improve your mood and mitigate stress. While singing, breathing is also influenced and that may help in improving respiratory conditions. Appreciating art, learning foreign languages, attending workshops, spending time with people who can challenge your intellect, and embracing reading can keep your mind stimulated.

Social wellness

This dimension of wellness is all about our ability to interact with others in the society successfully and being able to live within the expectations and demands of the society. This entails playing of one’s roles as expected and observing the boundaries set. In this case, one will need to be able to communicate effectively with others, develop intimacy with others, creating and embracing support network of both family and friends. Social wellness is indicated by one’s ability to respect self as well as others and contributing to the community is one of the ways to

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show respect. This dimension can also be cultivated by joining groups of common interest, visiting people and places as well.

Research has shown that people who are in more meaningful relationships tend to be happier and generally healthier. This acts as a recipe for their longevity. Thus, fostering healthy relationships with family, friends and chosen peers is essential for our overall wellness. This creates interdependence and

Environmental wellness

Environmental wellness entails being aware of the unstable nature of the earth resources and taking responsibility to ensure living in harmony with the physical environment and other people. In that case, one would embrace conservation and maintaining a lifestyle that does not tend to exhaust the resources available. Therefore, taking part in social activities that target protecting the environment would be a milestone in achieving environmental wellness. According to the Australian Psychological Association (2007), “It is clear that the well-being and integrity of natural ecosystems and the biophysical environment are integral to human health and well-being.”

By conserving the environment we ensure sustenance of where we and the future generations can interact with nature. Being in nature helps one reflect in his thoughts and also feel the connection with something bigger than self (Martinez-Juarez, Chiabai, Taylor, & Gómez, 2015). This can be done by eating outdoor, planting a garden and going hiking. To make this possible, we thus need to embrace measures that help conserve the environment like water

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conservation, recycling whatever may harm the environment and minimizing chemical use on nature.

Occupational Wellness

This dimension entails putting into use the personal capabilities like skills, talents ad gifts to achieve purpose, gain happiness and at the same time enriching one’s life. Your attitude about work is a determinant of how you satisfied you will get by engaging in it. In this case, satisfaction and attitudes are directly related to your occupational wellness. Optimal occupational wellness means having positive attitude and experiencing pleasure in your employment or work activities. Thus, this requires that you integrate commitment into your work activities in order to achieve satisfying lifestyles.

There are a number of ways you can enhance occupational wellness including through creating a vision that guides you into the future, exploring the available career options and identifying one best suited for you according to your gifts, talents, skills and personality. Embracing to learning new skills concerning your work activities is important in ensuring that you succeed. This dimension also includes other life roles like motherhood and fatherhood. It is also about the ability to take up volunteer work and engage your hobbies.

The ICAA ensures that its membership is aware of these dimensions of wellness. ICAA organizes conferences to address issues concerning aging. For instance, through conferences like Active Aging Conference the organization is able to instill this knowledge to its membership. Other initiatives under Age-friendly initiatives, information from research is unveiled to members regarding the aging processes and are advised accordingly. The association mainly

THE SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS targets older adults and Baby Boomers who are now more than ever conscious of their aging process. Thus, the association targets knowledgeable professionals willing to share materials, knowledge and embrace the goal of changing the perceptions of the society regarding aging.

In that cases, there are many organizations and professionals that are in partnership with the ICAA and are determined to generally change and influence the aging process of members through availing some level of assistance in fitness, rehabilitation and wellness as many need extra support after retirement. Therefore, offering membership support to the aging adults and Baby Boomers as they age for the purpose of maintaining their dignity and minimizing stressors is the ultimate goal of ICAA.

