The Dimensions of Wellness & Mental Health

Wellness is defined as the act of practicing habits daily to acquire healthier physical and mental outcomes. When COVID-19 became a household burden, humans across the globe survived. But did we thrive? 

As a mental health therapist and a human, I encouraged my clients to create a routine including the eight dimensions of wellness. These dimensions include the following: physical, emotional, intellectual, social, occupational, environmental, spiritual, and financial. When out of balance, we tend to feel “wonky,”  a ton of emotions all put into one, explaining why we do not feel grounded. Each of these dimensions can release those happy chemicals into our brains (Serotonin, Oxytocin, Endorphins, & Dopamine). 

Not only limited to moving your body, the dimension of physical wellness can include sleep and fueling your body with nutrients in foods. When moving your body with exercise, including yoga, biking, running, walking your pet (cats included), playing Pokemon Go by walking, or walking your favorite path next to your favorite lake, your body will release those happy chemicals into your brain. Movement not only affects your muscles, but also your mental health. Moving your body might create this exhausting thought prior to doing it. But when  done consistently, you FEEL the rewards. You sleep better, your digestive system applauds you, and you become less reactive to things than before. 

The dimension of emotional wellness is not JUST going to therapy. Emotional wellness means learning to cope with life’s stressors and anxieties. Life is a big, long science experiment. We learn by trial and error. There will ALWAYS be anxiety and stress. Seeking an outside, non-judgmental, perspective to help guide you is an option. Finding the right therapist can be a process. I have gone through it, as I am a therapist who sees a therapist. Think and know your expectations and give  yourself time and space to understand your feelings and others. Therapy is about YOU.

Emotional wellness can include journaling, reflecting after reading a self-help book, meditation, yoga, and finding gratitude in each of your days. I took my yoga teacher training with Gabrielle Roberts and Lindsey Lewis at Minneapolis’s only hip hop yoga studio 612 Jungle. I learned that being grateful for the things in my life – such as time, space, and the sun – brought me joy I did not have perspective on prior to our assignment to find gratitude in every day. A powerful resource, meditation grounds you with intentional breathing. 

I heard over and over from some of my clients, “Oh Nique, meditation does not work.” When implemented into our day-to-day routine, meditation decreases anxiety and depression symptoms. Meditation gives you  time and space to breathe intentionally with purpose. “WHAT!? Giving myself 5 minutes of time to breathe, no way. I can’t do that.” For your emotional health, why not? 

The dimension of environmental wellness is about – you guessed it, your environment! How does that impact your mental health? When your room is a mess, do you feel chaotic? When your work desk is disorganized, do you feel stressed? By keeping your belongings organized, this decreases the stress you feel. Environmental wellness also includes home life and nature.  Chaotic, toxic, and unsupportive home life impacts your mental health. You could likely feel stressed, chaotic, depressed, anxious, irritable, and hopeless. This could affect your work, your social life, school responsibilities, sleep, and diet. We Minnesotans tend to gravitate towards being outdoors when the sun is out, and the temperatures rise. Why do you think that is?

The dimension of intellectual wellness expands knowledge and skills through intellectually stimulating activities. This could look like having a conversation with a friend, attending a workshop of your desired interest, attending conferences, taking classes, and reading interesting books . Your motivation and efforts in learning because you want to measure your intellectual wellness. Mental health connects to intellectual wellness based on your motivation and desires. You are never “too old” to learn something new. Statements such as “I am too old to learn” are rigid in thinking and fear based. Fear prevents us from exploring the unknown, which helps us GROW and fills our knowledge bank, increasing our motivation to learn. 

The dimension of occupational wellness focuses on finding satisfaction in one’s life with work. Finding a satisfying job that enriches your life creates positive emotions as well as experiences. When dissatisfied with your job, this increases anxiety, depression symptoms,  and negative self-talk, impacting your social life. 

The dimension of social wellness develops connections and a sense of belonging while finding your support system. When social wellness is impacted, mental health symptoms are impacted too. As COVID-19 taught us all, even if we like to be alone, being in the same space as others impacts our mental health in a positive way. As humans, we desire a sense of belonging, to be seen, and to be heard. 

The dimension of spiritual wellness includes exploring our sense of purpose in life. Will we ever truly understand our individual purpose in life? I can not answer that for you, but I  encourage you to explore it. This may look like practicing mindfulness (being in the moment), spending time alone to reflect, defining your personal values, morals, and ethics while making decisions in your life complementing them; and exploring different cultures and religious affiliations. Without this, your mental health symptoms could look like depression and anxiety. This could also be confusing, which may lead to second guessing your decisions and needing others’ approval. 

The last dimension of wellness is financial. Does money increase happiness? Money can create stress when we do not have it and brings a sense of relief when having it. Financial wellness means creating habits to  lead you to satisfaction and certainty of your current and future financial situations. Money provides us stability and experiences which impact our mental health, and can be harmful. Budgeting, planning, and seeking professional guidance increases certainty and confidence financially. 

All eight dimensions link to our mental health. If one of them is off, we feel WONKY. This is my encouragement from one human to another human to create intentions in each dimension to explore different activities helping you feel grounded, empowered, supported, and satisfied. 

Nique is a queer, female of color who is a licensed professional clinical counselor. Nique works in Saint Paul, in a community based clinic providing psychotherapy within a client centered lens. Working in the field of mental health for over 7 years, Nique joins her clients where they are at from the moment they enter her office. Nique is also a dog mama to Tank (Boston Terrier-Pug mix). In the fall of 2020, Nique started her yoga teacher journey with Gabrielle Roberts and Lindsey Lewis at 612 Jungle in Mpls. During yoga teacher training, Nique earned a trauma informed yoga certificate. After becoming a 200 HR RYT, Nique joined Up Yoga’s 40 Day to Personal Revolution program with Ericka Jones and Kelsey Potts. Nique began to practice Baptiste power yoga at Up Yoga. Nique taught at YogaSol Cooperative until it closed. Now, she hopes to bring the gifts of yoga to the clinic she practices in for the clients living in the community. Nique believes all areas of wellness connect to mental health.