Lesson 1: What is wellness and well-being?

Wellness and well-being have different meanings

Though we use the terms wellness and well-being interchangeably, they are actually different things. To learn about each of these, review the following resources. Notice that there are different counts of dimensions of wellness; if you look online you’ll see some people reference four or five or six, and eight is a popular number. No matter what the number, you’ll notice that there are some very consistent ideas in all resources on wellness—namely that wellness is a journey, not a destination, and that some dimensions are always a part of this journey (we’ll focus on physical, mental/intellectual, emotional, and social).

Notice how in each of these articles, wellness and well-being are processes and activity-driven. They are not something to achieve, but something to work on, every day of your life.

I really like the definition from the National Wellness Insitute: Wellness is functioning optimally within your current environment. -Dr. Lepore

8 Dimensions of Wellness
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drXxMJxwR9g

NWI’s six dimensions of wellness
https://nationalwellness.org/resources/six-dimensions-of-wellness/

How to Improve Your Wellness: Knowing the multidimensional aspects of wellness can help improve your health
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/modern-mentality/201809/how-improve-your-wellness
 

What Is Well-Being? Definition, Types, and Well-Being Skills
Want to grow your well-being? Here are the skills you need.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201901/what-is-well-being-definition-types-and-well-being-skills
 

Well-Being Concepts
https://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/wellbeing.htm