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I found this model a few years ago and fell in love with the holistic foundation. The concept of the wellness wheel dates back to 1976 when Dr. Bill Hettler released the Six Dimensions of Wellness model. The six dimensions are intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, occupational, and physical. The premise of this model suggests that by balancing these six dimensions and actively seeking to improve them, people could improve their overall well-being. Since its original publication, many wellness wheels have been developed to range from 6 dimensions to up to 30+. Here's the model I have adopted into my practice.
I wanted to share this with you because it has proven to be such a useful tool for my clients. I have found that this can be useful for individuals and couples alike. Here's how it works.
Learn. Take the time to read through this post and learn about each component or dimension of care. Before you jump to anything you need to change or do... take your time to let the information soak in.
Analyze. As you become familiar with the components of care, take stock of your life. What areas are strong in your life, what areas need work? You might ask yourself what are values or philosophies that align with each category.
Plan. After you analyzed and assessed your life, now is the time to create your plan of action. Think through realistic, doable changes. Too many at once will guarantee frustration and exhaustion, so take it easy here. Even small shifts can yield great reward. Feel free to create visuals, set reminders, or share your plan with your support network.
Adjust. Get to work! Start implementing your plan and take note of the positive changes you experience along the way
Now that you have an overview of how the wellness wheel can be helpful, lets get into it! This list is in no particular order of importance and I believe they all influence each other.
*DISCLAIMER: Please reserve harsh criticism towards yourself here. Be gentle as you analyze and assess.
This component includes but is definitely not limited to healthy eating and exercise. I encourage you to stretch your mind a bit and think of what goes into your physical experiences. Here are a few areas that may spark a thought.
Body acceptance
Medical Conditions
Strength
Mobility
Hydration
Dental Care
Sleep (patterns + hygiene)
Hygiene + cleanliness
Nutrition
Allergies + food sensitivity
Style + fashion
Vision
In this area of your life, think about how your body may be trying to communicate with you. Do you need to adjust your lifestyle to include more water, movement, or sleep? Maybe you're someone who lives life in the fast lane with jam packed schedules and high stress- are you experiencing physical tension in your body or grinding your teeth when you sleep? Take note, what is your body telling you?
Spiritual health is all about connection, meaning, and purpose. I see our spiritual experience as two fold; the individual and apart of the collective. In assessing your individual spiritual health, think of these aspects:
Vibes + energy
Your attitude
Values + morals
Personal integrity
Meditation
Mindfulness practices
Prayer
Our spiritual experience within the collective is all about connection to everything outside of ourselves. That includes our connection to the divine, to science, to people, to animals, to the world. Checking your spiritual temperature also means assessing your connection with others. This may include:
Religion
Community engagement
Social/civic awareness + participation
Addressing Toxic relationships
Addressing Trauma
While assessing your spiritual health there are times when an explorative approach is helpful and other times it's about getting back into alignment.
Social Health has a special highlight on the nuances of relationships. In this component there is an emphasis on how we establish, maintain, and experience connections to others. Things to consider in this stage of your life:
Q: Does quantity of relationships matter?
Q: How are the quality of your relationships?
Q: Do you feel like you belong to a community? If so, what communities do align with?
Q: How are your communication skills with you social network?
Q: Do you have a support network?
Q: What are your leisure activities?
Q: Do you have hobbies?
Q: Is there diversity in your social networks?
thought diversity
cultural diversity
professional diversity
socioeconomic diversity
Expand your thoughts in this area to include but not limit relationships to just friendships. Relationships can include family, acquaintances, and associates. They can be personal and professional as well.
Emotional health seems self explanatory but honestly I think it's one of the hardest components for people to put into practice. Emotional health is being able to identify, process, manage, and express your feelings.
In my experience, people have a limited vocabulary when it comes to identifying feelings in the first place. Not being able to find the right words to describe how you are feeling can make it very difficult to navigate coping, resolving, or changing feelings. Usually people get frustrated with feeling a feeling and chose to ignore it, brush it under the rug, misdiagnose it or accept it as "this is just how I am". Here is one of my favorite resources to help you expand your emotional vocabulary, the Feelings Wheel.
Other things that will help you practice identifying what you are feeling are:
Journaling. There are different methods to journaling. However what is most helpful about this exercise is giving yourself time to be alone with your thoughts and feelings. You can mental, emotionally, and verbally dump it all without the need for any filters. Practicing this mode of expression can help you identify patterns of feelings and even sort through them.
Meditating. Lets be real, most of us don't like meditating because we think we suck at it. We often think the goal of meditating is to think of nothing. Wrong! There are many goals to meditating, one of which is to allow your thoughts to flow and not get stuck on a singular thought. There are also times when meditating includes exploring a singular thought or idea. When it comes to emotional expression, meditating can is another medium for shifting through thoughts and help shift emotional experiences.
