Wellness Inquiry Paper

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Humanities

Allegany College of Maryland

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Assessing and Examining Your Wellness The Creative Self The Creative Self includes those strategies by which we uniquely address the joys and challenges of being alive and sustaining life. Our thinking, feelings, and interpretations of life experiences have everything to do with our capacity to develop and grow across the life span. Therefore, the Creative Self is in a constant state of processing, capable of changing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in response to life demands. Thinking. Thinking is necessary for healthy brain functioning and quality of life across the lifespan. This is a prime example of what we mean by “use it or lose it”. People who solve problems effectively have lower anxiety and depression, and better mental health. Creativity is a universal characteristic of self-actualizing people, all of whom demonstrate originality, a special kind of creativeness, inventiveness, and problem-solving ability. Thinking Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Emotions. People who are spontaneous in their behavior and emotions are able to experience a range of both positive and negative feelings: anger, anxiety, fear, sadness, guilt, shame, disgust, interest/excitement, love/compassion, happiness/joy. They have the freedom of children in expressing themselves. Because they express their emotions appropriately, they experience more positive relationships with others. Emotions Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Control. People experience positive outcomes when they perceive themselves as having an impact on what happens to them. Conversely, we experience negative outcomes such as depression when we perceive a lack of personal control. Perceived control is associated with emotional well-being, successful coping with stress, better physical health, and better mental health over the lifespan. Control Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Work. Work is a major life task for everyone. The term “work” is more inclusive than paid employment, however. Children “work” at play to master their environment. Older persons contribute to the well-being of others through a variety of volunteer and personal services that require “working”, which may involve service to others without pay or expectation of gain. Work, however, can and often does involve compensation for services. Work satisfaction includes feelings of challenge, financial reward, coworker relations, and working conditions. It is one of the best predictors of both longevity and perceived quality of 2 life. Work satisfaction includes feeling that our skills are used appropriately, that our ideas in the workplace are valued by others, feeling that we have both the time and resources to achieve what is expected of us, feeling valued by other people in our workplace, and receiving recognition, including pay, equal to the work we do. Work Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Positive Humor. Positive humor includes both recognition and appreciation of humorous events and creation of humorous situations. Positive humor neither hurts nor is a put down to oneself or others. Quite the opposite, positive humor releases tension and allows us to gain new insights on life. Humor can enhance intimacy and help us establish a sense of trust with others. Especially when accompanied by laughter, humor causes the skeletal muscles to relax, boosts the immune system, increases heart rate, stimulates circulation, oxygenates the blood, massages the vital organs, aids digestion, and releases chemicals called endorphins into the brain that enhance a sense of well-being. This includes laughing at one’s self, laughing with others (not at others), seeing the contradictions, oddities, and predicaments of life in an objective yet “funny” way, and learning new ways of coping as a result of life’s surprises. Positive Humor Overall Wellness The Creative Self ____ out of 50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 The Coping Self The Coping Self is composed of elements that regulate our responses to life events. When bad things happen, our Coping Self helps us overcome any negative effects. On the positive side, our Coping Self helps us feel good about ourselves and find helpful ways to manage the stress in our lives. An important part of stress management is being able to experience “flow,” which is the ability to become totally absorbed in an activity so that we forget about time. In fact, when we experience flow, whether it be through reading, gardening, some other free time pursuit, or even our work, we have the feeling that time stands still. This feeling helps us not only cope with but transcend the daily requirements of life. Leisure opens pathways to growth in both creative and spiritual dimensions. Realistic Beliefs. Healthy people are able to process information accurately and perceive reality as it is rather than as they wish it to be. They actively entertain thoughts that help them avoid conflict with others, find solutions to life’s inevitable predicaments, protect them from harm, achieve worthwhile personal goals, and maintain a positive emotional balance. People who have realistic beliefs are able to accept themselves as imperfect, challenge irrational thoughts about “always, never, or should” in relation to self, others and life circumstances. They can view others and life events from more than one if not multiple perspectives. Realistic Beliefs Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Stress Management. Stress affects both psychological and physiological functioning, and has a specific depressant effect on immune system functioning. Persons who are stress-resistant experience more positive and beneficial immune system responses, greater resistance to psychosocial stressors, a more internal locus of control, more positive mental health, and greater physical health. When we manage stress effectively, we are able to experience change as positive, regulate our time and energy to maintain balance, set realistic limits, and be proactive in responding to life events. Stress Management Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Self-Worth. Self-worth is variously defined as self-concept or self-esteem. It means simply acceptance of oneself both in our gifts and imperfections. It means accepting our bodies, even though they are not perfect. It means accepting ourselves and having the courage to be imperfect. Self-Worth Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Leisure. Leisure