Wellness Wheel and Self-Assessment

Emotional wellness is typically defined as having the ability to feel and express emotions such as sadness, anger, and happiness. It means having the ability to love and be loved, and feeling a sense of fulfillment with your life. A person practicing emotional wellness can express their emotions, pays attention to their feelings without having to subdue them, and takes time to manage stress. 

Intellectual wellness encourages brain stimulating activities such as new hobbies, spending time with your interests, and being creative. It means taking the time to develop your brain, having an active mind, and being a lifelong learner. A person practicing intellectual wellness may learn to play an instrument, learn a new language, engage in a new academic pursuit, read a book, and seek out people who challenge them intellectually.

Physical wellness encompasses a variety of factors, including movement, nutrition, drug and alcohol use, physical safety, sexual health, living with illness, or disease prevention. It means reducing the physical risk and protecting yourself from injuries or harm. A person practicing physical wellness gets adequate sleep, exercises regularly, and eats nutritious food. They also practice preventative behaviors such as keeping up to date with vaccinations and having regular check-ups.

Social wellness refers to the ability to interact successfully in a global community and develop quality relationships with those around you. It means having good communication skills, cultivating healthy relationships, contributing to your community, sharing your skills, and showing respect for others and yourself. A person practicing social wellness may join clubs or organizations, spend time reconnecting with old friends and making new friends, have positive interactions with classmates, and value quality of relationships over quantity. 

Occupational and financial wellness involves fulfillment from your job, work-life balance, and achievement of financial goals and desires. It means being able to successfully manage expenses and debt. A person practicing financial and occupational wellness has a savings account, anticipates future expenses, has a positive relationship with money, and gets a sense of fulfillment with their career or job.

Spiritual wellness involves possessing a set of guiding beliefs, principles, or values that help give direction to your life. It means having a high level of faith, hope, and commitment to your individual beliefs that provide a sense of meaning and purpose. A person practicing spiritual wellness seeks out activities that will help them recognize their place in a larger story. These practices can include meditation, reading sacred texts, being out in nature, or participating within a community.