Prayer. This sacred act of communing with the divine can do wonders for emotional identification, process, and expression. During prayer there is a safety to bring feelings with raw authenticity and allow you to speak your truth. There's such relief in that. In speaking your truth you may find open space for emotional resolution.
Breathing. The practice of breathing when going through intense emotions is helpful for clarity. We usually shorten our breaths when feeling deeply. Slowing down to focus on breath work can help calm your nervous system and allow you to sort through thoughts and feelings, which can give you a sober moment to better navigate your feelings and behaviors that follow.
Listen to your body. All of our systems are connected. Before we were able to speak, we were able to feel. Some times our bodies do the speaking for us. If you're angry... your body will tell you by increasing in temperature or furrowing your brows. If you're anxious, you may feel an increase of heart rate or you start smiling nervously. How does your body tell you what you are feeling?
Once you have practiced exploring and identifying your emotions, the next step will be to find healthy ways to express your feelings.
Environmental health is the most external of all the components. Your environment includes your: living space, workspace, neighborhood, community, city, state, country, continent, world. This is a biggie so take your time exploring these areas and decide which areas affect you and how. Some people are more Eco conscious and highly value a lifestyle that promotes sustainability for the planet. Others are more inclined to think about what is most helpful for me right now. Where ever you are on the spectrum of care for your environment, the important part is when exploring environmental health is that you specify which aspect of your environment you are willing to improve.
Here are some questions to think about that may help improve your environmental health. For the sake of this exercise I'm going to work from micro to macro.
Is my room clean? Am I affected by messy room?
Does my office/work space bring out the best in me? Is it organized? Do I need something inspirational nearby? Is it bland?
Do I care about my neighborhood? Is there a way I can improve my neighborhood experience? Do I speak to my neighbors? Do I know my neighbors names? What kind of relationship do I want with my neighbors?
Am I impacted by things happening within my community? Am I aware of recent events happening within my community? How am I involved or participate within my community? Am I involved with city events? What makes me feel connected to my city? What do I like about my city? Have I explored my city?
What are my views on global warming? What are my views on recycling? What are my views on energy conservation? How can I contribute to improving the earth and taking care of the planet?
Some of these may feel like big questions. Sit with them and see what matters to you.
Money Money Monaye! This is one of the most sensitive things to discuss, so I will be gentle. Financial health is about creating a constructive relationship with money. So my first financial questions are how did you develop your financial blueprint? What were some of the first messages you saw or heard regarding money in your home? This will look very different depending on your socioeconomic status and culture. There are no wrong answers here! I think it's extremely important that we evaluate how we constructed our ideas and feelings around money. I have found that there are times where we remain loyal to a framework that doesn't actually fit our lives.
Things to consider to promote financial health
What are your financial values?
Are you living within your means?
Do you tell your money where to go (a budget) or are you chasing it?
Have you thought about future planning?
Could it benefit you to have an accountant or financial planner?
Do you plan for fun (ya know, since fun costs money)?
It's hard to pause in this space and really evaluate your relationship with money. I assure it's a healthy practice to be intentional with your relationship with money. There's tons of support available, no matter what your funds look like.
Mental health addresses our state of well being. It's a broad stroke to note how we cope and manage our thoughts, perceptions, relationships and experiences in this world. There are so many things that can affect our ability to cope and manage life's stressors, which is why it's so important to invest in this area of our lives.
Finding ways to improve your mental health can happen in a myriad of avenues. Here are some of my favorites:
Mental Rest: Enjoy silence, read a book, or scroll through Tik Tok to get some laughs
Intellectual stimulation: Engage in a conversation, activity, or group that gets you excited
Learning new things: Explore a new hobby or Download an app and learn a new language.
Self exploration: Journal or write a letter to your younger or future self.
Self acceptance: Make a list of things you accept about yourself or lessons you have learned.
Stress relievers: Laugh, cry, or talk to a trusted someone.
This is the part where I make a plug for therapy but to be honest, addressing your mental health can take place in small ways...
Getting better sleep will improve your mental health
Connecting with your spiritual practice will improve your mental health
Having intimate relationships will improve your mental health
Exercise will improve your mental health
Learning the cues of your body will improve your mental health
Practicing self-compassion, self-acceptance, and self-love will improve your mental health
To conclude, awareness is powerful thing. Being able to identify which aspect of your health needs attention will help you to respond more accurately and effectively. If you find this overwhelming, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at Strength & Serenity Counseling or your local therapist- It's what we are here for.
You are not alone.
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