activities, including physical, social, intellectual, volunteer, and creative, have a positive effect on self-worth and overall wellness. Life satisfaction also is influenced by leisure congruence, or selecting leisure activities consistent with one’s personality type. This may be best represented by activities through which we lose track of time, feeling totally immersed in 4 an activity that brings out our innate creativity, talents, and personal passions for beauty, life, and creation. Leisure Overall Wellness The Coping Self out of ____ 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5 The Social Self As mentioned earlier, social support has been identified in multiple studies as the strongest predictor of positive mental health over the lifespan. The mainstay of this support is family, with healthier families providing the most positive sources of individual wellness. Healthy families can be either biological or families of choice. As adults, we can choose to create a family-like support system to replace whatever may have been missing in our biological family. Friendship. We all need frequent, positive interactions with the same persons. In other words, we need a long-term, stable, and caring support network. There is a strong positive connection between friendship quality and sense of well-being, including physical as well as mental health. This includes connectedness with others in non-sexual relationships, having a social support system in times of need or celebration, being able to give support to others, feeling comfortable with others, and possibly most important, not feeling lonely, alienated, or neglected. Friendship Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Love. Characteristics of healthy love relationships include the ability to be intimate, trusting, and self-disclosing with another person and the ability to receive as well as express affection with significant others. The life task of love necessitates having a family or family-like support system which has the following nine characteristics: shared coping and problem-solving skills, commitment to the family, good and frequent communication, encouragement of individuals, regular expression of appreciation, shared religious/spiritual values, social connectedness, clear roles, and shared interests, values, and significant time together. Love Overall Wellness The Social Self ____ out of 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6 The Essential Self The Essential Self is just that, essential! The four components of the Essential Self are important ways by which we make meaning of the world and feel a sense of purpose in life. Spirituality, not religiosity, has positive benefits for longevity and quality of life. It includes our sense of existential meaning, purpose, and hopefulness toward life. Our identity as male or female and our cultural identity are filters through which life experiences are seen and affect our relationships with others, especially others of our same gender or ethnic background. Self-care includes all of our proactive efforts to live long and live well. Conversely, carelessness, avoidance of health promoting habits, and general disregard of our well-being are potentially signs of despair or alienation from life’s opportunities. Spirituality. Spirituality includes an awareness of a being or force that transcends the material aspects of life and gives a deep sense of wholeness or connectedness to the universe. For many, this will be equated with meaning. Spirituality is associated with hope, optimism, seeking meaning and purpose in life, and practices that express these through prayer, meditation, and worship. Spirituality is a broad concept representing personal beliefs and values. In contrast, but extremely important to many people is religiosity, a narrower concept that refers to institutional beliefs and behaviors. Religious affiliation is a public matter, often expressed through group religious participation, while spirituality is more of a private issue which may or may not be expressed publicly. Recent studies suggest that there is a significant, positive relationship between spirituality, of which religion is only one part, mental health, physical health, life satisfaction, and wellness. Spirituality Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Self-Care. Self-care relates to concern and attention to one’s well-being in all of its dimensions. Choosing to develop safety habits, including preventive medical and dental care, wearing seat belts, and avoidance of harmful substances including those in the environment, improves our quality of life and increases our longevity. Failure to engage in these preventive health habits leads to declines in physical functioning and increased mortality. Self-Care Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Gender Identity. Gender identity refers to subjective feelings of maleness or femaleness and is culturally defined. Gender role socialization, a process that begins at birth and continues throughout the lifespan, results in culturally-appropriate gender-role behaviors being rewarded for both males and females. These differences have been linked to wellness as well as illness in adulthood. Feelings of satisfaction with one’s gender, feeling supported and valued in relationships with persons of both genders, and being competent to respond appropriately to gender-related stressors in life are characteristics of those who have a positive gender identity. Gender Identity Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7 Cultural Identity. Culture may be broadly defined as the shared reality of a particular group of people. It includes racial identity, acculturation, and an appreciation for the unique aspects of one’s culture. Cultural identity affects self-perceived health and wellness since concepts of health differ according to culture. Feelings of satisfaction with one’s cultural heritage, feeling supported and valued in relationships with persons of one’s own and others’ cultures, and being competent to respond appropriately to culture-related stressors in life are characteristics of those who have a positive cultural identity. Cultural identity Overall Wellness The Essential Self ____ out of 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8 The Physical Self The two components of the Physical Self, exercise and nutrition, are widely promoted and, unfortunately often over-emphasized to the exclusion of other components of holistic wellbeing. The research evidence is compelling with regard to the importance of exercise and nutrition