Wellness

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Wellness in College Life:

 

Wellness is a term used to encompass a range of behaviors and attitudes that help you be a productive, happy and balanced person. Wellness means taking responsibility for your own health creating a full and balanced lifestyle and being the best person you can be. You can create this balance by:

• learning how to stay healthy
• practicing what you know to be good health habits
• giving up or lessening harmful habits
• responding to your body's warning signs
• involving yourself in your community

In addition to physical health, there are five primary areas of Wellness: occupational, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and social. We strive for wellness in our lives by balancing each of these aspects.

Occupational Fitness

A person with occupational fitness is one who:

• Recognizes his/her skills, interests and values, and sees a complimentary relationship between personal and professional goals.
• Is aware of appropriate resources for locating a job and career information.
• Is confident in his/her job hunting skills and is not afraid to seek help with these tasks.
• Recognizes and initiates opportunities to acquire new skills and advancement.

Ideas for improving occupational fitness:

• Participate in a program from the career center.
• Visit your advisor on a regular basis. Create a career plan that is flexible but structured.
• Talk to a professional in the field
• Use your college experiences wisely to acquire leadership and group decision
• making skills.

Emotional Fitness

A person with emotional fitness is one who:

• Is aware of and accepts a wide range of feelings in oneself and in others.
• Maintains mental health, a positive attitude, high self image and esteem.
• Takes responsibility for his/her own behavior.
• Deals with personal and financial issues while maintaining a realistic outlook.
• Views challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles.

Ideas for improving emotional fitness:

• Develop assertiveness.
• Allow yourself to make mistakes and learn from these experiences.
• Make stress management a priority.
• Believe in yourself. Treat yourself well. Focus on success.
• Take advantage of counseling services available on campus.

Intellectual Fitness

A person with intellectual fitness is one who

• Assimilates classroom learning and life experiences in order to enhance his/her potential for a more fulfilling life.
• Maintains intellectual curiosity and values varied experiences.
• Has a strong desire to learn through various methods (reading, observing, listening, experiencing and speaking).
• Stays stimulated by new ideas, shares knowledge with, and learns from, others.
• Plans and develops strategies and solves problems.

Ideas for improving intellectual fitness:

• Take on a new project, hobby, off campus internship or co-curricular activity.
• Spend time with others whose ideas differ from yours.
• Develop time management skills.
• Read the newspaper or watch TV news daily.
• Take part in cultural events.

Spiritual Fitness

A person with spiritual fitness is one who:

• Strives for a sense of satisfaction and confidence in spiritual beliefs.
• Experiences a maturing sense of inner peace and security.
• Periodically chooses to rethink values and apply any changes to his/her life.
• Cares about the welfare of humanity and acts on that concern.

Ideas for improving your spiritual fitness:

• Take time to think about what is important to you in your life.
• Volunteer your time to help others. You will gain much by giving of yourself to help others.
• Visit a religious service other than the one you normally would attend.
• Get involved with campus ministry
• Take time to see the spiritual connections in the world around you.

Social Fitness

A person with social fitness is one who:

• Interacts well with people from both genders, different backgrounds, lifestyles, races and ages.
• Exhibits comfort and ease in a variety of situations during work and leisure.
• Communicates feelings and nurtures friendships.
• Is aware of social changes and cultural diversities and adjusts accordingly.
• Recognizes the necessity for leisure

Ideas for improving social fitness:

• Join a student organization which strives to improve the campus community.
• Promote social fitness with the residence hall through suggestions and participation in programming.
• Use 'I' statements and focusing on specific behaviors not generalizations about the person.