Unit 14 Wellness Module 40 Having Balance in Your Life What is Wellness Being in a state of balance means being mentally steady or emotionally stable having an internal state of harmony or symmetry A person s mental steadiness is dependent on his or her upbringing culture and lived experience Your external compartments may have included your family close relationships friendships being in school a job volunteer work organizations or clubs you belong to your neighborhood your home or other places where you spend time Some of your internal compartments might have included aspects of your general physical health nutrition medical conditions emotional state level of creativity and mental stimulation or a sense of spirituality Wellness a state of being in which a person actively maintains a proper balance of physical mental emotional and social health A bio psycho social understanding of wellness Balance and optimal wellness go hand in hand The biology of balance The hypothalamus has been referred to as the thermostat because it is responsible for maintaining homeostasis When the hypothalamus functions properly it monitors temperature fluids metabolism and level of nutrients to keep them at constant and optimal levels It also plays a role in primary motivation to drink eat and have sex It aids in sleep as it contains a substructure called the suprachiasmatic nucleus SCN The SCN is alert to light and dark and helps establish the times of day when we feel energized and tired External Characteristics of Wellness We can think of wellness as having various characteristics and dimensions Dr Bill Hettler His model is based on six dimensions physical social intellectual spiritual emotional and occupational Dimensions of wellness are depicted as segments of a circle External characteristics are aspects of our lives outside of our bodies and mind Our External Wellness represents four characteristics social occupational environmental and familial Social A secure bond results in a secure child who feels comfortable to explore The bond allows the child to become accustomed to and involved in interpersonal relationships Caregivers meeting a child s early emotional needs have long lasting positive social indicators Gender differences start to appear in childhood and continue into adolescence Behaviors of a socially balanced female child include having emotionally closer relationships Their interactions tend to be more reciprocal and have peer relationships based on an intimate emotional exchange Young boys tend to be more outspoken with their friends and it is quite natural to brag and interrupt conversations Boys are more physical and their exchanges are based on shared activities Well balanced adult social interactions are more heterogeneous They result in increased physical and emotional health when compared to socially isolated adults Adults who maintain social connectedness tend to live longer this is crosscultural and cross socioeconomic statuses Occupational Job satisfaction is positively correlated with age Those in an administrative role are more satisfied Job challenges independence and power tend to be related to job satisfaction How fairly one believes he is paid is related more to job satisfaction than is salary People tend to compare their salaries to those around them The greatest factor influencing job satisfaction is whether or not the job allows the person to use the professional or occupational skills in which he or she is trained Low job satisfaction is correlated with high job turnover rates Job dissatisfaction has been correlated with physical and psychological consequences such as headaches fatigue anxiety and depression Environmental Maslow s hierarchy of needs the most basic needs are at the bottom and each stage has to be satisfied in order to advance to or feel motivated to achieve the next stage The first needs to be satisfied are needs required for survival air food and water When physiological needs are met the next priority is safety This is the environment in which the person lives In an ideal world the person lives in a well balanced environment which sets the stage to work on other needs The remaining needs include love and belonging esteem and self actualization Safety needs set the foundation on which all other needs are achieved and threats to safety can shake that foundation People experiencing danger whether immediate or imminent find it difficult to address the higher needs such as self improvement or maintaining healthy relationships The diathesis stress hypothesis is a theory of psychopathology that suggests that certain psychological disorders if biologically predisposed can be triggered by an unstable environment Familial Humans are one of only a few species that maintain relationships with others We tend to be strongly tied to their families of origin The Strange Situation secure insecure avoidant ambivalent and disorganized disoriented Internal Characteristics of Wellness Spiritual Acceptance must take place nonjudgmentally acknowledging that it is neither good nor bad to have or not have control over some things Complete acceptance of powerlessness over any stressor that is not within a person s control can lift an emotional weight from the person s shoulders Mindfulness to be mindful is to be completely focused on the present moment True mindfulness is a multisensory present focused orientation It helps a person feel grounded To be in spiritual balance means accepting present circumstances Physical A balanced nutrition guide shows suggested serving sizes of four food groups The benefit of a balanced diet is to provide the body with energy for physical activity For adults it is recommended that physical exercise be divided into aerobic activity and strength training For aerobic activity the suggested time is 150 minutes week of moderate movement or 75 minutes week of vigorous movement Strength training is recommended twice per week The government suggestions for diet and exercise establish a good foundation for physical wellness Intellectual Intellectual wellness and balance is more of an active and challenging process To achieve intellectual balance is to feel temporarily unbalanced Zone of proximal development is a space between what a child can cognitively achieve on his own and what he can achieve with assistance The process of working within this space is called scaffolding and is where intellectual growth and age appropriate intellectual