for living long and well. Not surprisingly, preliminary data suggest that “survivors,” i.e., individuals who live longest, attend to both exercise and diet/nutrition. Nutrition. There is a clear relationship between what we eat and our health, moods, performance, and longevity. The eating and drinking habits of Americans have been implicated in 6 of the 10 leading causes of death, including the fact that more than one in every two Americans is considered to be overweight. Eating breakfast regularly, eating a variety of the food groups recommended, maintaining one’s ideal weight, and drinking water in sufficient quantity each day are basic rules of thumb corroborated by research findings on healthy diets. Nutrition Overall Wellness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Exercise. Regular physical activity is essential in the prevention of disease and enhancement of health as well as for healthy aging. Exercise increases strength as well as self-confidence and self-esteem. Stretching, exercising for 20-30 minutes a week, and generally leading a physically active life are beneficial beyond what the effort seems to require. Exercise Overall Wellness The Physical Self ____ out of 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9 Total Wellness Take a few moments to compare your ratings. • What areas of wellness increased for you? • What areas of wellness decreased or stayed the same? • What happened to your Total Wellness score? • What does this all mean to you? Total Wellness ______ out of 170 Wellness Assessment Abdullah Alhazmi Professor: Jeanine Dakduk, M.Ed. DSC-201 Journal 4 My personal views regarding social wellness are centered on three key issues, namely love, friendship, and relationships. Unconditional love is the choice I have to love another person without expecting anything in return. I can as well opt to love myself unconditionally. I would demonstrate my self-love by treating myself to things that make me feel happy such as going out for holidays to escape the pressures of life. Friendship for me is important since I get to share my problems with friends and listen to their issues. A true friend will always find time to share your happy and sad moments. This is true when you have a close person who does not give excuses for failing to check up on their friends. Contrary to this is in a bad situation, and friends suddenly have no interest in you or your life. While I appreciate having a close relationship, I prefer having friends who can balance intimacy and distance. I feel like adult friends have the right balance because they pry less into my life, unlike childhood friends who interfere more with everything. I hope to answer several questions concerning how broader relationships help shape my opinion about friendship and love. My family has been a great influence on my perception of friends since I have witnessed how my parents treat those they consider close friends. Wellness Assessment Abdullah Alhazmi Professor: Jeanine Dakduk, M.Ed. DSC-201 Journal 5 In my personal life, I have encountered situations that have made me conclude that in as much as I would like my purpose to find me, I need to put more effort into finding what my goal in this life. My desire to establish and understand my purpose is what gives my life meaning. I feel purposeful every time I realize that I am almost attaining my goal in life. Each time I accomplish something, I feel that I have indeed fulfilled my purpose. For instance, if I plan to offer social support to a community within a certain period, and by the end of the scheduled time, I fulfill my promise, then I feel purposeful. My family and friends have played a significant role in my spiritual life. Growing up, I felt as though I was being forced to attend religions service. As I became a responsible individual, I met friends who would push me to embrace the positive morals of life. All this time, I did not realize that my friends and family were helping me shape my spiritual life. I believe in serendipity because had it not been by fate and destiny to emulate morals in society, maybe I would not have met spiritual friends. If there is one thing, I would love to solve in the world is the suffering of most people. I wish I can make the world a place full of happiness with less suffering, problems, and crisis. Wellness Assessment Abdullah Alhazmi Professor: Jeanine Dakduk, M.Ed. DSC-201 Journal 3 In my personal life, there are various stressors that I face that tend to reduce the quality of life that I lead. Stressors are common in anyone’s life and one cannot go through life without being faced by various challenges. With this in mind, I have learned to develop coping strategies when I‘m faced by any issues. One of the main stressors in my life is competing priorities. Competing priorities mainly happen due to time constraints where I have to balance between having a good time and setting time aside to pursue my education and other aspirations that have in regards to my career. At home, such competing priorities also come about where I have to apportion time between watching films or playing video games and studying or doing my homework. I deal with the competing needs through prioritizing my time to events that are most beneficial to my welfare and well-being. I currently cope with stress and anxiety by taking some time-out and taking well-balanced meals. Taking some time-out from my busy schedule allows me to overcome any form of stress or anxiety. Eating balanced meals ensures that I have enough energy and reduces the likelihood of suffering from burnout. Leisure activities that I undertake include playing board games and interacting with other people. These activities improve my self-worth. I would also like to learn several strategies such as copying with the loss of a loved one. Coping strategies after the death of a loved one is one skill that many people lack. I have seen people who have become disoriented in everything after losing their loved one. I intend to develop strategies that can improve my ability to cope when I am faced with such a stressor in the future. Wellness Assessment Abdullah Alhazmi Professor: Jeanine Dakduk, M.Ed. DSC-201 Journal 2 The past week was a great one based on some of the lessons that we had. I had the opportunity to delve into some of the main aspects of wellness and the role they play towards improving the welfare and well-being of people. Wellness integrates various aspects that are critical towards improving the quality of life that people lead. Looking to the future, there are several ideas and resources that I may require to start planning