Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­

Wellness Resources

Dimensions of Wellness

Eight Dimensions of Wellness

Wellness is about more than managing stress or addressing mental health concerns. It involves the many areas of life that contribute to our overall well-being. The Eight Dimensions of Wellness, developed as part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Wellness Initiative, provides a framework for understanding the different areas that can influence our health, happiness, and quality of life.

The eight dimensions are emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual wellness. Each dimension is connected to the others, and finding balance across these areas can support a healthier and more fulfilling life.

As you explore the dimensions of wellness, consider where you are thriving, where you may need additional support, and what small steps you can take to strengthen your overall well-being.

  • Emotional

    Coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships.

  • Environmental

    Good health by occupying pleasant, stimulating environments that support well-being.

  • Financial

    Satisfaction with current and future financial situations.

  • Intellectual

    Recognizing creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills.

  • Occupational

    Personal satisfaction and enrichment derived from one’s work.

  • Physical

    Recognizing the need for physical activity, diet, sleep and nutrition.

  • Social

    Developing a sense of connection, belonging and a well-developed support system.

  • Spiritual

    Expanding our sense of purpose and meaning in life.

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Eight Dimensions of Wellness.

Practice

Meditation & Mindfulness

Incorporating "mindfulness" and "meditation" into one's daily life can have a significant impact on both physical and mental health. This section of the Counseling and Wellness Center website is dedicated to providing knowledge and resources about these practices to help you get started.

What is Meditation? What is Mindfulness?

These are great questions that are not easily answered. Meditation and mindfulness have been practiced since ancient times and as such have been utilized in so many varied, forms that it's impossible to give one clear and concise definition of what meditation or mindfulness look like. In the broadest sense, meditation is "a family of self-regulation practices that focus on training attention and awareness in order to bring mental processes under greater voluntary control and thereby foster general mental well-being and development and/or specific capacities such as calm, clarity, and concentration. (Walsh & Shapiro, 2006). Mindfulness can be generally defined as a "state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience. (Psychology Today, 2017)"

The Benefits of Meditation and Mindfulness

The health benefits of regular meditation practice can include stress and anxiety reduction, improved sleep, better interpersonal relationships, and better cognitive functioning (Headspace inc., 2017).

Empirically supported benefits of mindfulness include a reduction in rumination, stress reduction, boosts to working memory, improved focus, less emotional reactivity, more cognitive flexibility, more satisfaction in relationships and an overall improvement in self-insight. Other health benefits of mindfulness include increased immune functioning, improved well-being, increased information processing speed, and a reduction in psychological distress ().

Library

Resources for mindfulness

Check out the mindfulness references on reserve at the Lawrence W. Tyree Library.

Online

Links

Sources

References

  • Epstein, Ronald M. 1999. . JAMA. September Vol. 282 (9):833-839.
  • Hart, Tobin. 2004. . Journal of Transformative Education. January Vol. 2(1):28-46.
  • Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. UMass Medical School. . Accessed 8/12/09.
  • . Jon Kabat-Zinn; [preface by Thich Nhat Hanh]. 2009. Delta Trade Paperbacks. New York, N.Y.
  • Widening the Circle: Mindfulness in the World. 2009. DVD. Jon Kabat-Zinn and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health, and Society. University of Massachusetts Department of Medicine, Division of Preventative and Behavioral Medicine. Worcester, MA.
  • . David Michie. 2008. Snow Lion Publications. Ithaca, N.Y.
  • . Rick Hanson and Richard Mendius. 2009. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, California.
  • . Ronald D. Siegel. 2010. Guilford Press. New York, N.Y.
  • . Daniel Goleman. 1995. Bantam Books. New York, N.Y.
  • . Mark Williams [et al.]. 2007. Guilford Press. New York, N.Y.
  • . 2010. Daniel J. Siegel. Bantam Books. New York, N.Y.
  • . 2007. Daniel J. Siegel. Norton and Co. New York, N.Y.
  • The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation: A review of contemporary research with a comprehensive bibliography, 1931-1996. 2nd Ed. Michael Murphy, Steven Donovan, and Eugene Taylor. 1997. Institute of Noetic Sciences. Sausalito, CA.
  • . James Austin. 1998. Cambridge: MIT Press. Boston, MA.
  • . Thich Nhat Hanh. 1987. Beacon Press. Boston, MA.
  • . Shunryu Suzuki, S. 1980. Shambhala Library. Boston, MA.
  • Singer, B., & Ryff, C.D. (Eds.). (2001). . Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
  • Situpa, The 12th Tai, 1996. Awakening the Sleeping Buddha. Shambhala Publications