What is Well-Being?
O’luminous is a blog dedicated to the different dimensions of wellbeing due the many benefits of it. This blog seeks to help you to achieve a state of well-being in the everyday experience of your life. In this blog the term well-being is defined as experiencing joy, being in good health and living comfortably or in contentment. Well-being is also defined as experiencing good relationships and finding your purpose in life. We appreciate that there are many ways to attain well-being, which is why this platform delves into those different dimensions.
The multi-faceted nature of well-being is discussed throughout this blog as seen in many of our posts. There are different dimensions of wellbeing such as emotional, physical, mental, occupational, spiritual, and social wellbeing. These different dimensions of well-being can be encountered in everyday life.
The word ‘well’ is often confused with ‘good’. But there are significant differences between the two words. But a rule of thumb is that good is an adjective and well is an adverb. To take you back to your English classroom for the sake of clarity. An adverb is a word that describes a verb (an action or doing word). So, with this in mind the word ‘well’ begins to make a bit more sense. According to google the adverb well means in ‘good or satisfactory way’ or in a satisfactory manner.
The word ‘being’ as in human being is defined as existence or the nature or essence of a person. So, when broken down well-being means the good or satisfactory way of existence. In order to achieve that it is important that aspects of your well- being are addressed as best as can be. The discussion of ones ‘being’ is vast and complicated and cannot really be reduced to one thing. This is because humans are complex being at very best. But there are aspects of our being that can be addressed and that we can achieve.
What are the 6 dimensions of Wellbeing?
Physical Well-being
Physical well-being is the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life. This can mean having the ability to accomplish most of your daily activities. Physical well-being also goes beyond good health it is also about lifestyle choices, diet, exercise, and good sleep.
Physical
- Exercise (150 minutes a week as recommended by NHS)
- Healthy Eating
- Sleep 7-9 hours
- Cutting Smoking, Alcohol and Drug use.
- Dental Health
Emotional Well-being
Emotional wellbeing (EWB) is defined as the emotional quality of an individual’s everyday experience- intensity and frequency of joy, stress, sadness, anger, and affection that make one’s life pleasant and unpleasant.
- Ability to maintain positive emotions, moods
- Joy and Happiness:
Joy is something that we feel deeply, it is internal, it is in the heart. A fantastic quote that encapsulates the word is, “joy is practice and a behavior, it is deliberate and intentional.” Happiness on the other hand is externally triggered and is based on other people, places, things, thoughts, and events. It is important to have joy within yourself first before the attainment of happiness. Being happy and doing things that make you feel happy is still very important. Part of wellbeing is experiencing happiness in your life as it has a positive impact to your physical and mental wellbeing.
- Stress Management
- Seeking Professional Help when required.
Spiritual Well-being
Spiritual Wellbeing can be a difficult concept to define. In this blog the definition of spiritual well-being is connected to ones Faith. Faith in relation to believing in God. One’s Faith is seen as important to guide them to live a life guided by love, morality, and set principles.
Spiritual Well-being is an important facet of this blog and well-being in general. There are many studies that have demonstrated the positive impact of spirituality on physical health and mental health. Other positive health outcomes such as subjective well-being, health-related quality of life, coping skills, recovering from mental illness, or less addictive or suicidal (Mueller et al., 2001; Miller and Thoresen, 2003; Kharitonov, 2012; Unterrainer et al., 2014).
Spiritual
- Prayer
- Love
- Faith
- Hope
- Mental Well-being
Mental Well-being
“Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”.
- Manage unhelpful thoughts
“The way we think, feel, and behave are linked. Sometimes we develop patterns of thoughts or behaviors that are unhelpful so recognizing them, and taking steps to think about things differently, can improve your mental health and wellbeing.”
- Be present
- Connect With Others
- Stay Active
Social Well-being
Social Well-being according to Better Up is defined as sharing, developing, and sustaining of meaningful relationships with others. This allows an individual to feel authentic and valued and provides a sense of belonging, connectedness, and community.
Social Well-being
- Quality time with loved ones
- Expressing Gratitude to others
- Helping others (wider community)
- Charitable work
Occupational Well-being
Occupational well-being encompasses everything to do with personal satisfaction in a job or career. This aspect of well-being is fundamental as work is a big part of everyday living. A toxic work environment can often negatively impact on a person’s mental health. Part of occupational well-being is also finding a career that is suited to one’s passion and purpose.
Under this category finances is also included as it involves wellbeing pertaining to finances that include knowledge and skills of managing money.
- Work -life balance
- Feeling inspired and challenged at work
- Finding a career you are passionate about
- Working with others
- Money management
Why is Well-being important?
There are many reasons why wellbeing is important. The link between improved well-being and health outcomes is one of the reasons why it is important. When discussing health and well-being it has been found that wellbeing:
- Adds years to life
- Improves recovery to illness
- Associated with positive health behaviors in adult and children
It is important that wellbeing is seen as something that you do rather than something that you are. As humans, we often confine ourselves to categories of perceived self that often inhibit change or growth. But we are creatures of habit which means we can learn and are capable for more. Part of wellbeing involves being empowered to make decisions about our health for example. People with high wellbeing were found to be more likely to have a healthy diet, engage in physical activity and less likely to smoke.
O’luminous Conclusion
Wellbeing isn’t just about the feel-good moments. It is actually important for happier and healthier living. A lot of research studies have proven that wellbeing can influence your physical and mental health. Wellbeing is important because of its associations to positive health outcomes. High levels of wellbeing are associated with decreased risk of diseases, illnesses, better immune functioning and increased longevity.
The information and other content provided in this blog, website or in any linked materials are not intended and should not be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
