Total Wellness Takes Effort and Planning

Total wellness means being in overall good health. We usually try to obtain good health by exercising, eating right, and flushing out toxins. However, according to the National Wellness Institute, there are actually six dimensions or parts of wellness. The six dimensions include emotional, occupational, social, physical, spiritual, and intellectual. Achieving total wellness takes some effort and planning, but it’s really not that hard. Whether you are in a good environment or a bad one, it can still be achieved. In fact, I believe my time spent in prison camp is where I achieved total wellness.

Emotional

In prison camp, I had a plan to succeed in wellness. Although I didn’t write out my plan for total wellness, I thought about it a lot. My plan kept me focused when negative issues arose. It also helped me figure out who gave sound advice, what type of company to keep, and what I should do with my time. I entered the camp with a mindset that I was going to make the best of my situation. Total wellness includes an emotional dimension which acknowledges limitations and effectively deals with stress. I knew that my decisions put me in prison camp, but instead of dwelling on the negative, I decided that I would just be focused on the positive. Although I suffered from depression, I was able to encourage myself and change my way of thinking.

Occupational

I originally wanted to get a job within the prison camp to kill time, but after working so hard and realizing that I was basically working for free with no rewards, I decided to quit. Total wellness is about enjoying the job you have. I didn’t enjoy working hard for pennies and for people that didn’t appreciate my worth. The wellness model explains that total wellness involves working a job that encompasses your personal interests and values. My interest was and still is writing. So I focused on writing and that made me happier.

Social

The social dimension is all about living in harmony. It’s not only living in harmony with people but also with nature or your environment. Of course, since I was in prison camp, I couldn’t really be in harmony with nature, but I was in harmony with my environment and the people, for the most part. My wellness plan kept me focused on being positive and being positive helped me to take notice of who wasn’t good company. In my book, Subprime Felon, I wrote “Some inmates greeted me quickly and wanted to be fast friends. I found those inmates to be the ones who were emotionally draining and needy for attention.” I was able to move on from them because I had a plan that they didn’t fit into.

Physical

The physical dimension was the best dimension because it was all about having a routine. As I kept myself focused on what to do with my time everything seemed to fall into place. Also having a workout schedule decreased my stress levels. Once I quit the powerhouse, my prison job, I worked out about five times a week and as much as two hours a day. I even got up to a full hour on the treadmill and improved my time working out a ton. Post-prison, I now focus on healthy eating habits and taking supplements that will improve my health. Total wellness in the physical dimension means watching your diet as exercise.

total wellnessSpiritual

While I don’t follow a specific religion, I often meditate and do Dahn yoga. Previously, I tried to be Christian, but I’ve always felt freer when I wasn’t trying to be Christian because I didn’t feel as if I was bound by rules or dogma that I didn’t understand. As I previously tried to establish a spiritual dimension, I searched various religions. This is normal according to the National Wellness Institute. They suggest finding something that brings balance to your beliefs and values, even if it’s continuously wondering about life. I was able to find Ramtha. It was studying Ramtha and learning my chakra system that gave me the greatest peace and brought me to a spiritual closure that I had only imagined.

Intellectual

The intellectual dimension is about creative pursuits and expanding your knowledge and skills. Every day in prison camp I worked on my novel called Subprime Felon. I stayed in the prison library working hard on it. I read and wrote every day just to stay focused and accomplish my goal. While in prison camp, I read more than ever! That’s what the intellectual dimension is all about, growing in knowledge, creativity, and skill. It was in prison camp that I had the idea to start this blog and another blog. I also have a second book coming out.

Total wellness is about reaching and fulfilling all six dimensions of wellness. Once you accomplish them all you will feel refreshed and have a sense of wellbeing. It really isn’t that hard to achieve if you create a plan. Try it and let me know how you make out.