Rica Feliciano

HED 044

Professor Moore

January 18, 2017

Project 1: Personal Prescription

According to a couple of the self-assessment quizzes that I found online, my overall

wellness is ranked as fair-good. I took two quizzes that assessed me in all six dimensions of

wellness. My highest scores seem to be in my emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social

health; while my physical and environmental health seem to be the most lacking. Overall, I am

fairly healthy. Nonetheless, there is always room for improvementeven in aspects where I

seem to have scored the highest.

Specifically, I believe the area I need most improvement in is my physical health. I

understand its importance in individual wellness, however, I tend to lack motivation in being

consistent with exercising. Now although I have slightly improved my diet over the years, it can

still be enhanced. I have a high risk of getting diabetes because it is the biggest health issue in

both sides of my family. My parents have taken extra steps in eating much healthier as well as

exercising on a consistent basis. On the other hand, I have only taken small steps in both areas.

While Ive significantly decreased my sugar intake, I have not decreased my starch intake. In

fact, sometimes I feel that I may have slightly increased it. I tend to eat a lot of rice, potatoes,

pasta, and bread products which is not the best when trying to stay away from diabetes. Also, I

seldom eat fruits and vegetables. When it comes to exercising, I am inexcusably lazy. I have
tried many times to exercise and develop a routine that implements constant physical activity,

but have difficulty in maintaining it. Though I am not overweight for my age and height, I

believein order to stay physically healthyits key to stay active.

Its incredibly important to sustain a healthy lifestyle for various reasons. In addition to

reducing injuries, infections, and illnesses, having great health also allows for an increase in

overall well-being. With that said, upholding physical health is only one crucial piece. It is also

substantial to maintain all dimensions of wellnesssuch as emotional, intellectual, spiritual,

social, and environmental because they are all interrelated. Being unhealthy in one aspect

can be detrimental to another. For example, somebody who suffers from depression will not

only lack emotional health, but will also risk his/her physical health. Depression is sometimes

directly linked to over or under-eating, substance or alcohol abuse, and even suicide.

Furthermore, it will affect his/her psychosocial health. Conversely, a person who is physically

healthy tends to additionally be healthier in the emotional, spiritual, and social aspects.

Ideally, we should maintain a balance in all six dimensions. As Norris (2010) states in his

article, embracing these dimensions allows us to be better equipped to manage the

complexities and spontaneity life presents to us.

To improve my lifestyle, I have three goals in mind. First, I intend to develop and

implement more physical activity in my day to day schedule. I understand that it will be

difficult, seeing that I have a full unit load in school while also working part time, but I am

committed to improving my physical well-being. I hope that I can find inspirationfrom my

peers or from this course itselfto continuously stay active. Even a small decision to always

take the stairs as opposed to the elevator would be an acceptable improvement for me.
 In addition to the first goal, I will continue refining my diet to decrease my risk of

diabetes and other chronic illnesses. In order to fulfil this, I know that I have to start reducing

my starch intake and increase my vegetable and fruit consumption. Something as simple as

cutting my starch intake in half and replacing it with vegetable products or eating fruit as

opposed to a decadent dessert is a good way to start.

Lastly, I aim to improve my environmental health, as it was also in the lower end of my

self-assessment quiz results. I realize that its important to take care of our surroundings just as

it is important to care for ourselves. To improve my environmental wellness, I will start

recycling and conserving water and energy. Having a separate bin for recyclable materials,

turning off the water while brushing my teeth, and reducing my shower time are all smallbut

impactfulsteps I can take to improve the environment. Additionally, I will keep in mind to

unplug electronics when they are not in use to conserve energy.

In conclusion, although I believe myself to be pretty healthy overall, I realize that there

are necessary improvements I need to make to achieve a balanced sense of wellness. It is

essential to be well in oneor even somedimensions; but, it is most imperative to be well in

all dimensions of health.

 References

Applebaum, V. (2008, January 01). A Holistic Approach to Health. Retrieved January 11, 2017,

from http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/holistic-approach-health

This website does not explicitly discuss all 6 dimensions. However, it goes into

great detail about the Holistic Approach, the physical, emotional, spiritual,

intellectual, and social dimensions.

Norris, K. M. (2010, June 10). Finding balance: 6 dimensions of wellness. Retrieved January 11,

2017, from http://www.washingtonblade.com/2010/06/10/finding-balance-6-

dimensions-of-wellness/

This article gives a brief description of the integrated approach of health. It

highlights the importance of finding balance within the 6 dimensions of wellness.

Six Dimensions of Wellness - Wellness Resource Center. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2017, from

http://students.umw.edu/wellness/wellness-resource-center/6-dimensions-of-wellness

I found this website to be the most helpful. It describes all 6 dimensions clearly

and concisely. It also offers links to other useful websites regarding the benefits

of exercise and other wellness topics.

The Holistic Health Self-Assessment Quiz. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2017, from

https://www.expandinglight.org/holistic-health/self-assessment-quiz.php

This quiz only assessed me on three of the six dimensions. However, it provided

accurate results while also giving specific suggestions on how to improve those

three areas.
Wellness Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2017, from

http://definitionofwellness.com/wellness-assessment/

This assessment was more thorough since it had all six aspects of wellness. I

believe this one provided the most accurate results, but was very brief in

interpreting my score.