Through active aging initiatives, ICAA also ensures to promote the vision of people in their diversities despite their health status, socioeconomic status or age. In this view, the ICAA ensures to promote active aging though the nine principles of aging. These principles are essential as they guide various stakeholders who in one way or the other influence the seven dimensions of wellness. In that case, they touch stakeholders like governments, healthcare industry, employers, product and service providers, et cetera with regards to their effect on the aging process of the population. Through implementing these principles, active and engaged living can be achieved and hence overall population wellness

ICAA boasts of membership over 10,000 from 37 countries and where professionals, organizations and experts in various fields contribute and gain knowledge. In that case, the council has managed to improve the lives of many across the globe by changing perceptions of how we age and also availing business opportunities for many within the council. The council has premier membership option though ICAA 100 where members can access various benefits

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including shairing information through webinars, reports and research and a market research tool.

What is the Optimal Action Plan for an 85 year old in the United States or Kenya of Brazil

An older adult in any of these three countries may be exposed to different kinds of opportunities that may improve on their living conditions. For instance, in the U.S. there are nursing homes that the older adults can be taken and receive care and attention throughout the day. Additionally, due to the economic status of the United Sates, this elderly adult may access various government support services like through Medicare. Many families in the U.S. also have better socioeconomic status than in developing countries like Kenya and thus may be in a position to support this person in diverse ways (Anderson, Goodman et al., 2012).

In Kenya on the other side, the country does not have a strong economy and therefore the government might not be in a position to avail many or tangible support for this per son. Many families may also not be in a position to cater for the needs of such a person effectively because of their socioeconomic status. Thus, this person may just be left to cope with the situation. The limited support resources may accelerate the rate of their functional degeneration and thus leading to earlier death than one in the U.S receiving various support services (Jakovljevic- Netz et al.,2018)

On the other hand, in the Kenyan scenario, this person may have most of his family members living with him and therefore although they might lack resources, this person may enjoy the social support and the joy of seeing their family members. While, on the other hand, in

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the U.S. family members might be engaged in various activities like work and school and thus have limited time with the elderly something that might trigger their emotional instability. Due to the availability of the nursing homes in the U.S. many consider to continue with their life activities and have the elderly in the nursing home.

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References

Anderson, L. A., Goodman, R. A., Holtzman, D., Posner, S. F., & Northridge, M. E. (2012). Aging in the United States: opportunities and challenges for public health. American journal of public health, 102(3), 393–395. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300617

Australian Psychological Society, (2007). Psychology and the Natural Environment. Retrieved 30 November 2019 from https://www.psychology.org.au/getmedia/6e52f6c8-4364-4796a099-134cfba04426/Position-statement-natural-environment.pdf

Barwais, F. A., Cuddihy, T. F., & Tomson, L. M. (2014). Adult total wellness: group differences based on sitting time and physical activity level. BMC public health, 14, 234. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-234

Center, W. (2015). Personal wellness assessment–Seven dimensions of wellness.

Fullen, M. C. (2019). Defining Wellness in Older Adulthood: Toward a Comprehensive Framework. Journal of Counseling & Development, 97(1), 62-74.

Green, Army (2017). 7 Dimensions of Wellness: A holistic approach to health. Retrieved November 30, 2019 from https://www.alive.com/health/seven-dimensions-of-wellness/

Howard, E. P., Morris, J. N., Steel, K., Strout, K. A., Fries, B. E., Moore, A., & GarmsHomolová, V. (2016). Short-Term Lifestyle Strategies for Sustaining Cognitive Status. BioMed research international, 2016, 7405748. doi:10.1155/2016/7405748

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International Council on Active Aging (ICAA), (2019). Active Aging And Wellness. Rtrieved 30 November 2019 from https://www.icaa.cc/activeagingandwellness/wellness.htm

Jakovljevic, M. M., Netz, Y., Buttigieg, S. C., Adany, R., Laaser, U., & Varjacic, M. (2018). Population aging and migration–history and UN forecasts in the EU-28 and its east and south near neighborhood–one century perspective 1950–2050. Globalization and health, 14(1), 30.

Lynch, T. (2019). Spiritual Dimension. In Physical Education and Wellbeing (pp. 143-151). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Martinez-Juarez, P., Chiabai, A., Taylor, T., & Gómez, S. Q. (2015). The impact of ecosystems on human health and well-being: A critical review. Journal of outdoor recreation and tourism, 10, 63-69....