I
- Introduction:
Why is it
important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically,
spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the
goals you have for yourself?
It is crucial for professionals in the
health and wellness field to incorporate integral health practices into their
own lives before offering treatment to others. The reason for this is because
it will help these professionals offer more expansive health care to each and
every patient.
According to (Elliot S. Dacher, 2006.
p.167), when professionals implement integral health in to their own lives,
they “will come to know that the alleviation of suffering and the ascent to
human flourishing are more than ideas.” These professionals will than want to
end needless suffering to the best of their ability and therefore, “the soul of
medicine returns.”
Two areas that I need to develop in
order to achieve optimal psychological, spiritual and physical wellness are the
implementation of regular meditation and daily exercise. I’m confident that if
I do develop these two strategies then my overall psychological, spiritual and
physical health will improve drastically because these three factors will
become more balanced as one.
II - Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
There are several exercises and/or
processes which will successfully assess an individual’s need for
psychological, spiritual and physical improvement. According to (Elliot S.
Dacher, 2006), a mini meditation exercise “can be quite powerful in expanding
your mind and heart. It can serve as an antidote to anger and hatred. It can
help to shift your focus from personal love to universal loving-kindness.”
(p.93) According to (Elliot S. Dacher, 2006. p.115), an assessment process can
also be completed by asking a series of questions. Five questions which may
focus on healing and promoting integral development are:
1. “What aspect of my
life-psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, or worldly- is the source of
difficulty and suffering?” (HEALING)
2. “What line of development is most
essential for me at this time?” (HEALING)
3. “What is my current level of
development and what can I aim for.” (HEALING)
4. “What area of my life is ready for
growth and development?” (PROMOTING)
5. “What would the next level of
development look like?” (PROMOTING)
Currently, my physical, spiritual and
psychological wellbeing are scored as a 5 to 7. This is because I don’t get
enough physical exercise, my spirituality is tested with negative drama and due
to moments of anxiety and depression my psychological state is sometimes in
turmoil.
III - Goal Development:
List at least one goal you have for
yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
Three goals that could be set to
improve these elements in my own life are to start jogging regularly
(physical), believe in others and look for their positive qualities
(spiritual), and learn to pick my battles by alleviating factors that cause
undue stress (psychological).
IV - Practices for
Personal Health:
What strategies can you implement
to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and
Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each
domain. Explain how you will implement each example.
I can implement positive psychological
growth and development within my personal life. I currently feel that my
personal life needs work because there are times when my psychological state is
in complete turmoil due to moments of anxiety and depression. Two ways that I
can foster my psychological health are by practicing mini meditations and yoga exercises.
For many years my spirituality has also
been tested due to the negative actions of others. Two ways that I can foster
my spirituality are by believing in others for their good qualities and in me
for being a beautiful human being. I can also improve my physical wellness by
developing strategies to decrease periodic fatigue. Two ways that I can
accomplish this task is to implement regular daily exercise and eat healthy
foods.
V - Commitment:
How will you assess your progress
or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to
assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?
In order to successfully achieve my
goals to acquire optimal health and experience human flourishing, I will need
to evaluate my progress on a regular basis. One strategy that I can use to
accomplish this task is to keep a daily diary of progress levels. If certain
levels appear to be lower than others, I can implement new processes which
foster further growth in these areas.
After a few months of monitoring
these levels of progress, I’m confident that I will be able to experience a
balance between my psychological, spiritual and physical health. Once this
balance is obtained, I will then try to ensure that this evaluation process remains
a regular part of my daily life.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMisty I think this is a great assessment and plan for your future goals. I too felt a lot of fatigue and had to come up with ways to get energy just to finish out the day to help my kids with homeowork, dinner, and rides to places. It can be very hard when you are a full-time student and mom, wife and in my case daughter. My 73 year old dad lives with me. Just this fatigue can cause mood swings and depression. It almost makes you not want to get up and do anything. I have found when I first started walking/running, I would just walk up and down the street when I felt the most tired. This helped me a lot. Then I had to push myself to go off the street, then push myself to jog. It is all in how much you want it. It did get easier the more I forced myself. Good luck to you .. Susie Brishaber
ReplyDeleteMisty,
ReplyDeleteYou and I have some similarities when it comes to what we need to work on. Our scores were very close as well. We also had to same ideas as to keeping a log or journal to monitor our progress throughout the six months and so on. Life definitely takes a toll on us in every area and can weigh on our own evaluation scores but as long as we can "get out of our own head" and refocus back on what is important then we can turn things around for our own good. It takes time and practice but it is well worth the efforts. Good luck in your future months of change. It will be worth it in the end for sure.
~Ali Weidenbach
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI believe you are well on your way to making the improvement in your life, and health that you desire. It is all about being honest with yourself, and truly understanding your short coming. Once you can learn to understand why things happen, you can then develop solution to resolve those issues. Both physical, and spiritual improvement involve patients, persistence, focus, and understanding.