Heather McDanel
Unit 9
Final Project
Section 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 very important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because they need to be able to relate to their patients and clients on many levels including integral health. in addition, when they practice these they become more compassionate and caring individuals. By taking an active role in their own well-being it will show in there ability to better understand their patients and clients. It is also beneficial to their clients if they practice what they preach because it is very difficult to take advice from someone when they are not living up to the expectations that they expect others to obtain.
The area for which I need to focus on is my ability to manage stress and to let go of things that clutter my well-being. I constantly take on to many things and I have a very difficult time saying no when someone asks for my help such as when I was asked to be the secretary at the local Elks lodge, they desperately needed someone and could not find any one else to do it so I reluctently agreed, now 3 years later, I am still doing it and it is one of the things that I need to let go of in order to eliminate some of the stress.
Section II: Assessment
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
In order to assess oneself we must look at ourselves as a whole being, we cannot separate different aspects, we must include Psychospiritual, Biological, Interpersonal and Worldly Flourishing. In Psychospiritual Flourishing we must as ourselves "Are we motivated by survival, psychological or spiritual needs." I belive I am more motivated by spiritual needs which includes wisdom, wholeness, oneness and loving-kindness and compassion. In Biological Flourishing, what should be included in your assessment would include fitness, nutrition and self regulation, I exercise on a regular basis and try to eat foods that are healthy, I do go overboard occassionally but I try not to do it too often. Interpersonal Flourishing is how we interact and cultivate relationships, I think I do okay on this, I get a long with most people and it takes a lot for me to get angry or upset with anyone. Finally, Worldly flourishing, which is where ones attention is directed as far as community an National issues, although I don't have time for a lot of outside activities I am very active in my church and help with my sons baseball team, not sure if that counts but I think it does.
As far as scoring myself in wellness, spiritually, physicall and psychologically, I think my scores would go something like this:
- Spiritually: A (I am very active in my church, I trust god and pray at least once if not more per day and I help teach children's church)
- Physically: B+ (Although I am not where I would like to by physcically, I'm not too far off)
- Psychologically: C- (I have a lot of stress due to an extremely hectic schedule and I need to let some things go.
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual:
Physical: I would like to get back to the physical shape I was in 6 years ago, although I still exercise on a regular basis I don't have the time to put into it like I used to and I am starting to unwanted changes.
Psychological: I would like to find the time to practice meditation on a regular basis to help reduce some of the stress in my life and help me to let go of things that are not important.
Spiritual: I would like to find more time to read my Bible.
Section 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 exercise or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.
Physical: In order to achieve physical growth I need to incorporate more physical activity in my day. In order to do this I need to set aside a specific time to be able to do this, preferably by doing 1/2 hour of yoga in the morning and a 3-4 mile jog everyday after work. Nutrition wise, I do need to incorporate more fruits into my diet but other than that my nutritional needs are usually met.
Psychological: In order to achieve psychological growth I would like to meditate on a regular basis, I know that meditating daily is pretty much out of the question with my hectic schedule but I would like to find the time to practice meditation at least 3 to 4 times per week. As stated before, I believe this would improve my outlook immensly and relieve some of the stress in my life by letting things go that are not as important as others.
Spiritually: I would like to include my kids more in my daily prayers and would love to start up a children's bible study program at my church, similar to the youth group that I attended once a week when I was growing up. I think this will not only help me develop more spirituality but it will also help the younger generation have a better understanding of who they are and help them to make better decisions in their lives.
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?
As far as assessing my progress, I think some will be harder to track than others, with the physical domain, tracking my progress will not be as difficult because I can simply use a food log, exercise checklist and the scale to determine how I am doing. With the psychological domain I think it is important to keep a log of my feelings and how stressed I feel to be able to see how I am progressing. As far as the spiritual domain, my happiness will say it all.
Thank you,
Heather
References:
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, California. Basic Health Publications
