Essay Sample on Personal Behavioral Health Change

Introduction

Wellness refers to the state of being in good mental and physical health. Behavioral health experts argue that improving your physical health can improve your mental health and at the same time improving your mental health can improve your physical health. Challenges and problems experienced in one area can impact the wellbeing and health of an individual in other areas (Roscoe, 2009). It is therefore important to make healthy choices for both an individual's body as well as mind to achieve wellness. There are eight dimensions of wellness which an individual can make part of his/her daily life to improve mental and physical health in cases where the individual has mental health and/or substance use disorders. These include:

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Dimensions of Wellness

Emotional Wellness

Emotional wellness is a positive self-concept which includes dealing with feelings constructively and developing positive qualities such as determination, optimism, self-confidence, and trust. It involves accepting one's feelings and cognitions. It also involves coping with and expressing emotions in a healthy and adaptive manner (Abuse, 2015). Activities involved in this dimension include; meditating, seeking help when feeling overwhelmed or sad, listening to your feelings, expressing your feeling to those you trust and maintaining a positive outlook.

Environmental Wellness

Environmental wellness involves enjoying good health by occupying pleasant and stimulating environments. Experts argue that a positive environment has a calming effect. Individuals seeking environmental wellness should try to live in harmony with nature by understanding the impact of their actions on nature. Also one should take an initiative to protect the environment that they live (Abuse, 2015).

Financial Wellness

Financial wellness includes feeling satisfied with current and future financial situations. Activities involved include making it a point to understand an individual's finances, establishing good financial habits and planning for the future through budgets plans (Abuse, 2015).

Intellectual Wellness

Intellectual wellness refers to engaging in creative stimulating mental activities which may include academic, art and otherwise. It also involves striving for personal growth and development (Abuse, 2015). Individuals experiencing this type of wellness are willing to seek out and use new information, think critically, open to new suggestions and ideas, motivation to master new skills, a sense of creativity and curiosity and make sound decisions activities include reading widely, taking a non-required course and learning a new skill among others.

Occupational Wellness

Occupational wellness involves personal satisfaction and enrichment in an individual's life through work. The individual seeks opportunities to grow professionally and to be fulfilled in the work occupations they are involved (Abuse, 2015). Individuals experiencing this wellness utilize their skills and talents to gain purpose in life, happiness as well as improve the quality of their lives. Activities include visiting a career planning professional and use of the available resources in the workplace as well as creating a vision for your career goals.

Physical Wellness

Physical wellness involves recognizing the need for physical activity, healthy foods, and sleep. It involves physical activity, healthy eating, sleeping well, and reducing drug and alcohol use, identifying symptoms of the disease, protecting yourself from physical harm and injuries i.e. through safe sex, wearing helmets and protective clothing during work (Abuse, 2015). It also involves taking regular medical checkups and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Social Wellness

Social wellness involves learning good communication skills connecting and making contributions to the community, developing safe intimacy with friends and family, living a healthy lifestyle and creating good social interactions and creating a support network for friends, family, and colleagues. It also involved building a sense of belonging. Activities involved include getting involved in social events in the society, seeking out others intentionally to get acquitted and contributing to the community through community engagement events (Abuse, 2015).

Spiritual Wellness

Spiritual wellness involves expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life, possessing a set of guiding beliefs, values, and principles. An individual with spiritual wellness is willing to seek meaning and purpose in human existence and questions everything with an aim to appreciate the things which cannot be readily explained or understood through religion, art, music, meditation etc (Abuse, 2015).

Personal Behavior I Intend to Change

I would love to improve my physical wellness. I exercise rarely and I am afraid that this may cause physical or health challenges in my life. I used to participate in physical activity while I was young in high school. I played football and physical activity was a must. However, after completing high school, I have not participated in physical exercises.

Failure to participate in physical activity has caused me to experience fatigue and also reduced my activity levels in the class. I have challenges in maintaining my body weight and was advised by my health consultant to improve my physical wellness.

Behavioral Change Stages

Precontemplation

This stage involves being uninformed or under-informed about the consequences of one's behavior. I was not informed about the results of a failure to observe physical wellness until I visited my health consultant.

Contemplation

This is the stage where people intend to change their behavior. In this state, an individual is more aware of the pros of changing their behavior. The individual is also aware of the mental and health challenges that may result from the behavior. I am aware that failure to achieve physical wellness will result in diseases such as diabetes.

Preparation

This is the stage in which people intend to take action in the immediate future. I am preparing to take part in physical wellness activities to improve my physical wellness. I intend to enroll in a gym as well as practice healthy eating.

Action

Action refers to the stage where people have made specific modifications in their lifestyles. I will exercise at least 30 minutes per day, ensure that I take adequate rest and practice eating moderately.

Maintenance

This stage involves making specific overt modifications in an individual's lifestyle and ensuring that they avoid relapse. I intend to continue with practicing physical wellness and make it part of my lifestyle.

References

Abuse, S. (2015). Mental Health Services Administration. Eight dimensions of wellness.

Roscoe, L. J. (2009). Wellness: A review of theory and measurement for counselors. Journal of Counseling & Development, 87(2), 216-226.