Have you ever wondered how you can elevate your quality of life? Or how you can create a purposeful way of life for the years ahead? The key to living your life with quality of health in body and mind is whole-person wellness. Whole-person wellness targets senior health and represents an integration of all aspects of a person’s lifestyle. It can be broken down into six essential dimensions of wellness that, once acknowledged and worked on, can assist an individual in maintaining a quality, balanced lifestyle. These are the six dimensions that contribute to a balanced lifestyle.
- The PHYSICAL dimension of wellness highlights increasing mobility, improving balance, and strengthening muscles by exercise. Exercising and improving your body in such a way will decrease your risk of chronic diseases, and conditions seniors often suffer from and can reduce the risk of falling.
- The INTELLECTUAL dimension of wellness encourages you to keep your mind active and to learn. Using your creativity and thinking rationally will expand your knowledge. Doing this will decrease the chance of cognitive decline and memory loss.
- The EMOTIONAL dimension of wellness is being aware and accepting of your feelings and emotions. Your feelings indicate what you are experiencing, and acknowledging them allows you to control them. Social interaction, regular leisure, and activities that you enjoy support your emotional wellness and enable you to live happily.
- The SOCIAL dimension of wellness promotes creating long-lasting relationships with people you care about by being open to engaging and connecting. This is done by accepting social outing invitations, engaging in clubs and sports, and being kind to those around you. When one focuses on maintaining social wellness and connecting with others, it can prevent feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression.
- The SPIRITUAL dimension of wellness encourages one to seek purpose and meaning in life. This is accomplished by developing ethics and deciding on personal values that one can be passionate about. This enables one to appreciate the value of life and its depth and allows one to connect easier. Connection is vital to age well and helps seniors not to feel alone.
- The VOCATIONAL/OCCUPATIONAL dimension of wellness is discovering what skills, values, and interests you have then finding what work will enrich your life. As seniors age and retire, this might not seem like an important part of wellness. But retiring doesn’t stop the need to engage in work and activities that provide a sense of accomplishment. Balancing the work and leisure of retirement while building new relationships will help maintain vocational wellness as we age.
With it being Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period and as your focus on your health for the upcoming year, take the time to consider the six dimensions of wellness and how you can improve your quality of life. Being healthy isn’t always diet changes and exercise. Although those are important aspects, it also entails your brain function, emotional state, social interactions, personal values, and balancing of your life. At Fidelis, we care about the people we serve and encourage you to integrate all these dimensions of wellness into your life. Are you looking for someone to advise you on your Medicare coverage for the upcoming year? Call our office today to book an appointment with one of our top-notch agents!