my goals. One of the resources is to conduct more research to identify peer-reviewed sources on physical wellness and what initiatives may be adopted at the community level to achieve the said goals. Using information from evidence-based practice may allow me to come up with suitable goals that are realistic and that can be achieved not only in the short-term but also in the long-term. The first step in my plan is to assess the need for physical wellness programs in society. Such an assessment would determine whether the programs would be supported if they were to be pursued among people in the community. Analyzing the number of people who are obese and in need of participating in physical activities would be a great step towards achieving the overall goal of the wellness program. The step also involves assessing the notions of the people towards physical wellness. If people think that it is critical towards achieving the healthcare outcomes, then there is a real chance that the physical wellness programs would be a success. I never experienced any setbacks, and this is an indication that I have grasped the core components of wellness as discussed throughout the week. Wellness Assessment Abdullah Alhazmi Professor: Jeanine Dakduk, M.Ed. DSC-201 Journal 1 The area of wellness that I am going to be working to improve is physical wellness. Physical wellness delves into the physical well-being of people. Physical well-being is concerned with lifestyle choices, behaviors, and physical ability that help ascertain the various determinants of health (Myers, & Sweeney, 2018). I chose the area since lack of physical wellness in society today is a major cause of many diseases. When people lack physical fitness, they are more susceptible to become overweight and this can have negative effects on the healthcare outcomes of the people. I plan to improve it through locating people in the community who are not physically fit and putting them into the physical wellness program. The aim is to allow them to become physically fit and lose weight since many people who lack physical fitness are overweight or obese. I hope to answer several questions including the need for physical fitness, the dangers of lack of it, and various strategies that can be adopted by people at their homes to improve their physical well-being. I will also want to have an idea about the notions that people in society have towards physical wellness. Answering the question may help determine the success of the programs that may be developed within this area of wellness. There are several unknowns that I will need to explore. One of the unknowns is the perceptions and notions that people in society have towards physical well-being. Ascertaining the unknown is important since it may determine whether people would be interested in the physical wellness programs that may be created for them (Tharakan, 2012). The second unknown is whether additional resources will be needed to achieve the goal. Such a determination may help allocate resources to certain areas so that the desired outcomes are met. References Myers, J. E., & Sweeney, T. J. (2018). Wellness counseling: The evidence base for practice. Journal of Counseling and Development: JCD, 86(4), 482-493. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2008.tb00536.x Tharakan, Y. G. (2012). Development of a health and wellness Centre at Manipal - an introspection. JOHAR, 7(2), 52-66. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1478019634?accountid=45049 • • • Paper length: 3-5 pages (does not include a cover page or reference page); double spaced, typed, 12 pt. font (Arial or Times) Paper and Presentation are due March 3rd (the final class) Presentation should be no more than 5 minutes long USE THE FOLLOWING AS HEADINGS 1. Introduction – Identify the wellness area that you focused on based on the assessment scores. Identify two questions you wish to explore in this area. 2. Research – Find two research articles on the area you have identified to improve. Summarize the article and indicate how it relates to your selected wellness area. PROVIDE A REFERENCE PAGE AT THE END OF YOUR PAPER! 3. Methods – What did you do to improve the two areas of wellness? Be specific in the types of activities you did and talk about how these activities did or did not impact your wellness score. 4. Results – Did your Wellness scores (overall wellness or satisfaction with your wellness) in the two categories you selected improve between the pre- and post-test. How much? Did your overall wellness score improve? 5. Discussion – Explain any changes in your wellness scores; what factors do you think influenced the results? What could you have done differently and will you continue to make these changes? 6. Future – How do you plan to apply what you have learned in this class to the future? “One thing I learned from this class about myself is _________________.”
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Running head: WELLNESS ENQUIRY PAPER

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WELLNESS ENQUIRY PAPER

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Introduction
In this wellness inquiry paper, I seek to explore an area of physical wellness which is one
that I have much concern with both for myself and for the community that I live in. Various body
conditions such as respiratory and cardiovascular health issues that affect people are as a result of
inappropriate body activities. I have realized that there are very many people particularly in the
society that I live in who have obesity which in most cases beside poor eating habits, lack of
physical exercise if the other major cause of the condition. In this case, through am enhancement
of various physical activities, I believe the goal for the wellness program will be achieved. This
will also be a great step in determining the level of acceptance for physical wellness among society.
The first question that I wish to explore in this area is how effective can physical wellness help in
the control of both obesity and chronic diseases among people? Secondly, what is the level of
acceptance that people have on physical activities for their physical wellness?
Research:
(Mantu Baro, Thapa & Sonowal, 2016) researched “Physical Fitness and WellnessChallenge in the 21st Century”. In this article, they implied that personal growth and potential and
quality of life among people can only be achieved through the development of behavior for
physical activity. There was a form of interdependency between physical fitness and wellness. It
has becom...


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