Dimensions of Wellness

I often say to my clients in clinic that causation can never be attributed to one singular thing, it’s always the sum of all the parts.

This concept can be applied to many things in life… Health, for sure. Wellness, absolutely!

If we consider the ultimate goal of wellness to be optimal quality of life, it then makes sense that there are many factors that determine wellness.

One holistic framework is Hettler’s ‘SPECIES’ model which outlines the seven dimensions of wellness, including:

⭐️ Social – positive relationships with others & community

⭐️ Physical – nutrition, movement, selfcare & healthy lifestyle choices

⭐️ Emotional – awareness & management of emotions + positive self & world view + resilience

⭐️ Career – positive contribution made through talents & attributes = satisfaction, enrichment and purpose through work

⭐️ Intellectual – motivation to seek new knowledge and skills. A love of learning & experience

⭐️ Environmental – interaction with our ‘habitats’. Protecting recourses and ecological biodiversity for future generations

⭐️ Spiritual – individual search for meaning, purpose and living authentically

As with everything I bang on about, the goal is having all these dimensions in balance. Of course, it’s near impossible to be always firing on all cylinders. Which is why I love this framework – it’s a handy list to work through when you’re reflecting and checking in with yourself to see where you need to focus your efforts.