How Seniors Can Achieve Whole-Person Wellness

Whole-person wellness is an alternative approach to improving an individual’s life and health. It looks at the person as a whole and empowers them by aiding social, behavioral, physical, and environmental health, along with multiple other factors. This program is being utilized in many sectors, but it holds special value for seniors living independently.

Wondering how Whole-person wellness can benefit you? Let’s take a closer look at the program and see what its advantages are.

What is Whole-Person Wellness?

Whole-person wellness is a holistic process that involves treating the person as a whole.  The Center for Successful Aging says the program “is relative to the individual, has nothing to do with age, and the process and attainment are behavior specific.” Whole-person wellness is derived from finding balance in the many aspects of life activity, enhancing human function and quality of life, and encouraging us to pursue meaningful discoveries that will upgrade our emotional, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual, and vocational health.

This multi-layered sense of wellness stems from one commitment: to live mindfully. Wellness, as the National Wellness Institute interprets it, is “a conscious, self-directed, and evolving process of achieving one’s full potential.” As a result, people who are well function at their best within their current environment; they thrive and become resilient amidst any challenges.

The Benefits of Whole-Person Wellness

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health explains that health and disease are not separate but rather occur “on a path that can move in two different directions, either toward health or toward disease.” Many factors, such as our diet, lifestyle, external stress, and even biological makeup, can be considered as reasons why we catch illnesses. However, self-care, lifestyle change, support from the community, and other interventions can help you return to a healthy state.

It is crucial to look into our emotional, physical, intellectual, spiritual, social, and occupational state and commit to improving these facets to contribute to our overall wellness.

Emotional Wellness

Emotional wellness looks closely at the heart, our center of emotionality as humans. A person who is emotionally well has a positive mental attitude and is enthusiastic about themselves, their body, and their life. This promotes self-care, acceptance of one’s emotions, and empathy about life in general.

Reaching a level of emotional wellness is crucial to everyone. Getting there includes a process of managing our stress, being able to understand and express our feelings, and being able to face life’s challenges more effectively.

What you can do: Get in touch with your feelings by keeping a journal or trying music therapy to calm you down whenever you feel anxious. Understanding yourself, your emotions, and your reasons for reacting to certain stimuli will give you emotional clarity and help you make better decisions.

Physical Wellness

Physical wellness is an important part of overall health and fitness. It encourages us to engage in activities and exercises safely and appropriately, which can help improve our endurance, cardiovascular health, balance, flexibility, and more. By promoting healthy lifestyles and habits, physical wellness helps us lead healthier lives overall.

Keeping yourself physically fit can be done with small, regular exercises. Morning walks keep your body active, as well as fortify breathing. Mindful breathing exercises and meditation can help manage stress and control difficult emotions. A few minutes of this activity in the morning or evening can help fortify the lungs and make one feel at peace.

Try to choose fresh, whole ingredients when preparing your meals. Proper nutrition can help prevent disease, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.

Intellectual Wellness

Intellectual wellness triggers aptitude and curiosity, opening the mind to understanding the world around you. It promotes the use of skills and knowledge to aid cognitive function, the processing of information, storing memory, and increasing creativity.

The simple act of reading a book, watching a documentary or docu-series, or learning a new skill can help stimulate your mind and keep it active. Light sports and–believe it or not–even some video games can keep the mind in the best working condition and sharp. It can give you something to work on or a skill to build, which can be incredibly gratifying. This is one of the best ways to maintain cognitive function and memory skills.

Spiritual Wellness

Just like emotional wellness, spiritual wellness is a key component of your overall health. Becoming attuned to your faith helps you find your purpose and meaning in life. Finding a community that shares your spiritual leanings is crucial. It will help you appreciate what truly matters in life.

Social Wellness

Social wellness considers how much we engage with the people around us and how we respond to them. These interactions are essential for every individual. We all need relationships and connections with others to thrive.

Whether you are an introvert, an extrovert, or an ambivert, finding your “people,” or the social group(s) you feel the greatest sense of belonging with, is essential. Meeting with friends and participating in social events will help enhance your social wellness.

Arts and crafts, active learning, animal interactions, parties, and other outdoor activities can help give you a sense of enjoyment and purpose.

Occupational Wellness

For those at work, reaching a goal and being rewarded for it can provide a feeling of fulfillment. For seniors, this could be equal to devoting yourself to a vocation, such as teaching, volunteering with a local charity, or even something as simple as helping a friend with household maintenance. This wellness manifests in the joyful feeling of being useful to the community. Discovering new goals and achieving them helps promote our confidence and learning and encourages us to be one with our community.

A Better Quality of Life for Seniors

With a holistic take on health, whole-person wellness can benefit everyone, especially seniors. This program can help nourish your emotional, physical, and overall well-being, benefiting you with a happier, purposeful life.

One of the most important factors that affect whole-person wellness is community. At The Oaks at Denville, we value each person’s holistic health by offering exceptional amenities and people-centric services. Contact us today to find out more.