How do you define healthiness? Perhaps you envision a person who is free from disease. That’s a great starting point but let’s go a step further.
What if this person has aerobic stamina and physical strength. Would they be the picture of health?
How about if they are short-tempered and hypercritical? How would you rate their health now? According to the World Health Organization (WHO),”Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
Models of Health
In 1972, Dr. John Travis developed the Illness-Wellness Continuum to illustrate that there is more to health than just not being sick. He wanted to inspire his patients to see wellness as an active ongoing process.
A few years later in 1976, Dr. Bill Hettler, co-founder of the National Wellness Institute, created a model called the Six Dimensions of Wellness that defined wellness across six aspects: physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, and occupational.
The concept of holistic health continued to evolve. In 2000, psychologists Jane E. Myers, Thomas J. Sweeney, and J. Melvin Witmer introduced the Wheel of Wellness. By subjectively scoring satisfaction across various aspects of their life, individuals could identify gaps that presented opportunities for improvement.
The Eight Dimensions of Health followed in 2006. Developed by Dr. Peggy Swarbrick, this model was adopted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as well as many universities and corporate settings. She added two dimensions: Environmental and Financial. By overlapping the dimensions, Dr. Swarbrick illustrated that improvement in one area may facilitate simultaneous improvements in other dimensions.
Enduring Popularity of Wellness Models
Multi-dimensional wellness frameworks remain popular due to the holistic approach, allowing individuals to visualize and assess multiple aspects of their lives simultaneously.
By identifying areas of imbalance, individuals can prioritize personal development goals. Advantages of wellness models include:
Comprehensive Assessment: Encourages evaluation of various life domains, promoting a holistic approach to well-being.
Personalized Insight: Helps individuals identify specific areas needing attention, facilitating targeted self-improvement.
Visual Representation: The wheel format provides an intuitive and accessible means of understanding one's wellness status.
But, life is more dynamic and complex than a model. Some of the drawbacks of wellness models are:
Oversimplification: The model may not fully capture the nuanced interactions between different aspects of health.
Subjectivity: Self-assessment can be influenced by personal biases, mood, or a lack of self-awareness, potentially leading to inaccurate conclusions.
Lack of Personalization: The model may not fully address unique individual circumstances, cultural differences, or specific health conditions that affect well-being.
Static Representation: These assessments provide a snapshot in time, but wellness is ever-changing. A single assessment may not account for fluctuations in different areas of life over time.
Have these models influenced your definition of healthiness? How would you rate your current state of health?
The Intend Well Wheel
My experience has shown me that all healing is self-healing. Modern medical is a marvel but successful treatment relies on our personal healing capacity.
If the healing were inherent in the treatment, aspirin would cure every pain, antibiotics would defeat every infection and chemotherapy would eradicate every tumor. Medical professionals could offer money back guarantees.
As Dr. Travis indicated decades ago, wellness is a continuous process. My upcoming book, Eight Intentions for Self-Healing: A Practical Guide to Reclaiming Your Personal Power maps out simple activities to strengthen your self-healing abilities.
I’ve adapted the wellness wheel framework to the concepts in the book. Click HERE get your FREE copy of The Intend Well Wheel. I’d love to hear your feedback!
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