Interesting times, we live in. Scrolling through social media can be a stark reminder of harsh realities. It's easy to get lost in the noise and challenges of being a person in the world today. Maybe you've resorted to self-soothing by eating cheap fries and acting like a couch potato, maybe more often than you like to admit.
Well, I'm here to tell you health problems you incur in the future (as a result of your pandemic coping mechanisms) could leave a bigger hole in your pocket than Elon's left in the crypto community.
When you're ready to start focusing on your fitness again, you're likely to faced with another challenge: information overload.
There are so many conversations around the topics health and wellness, and that's how it should be: health and wellness are extremely broad concepts. And there's no one-size-fits-all.
To help you define what wellness means for you, I'll be sharing The Seven Scope Framework for approaching your personal wellness in a holistic and customised way.
When doctors talk about being healthy, they do not mean not being sick. Health is beyond the physical; it extends to the social, physical, and mental well-being of an individual. It should be the goal of everyone to achieve good health.
Wellness is living a lifestyle that is centered on being healthy.
For example; a clean diet, mindfulness, meditation, exercise, and regular drinking of water are components of wellness. Think of wellness as everything you can do to achieve and maintain good health.
When Did People Start Practising Wellness?
Human beings have always sought out ways to improve their health from the days of the Greek philosophers to date. In 1950, an American physician by the name of Halbert Dunn coined the word, "wellness" by integrating wellbeing and fitness. Subsequently, in 1990 an American sports physician by the name of Kenneth.H.Cooper released his book on wellness titled Aerobics Program For Total Well Being.
In his book, he emphasized the fact that wellness is a lifestyle, and consistency is important in exercise for maintaining good health. In his words:
"Exercise is a journey, not a destination. It must be continued for the rest of your life. We do not stop exercising because we grow old - we grow old because we stop exercising."
These days, social media has provided a good platform for health workers, physical trainers, and nutritionists to educate people on how to achieve and maintain good health. Some websites and applications are designed to help people understand exactly what wellness means.
If you search Product Hunt right now, you'll find a plethora of apps aiming to help users understand the concept of Wellness in more effective ways; The Wellness App, Wellnest, and Buddy to name but a few.
What is the Seven Scope Framework for Wellness?
The scope of wellness is quite broad: there are many aspects to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In the seven scope classification, wellness is divided into seven components:
- Spiritual,
- Physical,
- Mental,
- Environmental,
- Career,
- Intellectual and
- Emotional components.
The Seven Scopes and 21 Apps to Help You Attain Them
Each component has its own significance and unique contribution to sustaining a sense of wellness, in varying ways for each individual.
- The Spiritual Scope of Wellness is concerned with maintaining internal peace and harmony by surrendering to a force or purpose greater and bigger than yourself, on an individual level. The concept of spiritual wellness is quite controversial, but there is a clear correlation between faith, happiness, and good health. Apps like Gaia, ConZentrate, and Spirit Junkie are used to maintain spiritual wellness.
- The Physical Scope of Wellness involves taking care of your body and maintaining an amount of physical activity that is required for good health, but not enough to cause fatigue. The basic components of the physical scope of wellness are diet, rest, and exercise. MyFitnessPal, 10K Runner, and 30 Days Exercise at Home are great apps for keeping fit and healthy.
- The Mental Scope of Wellness is concerned with how well you react to stress, how you feel about yourself, and how you interact with people. Maintaining mental wellness may involve meditation, engaging in hobbies, volunteering, and self-expression. Moodfit, Happify, and Shine are apps that you can use to improve your mental health and strengthen your mind.
- The Environmental Scope of Wellness involves trying to understand your environment, protect your surroundings and contribute positively to the development of the area in which you live. #climate, Ecoviate, and Farmstand are mobile apps that will help you contribute positively to the preservation of our planet.
- The Career Scope of Wellness is engaging in work that is in line with your interests and personal values, as well as providing satisfaction for the employee. VantageFit, Elevate, and Endomondo are great apps for career growth and wellness.
- The Intellectual Scope of Wellness involves having a positive mindset towards acquiring knowledge and being open-minded. TED Talks, Coursera and LinkedIn Learning provide opportunities to learn from the best teachers and acquire knowledge.
- The Emotional Scope of Wellness is related to that of mental wellness. It involves self-awareness and self-acceptance, as well as the ability to adapt to stress. Sanvello, HeadSpace and TalkSpace are three apps that can support you if you're looking to work towards greater self-acceptance and practice self love.
How Can We Achieve Complete Wellness?
The scope of wellness is broad: it is most likely that any given individual would be lacking in some areas of wellness. However, it is possible to improve one's state of wellness by being intentional about one's health.
The journey to improving wellness is a marathon, not a sprint. Gradual consistent efforts will pay off in the long run, but they will require patience and discipline.
If you're serious about increasing your sense of what wellness means, the following four tips will be helpful for you.
Have a set goal in mind.
As a medical student, I have realized that people who have set health goals usually achieve better health in the long run. In my opinion, if weight loss is the goal, write it down. If you want to feel better or get a job that you love, include your goal in your Notes app. Mobile applications like MyFitnessPal, Mindful, Rise, and Nike + Training can help you achieve your fitness goals. After documenting your goal, work towards it consistently. You may have a few bad days, but there will be many good days.
Tell your friends and family.
Accountability is very important; having someone to remind you when you are slipping up is key. Tell your friends that you have decided to eat healthier and their eye rolls when you reach for the fries will be what you need to stay in check. Ask your family to remind you to go to the gym or meditate and watch your consistency grow.
Get enough rest.
Fatigue and sleep deprivation are linked with stress, unhealthy eating, and angry outbursts. If you want to improve your physical and mental wellness, get the required seven to eight hours of solid sleep. You can sneak in naps from time to time so that you feel energized and ready to kick the ball.
Avoid risky unhealthy behaviors.
Habits such as excessive drinking, smoking, drug use, and having multiple sexual partners are not going to improve your wellness. These habits are linked with diseases, accidents, mental illness, and a shorter life span. For improved wellness, avoid risky unhealthy behaviors.
Find your tribe: In the area where you live, there are people like you committed to achieving their wellness goals. Find them and watch yourself grow.
Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies: The Possibility
When wellness is discussed, the focus is usually on physical wellness and fitness. Beyond the toned body and ripped abs, you deserve to be happy and feel in tune with your job, home, and environment.
It may seem overwhelming, having to achieve all your goals in the seven scope framework of wellness, but you are more than capable of achieving anything that you set your mind to. And getting support from today's smartest apps in never a bad idea. Having a healthy mind and body is possible; with effort and consistency, you can achieve your goal.