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Alexia
Period 5
29 February 2016
Wellness
Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of oneself and making choices
toward a healthy and fulfilling life; it is essential to maintain an optimal level of wellness
in order to live a higher quality of life. Wellness is important because everything we do
and every emotion we feel relates to our wellbeing. In turn, our wellbeing directly affects
our actions and emotions (What is Wellness?). Wellness is the full integration of states
of physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing (Seven Dimensions of Wellness),
therefore I believe that there are six vital dimensions of wellness: emotional, spiritual,
physical, social, occupational, and intellectual. Each facet of wellness is equally
important because they are interrelated with one another. Emotional wellness can be
achieved by acknowledging and sharing feelings, which is important in order to
understand oneself. Spiritual wellness can be achieved by establishing harmony in ones
life, which impacts the values and actions of how one lives their life. Physical wellness
encourages principles of good health, and can be achieved by exercising frequently.
Social wellness can be achieved by establishing strong relationships with friends, family
members, and colleagues, which make one feel part of something greater. Occupational
wellness can be achieved if one works in the field of their interest, which impacts the
balance in ones life. Lastly, intellectual wellness can be achieved by constantly acquiring
knowledge and mentally challenging oneself, enhancing ones quality of life.

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Wellness is a result of the lifestyle one lives. Personally, I live an active lifestyle.
In regards to my physical wellness, I swim and play water polo year-round; in addition,
being a part of a team sport boosts my social wellness because I constantly interact and
develop relationships with my teammates. Pertaining to my intellectual wellness, my
schedule consists of AP courses that help stimulate my brain, but the amount of
homework I receive negatively impacts my sleeping schedule. Relating to my spiritual
wellness, I practice my religion on a daily basis, which in turn helps stabilize my life. I
believe that all aspects of my life influence my wellness and are equally important
because one facet of my wellness impacts the other facets, creating a domino effect.
In this day of age, the lifestyles of people have become mainstream and have
begun to affect the nations children. Our society has made technology a necessity rather
than a luxury; this has resulted in our children becoming attached to their phones and
computers. Technology has negatively impacted the mental and physical wellness of
children because they have become used to finding their answers online and choose to
stay indoors. The lack of exercise, as well as the consumption of junk food companies has
imposed on society has resulted in childhood obesity. For example, I have younger
cousins that are leaning towards obesity; in addition, once they get home after school,
they spend all of their time on watching television or being on the internet instead of
playing outside or doing homework. In regards to the American culture, we have become
accustomed to eating fast food, large portions, and junk food, resulting in negative
impacts for our children.
Wellness in our society should focus on its individuals instead of focusing on
groups of people. In our current society, the government has taken health care into its

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agenda and has created Obama-care, whose mission is to get more people signed up for
health insurance, by mandating certain businesses [to] provide health insurance, and
fining individuals who choose to not get insurance (Justice). Before Obama-care,
healthcare had risen in 2009 due to new medicines and technologies that were expensive
to create; in addition, healthcare spending in the U.S. was increasing more slowly than it
had at any time in half a century (Obamacare: Before and After). Currently,
companies can provide their employees more incentives for being in health programs, as
well as penalize them if they are not successful in them. Obama-care has threatened the
nations financial wellness by forcing the public to pay for health care instead of actually
taking care of the public. It is unfair for companies to threaten peoples wallets if their
bodies are not cooperating with the health programs on time, so instead, health care
should use the media and technology to inform people through advertisements and free
televisions programs that discuss health issues.
In class, I was introduced to various sources that discussed the importance of
wellness and how multiple factors can affect it, as well as its focus in health fields. While
watching Super Size Me, it was shown that McDonalds encouraged poor nutrition for its
own benefit. It established the fact that fast food is unhealthy and detrimental to ones
physical and mental wellness, making one tired and weak. While watching The Weight of
the Nation, it addressed the obesity epidemic in the United States. The series examines
the serious health consequences and reveals the science behind obesity, threatening the
nations social, economic, and physical health. Another source introduced was Mrs.
Maurer, a registered nurse, who mentioned that the health fields shifted from reactive
responses to pro-active responses. This has occurred since hospitals are closely

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monitoring their patients, as well as informing the public of illnesses to prevent them
from dramatically impacting society.
My personal wellness is extremely important to me, therefore I intend to monitor
my health and make sure that I am reaching my full potential of living a high quality life.
In order to improve my wellness, I will start with improving the amount of hours I sleep,
which will start by not procrastinating my homework and projects. In turn, this will
positively impact my physical and mental wellness. I will also spend more time taking
care of myself and making my health a priority. In order to improve my familys
wellness, we will eat our meals together and spend more time with another by conversing
about our days or any issues we have on our minds.

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Bibliography
Justice, Greg. "The Impact of Obamacare on Corporate Wellness Programs - Corporate
Wellness Magazine." Corporate Wellness Magazine. Column, 10 Mar. 2015. Web.
27 Feb. 2016.
"Obamacare: Before and After." Obamacare: Before and After - Discover the Networks.
N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2016.
"Wellness: Seven Dimensions of Wellness." University of California, Riverside, n.d.
Web. 27 Feb. 2016.
"What Is Wellness? - UC Davis SHCS." What Is Wellness? - UC Davis SHCS. University
of California, Davis, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2016.