health…

what’s it mean to you?

story by | bev gravdahl

What does the term health mean to you? Having good health is defined by Webster as “freedom from physical disease or pain.” Physical health is often the first thing considered when you hear the word health, and it is an important component of our overall health and well-being, but it truly is only one dimension of our total wellness. Health has greater depth when we recognize it encompasses body, mind, and spirit.

Whole Health

The ‘Wholeness Wheel’ is a tool to evaluate and represent a person’s overall health. With this visual representation, the areas of health cannot be clearly divided; each dimension affects every other dimension. Take out one dimension and it’s no longer a wheel. The interconnectedness of individual aspects of well-being [social/interpersonal, emotional, physical, financial, vocational, intellectual]—all supported by spiritual well-being—reminds us that being truly healthy and whole is about being in balance and intentionally nurturing all aspects of health surrounded and supported by spiritual health.

parish nurses and faith community nurses respond to the call

Parish/faith community nurses are licensed, registered nurses who practice wholistic health for self, individuals and the community using nursing knowledge combined with spiritual care. It is a unique practice where nurses are called upon less for their “hands on” skills and much more for their “being with” skills. They have been called “ministers of health” by Rev. Granger Westberg, a pioneer who had broken new ground in the areas of religion, medicine, and whole person health. His work was based on the belief that medicine transcends the physical because true healing involves the body, mind, and spirit.

The Wholeness Wheel is often used by parish/faith community nurses to promote and educate people about whole health. They recognize that people are indivisible wholes—fully integrated physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual beings. Parish/faith community nurses respond to this approach to care for and help individuals discern their personal wellness journey. Our community is blessed with many caring and dedicated Parish/Faith Community nurses who are committed to this call and concept of whole health.

Let’s take a look at each dimension of living whole:

• physical well-being We are not all born perfectly healthy and no one makes it through life without injury or illness, yet with tending and nurturing we can live well even with disabilities, injuries, or illness. Those with good health can lose it as a result of unhealthy lifestyles and behaviors. Keeping the wholeness wheel in perspective means optimizing our physical health through good nutrition, physical activity, and avoiding risks to our health. It does not mean prioritizing physical health at the expense of other aspects of health.

• emotional well-being Being emotionally well means feeling the full range of emotions and expressing those emotions appropriately. Not feeling emotion is a sign of stress or depression, just as having emotions that you cannot control may be a sign of emotional distress. Physical health problems can affect our emotions, and emotional problems affect our physical health. One example is anger and hostility, an emotion that puts one at significantly greater risk for heart disease. Keeping our emotional health means taking time in the day to be peaceful and centered, just as it means sharing emotions with others. assess your overall well-being

• social well-being We were created by God to be social persons with instructions to help and love each other. We are nourished by the love and intimacy of our family and friends. Isolation is a significant risk factor for depression and premature death. Whether we are introverted or extroverted, regular social contact is essential for health. Being healthy means having healthy relationships with family, friends, co-workers, and others. Studies have shown that volunteering in service to others actually lengthens life.

• intellectual well-being Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is feared by all who have seen or heard about the personal frustration or social disruption it causes. While we cannot be certain that we will never experience dementia or something similar, using our minds keeps them alert and active. Use it or lose it! Satisfy curiosity by seeking answers. We can stretch our minds by experiencing new things—music, art, hobbies or travel. Pushing ourselves at work by seeking out new responsibilities and pursuing lifelong learning keeps us healthy and growing.

• vocational well-being Having a sense of purpose is important in living a healthy life. We all want to feel that we are using the gifts God has given us to make this world a better place. We need to be aware of what those gifts are and make good use of education and training to hone our skills. We need to always seek opportunities to make a difference through our occupation, volunteering in the community, nurturing our family, or actively participating in church.

• financial well-being In all aspects of well-being we are called to be stewards. Good financial stewards make decisions based on their values, which is evident in the way they save, spend and share. This understanding of stewardship embraces resilience, sustainability and generosity.

• spiritual well-being Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength impacts everything we do and everything we are. Starting first with your spiritual health makes balancing the wheel much easier because we know who we are and who we belong to. Nurturing your relationship with God through daily prayer or devotion is the first step.

Knowing that God is always present and has given us the gift of grace through the death of Jesus Christ allows us to stumble along the way and keeps us from getting lost. Spiritual health encompasses all aspects of the Wholeness Wheel.

Consider which dimensions you feel “most well” and those areas you feel “least well.” This balance of health and wellness is an ongoing process. We never quite reach a perfect state of health, but we are called to intentionally nurture all aspects of our health. If areas or dimensions of a person’s wellness are underdeveloped

Some may look at this as being selfish, but the healthier or ‘whole’ we are, the more effectively we can reach out and care for others.

Journey To Whole Health

or neglected, the “wheel” will be off balance. Think of spokes on a bicycle wheel. If one of the spokes is broken, the wheel will not function properly. Wellness occurs when there is a degree of balance among all dimensions. What a person considers “optimal wellness” is based on their needs, experiences, and circumstances. As we go through life’s challenges and joys, different aspects of wellness will fall in and out of balance and may need more attention than other areas. Caring for ourselves [our whole selves] makes a difference in this balance.

So how do we practice self care and nurture this approach to health? When life gets overwhelming or out of control, stress can become a serious problem that can affect each of these dimensions. If you identified a dimension of your Wholeness Wheel that needs work, then to be ready to take a step toward change. People typically move through several stages in order to make durable change in their lives. According to the Wellness Council of America, there are five stages of change: pre-contemplation [“I’m not interested”]; contemplation [“I’m thinking about it”]; preparation [“I’m getting ready”]; action [“I’m doing it”]; and maintenance [“It’s what I do”]. The behavior has to be present for at least six months before you can call it maintenance and you need to be mindful of your readiness to change to be successful. To begin making a change, set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-specific.

live well!

Living well is about balance and wholeness—and knowing who you are. Revisiting the Wholeness Wheel periodically can be very valuable by helping put things into perspective. With our busy lives, we mindlessly neglect some areas of our health from time to time, so it may be helpful to take a personal inventory and do a reset if you need to.