PPZ3C_ILC1.1: What is Wellness?

Press the following tabs to explore the learning goals and success criteria for this learning activity.

Welcome to PPZ3C! This course will provide you with the opportunity to examine factors that influence and contribute to health practices, health behaviours, and the development of healthy communities. By understanding the concept of wellness, you will learn how to develop and maintain your own identity. You will explore community initiatives that encourage healthy living and active lifestyles, which could prepare you for college programs in health sciences, fitness, wellness, and health promotion. By the end of this course, you will have developed the skills and knowledge required to make healthy choices and create a wellness plan.

Take a moment to consider what health and wellness means to you. Where have you heard these terms being used in society? The following quotes provide examples of how individuals and organizations view the concept of wellness:

As these quotes suggest, health and wellness are essential determinants of our everyday experiences. Health and wellness can be shaped by various factors including one’s lifestyle, surrounding environment, and the community in which one lives.

Before you get started, press the Show Tips button to learn more about how to use your notebook throughout this course.

Health, wellness, and well-being are similar sounding terms that intersect to describe our experience in life.

For your first notebook entry, define what health and wellness mean to you. Make sure to differentiate between health, happiness, wellness, and well-being.

There are various approaches to wellness, and there isn’t always one correct approach. However, in this learning activity, you will develop a deeper understanding of wellness. You will learn about the well-being dimensions that impact your health and wellness. You’ll explore case studies that can offer a variety of strategies for enhancing wellness. Finally, you will research some strategies to overcome barriers to wellness, which can help to improve quality of life, a sense of well-being, and an increased ability to contribute positively to society.

Acknowledgements (Opens in a new window)

Wellness is a dynamic and conscious development of the whole self. It is associated with intentions, choices, and actions leading towards an optimal sense of well-being. Wellness is commonly viewed as having eight dimensions, often represented as a wheel.

Explore the following interactive entitled Wellness Wheel to learn more about the eight dimensions of wellness. For a better experience with this interactive activity, use the fullscreen mode.

Access the following Dimensions of Wellness (Opens in a new window) reference sheet to download a copy for reference.

Academic institutions, including colleges and universities, place a great deal of emphasis on the dimensions of wellness for new students.

Using your preferred Internet browser, search for key terms “Ontario Tech University Dimensions of Wellbeing” or “McMaster University Eight Dimensions of Wellness” to learn more about the eight dimensions of well-being.

Complete the following matching activity to check your understanding of the dimensions of well-being. For each term, drag and drop the corresponding definition.

Has your definition of wellness changed from earlier? If so, how?

Using your definition of personal well-being, do you notice any similarities between the eight dimensions of well-being (intellectual, financial, spiritual, emotional, physical, environmental, occupational, and social)?

Although the eight dimensions of wellness are described individually, they are closely connected. For example, having a sense of peace in your life can affect how you handle emotional challenges. Similarly, your emotional wellness plays a significant role in how well you manage your social relationships.

Think prompts are meant to encourage you to pause and consider a topic. It may also be used as an independent way to think about a topic or to access prior knowledge.

For your first think prompt, reflect on how a healthy person might fulfill each of the well-being dimensions. Consider what characteristics or behaviours would be present in a person on a wellness journey.

As you consider the different characteristics that fulfill the dimensions of well-being, recognize that well-being is not a one-time milestone that lasts you a lifetime. Instead, strong health and wellness are achieved through continuous maintenance.

It requires effortful work to balance the numerous dimensions to ensure your well-being wheel becomes and remains well-rounded and tuned. When you keep your wellness wheel tuned, you create a sense of well-being that is strong and resilient. This idea of maintaining a balance as an integral part of wellness has long been practiced by Indigenous Peoples in Canada and throughout the world.

Many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities across Canada approach community and individual wellness using a holistic model. Each community has their own knowledge and traditions that directly inform their understandings of, and approaches toward, physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health and wellness and how community members can achieve balance within these areas of the self.

The First Nations, Métis, and Inuit learning models respectively represent identity, wellness, and Indigenous Knowledges. By connecting with and practicing our specific traditions and ways of being, we can positively impact our mental health and well-being.

Our connection to the land and to water can directly affect our spiritual and physical well-being, which may subsequently affect our emotional and mental health. All elements within each of the education models are connected to a strong sense of self.

To gain a deeper understanding of how some Indigenous communities find balance in well-being, use your preferred search engine to explore First Nations, Métis, and Inuit learning models. Consider how these learning models play a role in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit approaches to wellness.

In this section, you’ll examine some strategies for improving wellness.

The following list includes several strategies for enhancing each dimension of wellness. For each dimension, think about other strategies that would be useful. These will help when working on the case studies that appear later in the learning activity.

Press the following tabs to learn more about these strategies.

In your notebook, copy the strategies for enhancing the dimensions of wellness and add two additional strategies you can think of for each dimension.

As you may have noticed, the suggested strategies appear simple enough but implementing them consistently can be challenging. Achieving greater wellness requires motivation and daily practice.

The good news is that enhancing one dimension of your wellness may have a positive effect on other dimensions. For example, to improve your physical wellness, you may develop a routine of being more active and attending spaces for recreational sports. By engaging in new environments, you could improve your social wellness by connecting with new individuals.

You have investigated some strategies to enhance wellness; now let’s check your understanding! The following three case studies are about the lifestyles of three individuals. These case studies illustrate some challenges that may affect our sense of well-being.

Recognizing behaviours that threaten our wellness and adopting solid strategies for correcting them helps us stay balanced and become the best that we can be.

Read each of the following cases. Then, describe the aspects of their wellness that could be improved and offer at least one strategy for tackling each of them. Write down your thoughts in your notebook.

Press the following tabs to read each case study.

In this learning activity, you explored the definitions of health and wellness. You learned about the eight different dimensions of wellness and their respective interactions with one another. From an Indigenous standpoint, you explored the First Nations, Métis and Inuit learning models respectively to understand how different cultures and communities understand wellness. Using the case studies from the previous section as practice, complete the following Notebook activity.

Apply your understanding of concepts from this learning activity by responding to the following questions.

2. Read the following case and answer the questions.

Mario is a person who spends a large part of his day worrying. He does very well at work and is often praised but he often stays late at work to finish problems he has a hard time understanding. He worries about his eating practices constantly, and he never snacks or treats himself to “bad” or “unhealthy” foods. He has a hard time falling asleep and often wakes up tired. He is frequently rushed to get out the door in the morning and scrambles to get to work on time. He is a shy and quiet person and finds himself alone at work during his lunch break. Mario often goes out to buy his lunch because it is easier for him to eat alone in his car. In the evening, he spends several hours scrolling on social media and watching television.

• Which dimensions of wellness should Mario consider if he is looking to improve his wellness? Think of as many as you can.
• What strategies can Mario try to overcome these challenges to his wellness?

As you’ve learned in this learning activity, to achieve wellness you must make choices and behave in ways that benefit all aspects of health. The more positive your choices, the more likely it is that you’ll live a healthy, balanced, and fulfilled life.

In the next learning activity, you’ll learn about the connection between lifestyle and wellness. You will consider various strategies and tools that could help improve wellness.

Complete the following self-check quiz to determine where you are in your learning and what areas you need to focus on.

This quiz is for feedback only, not part of your grade. You have unlimited attempts on this quiz. Take your time, do your best work, and reflect on any feedback provided.

For each question, select the correct answer, then press the Check Answer button to see how you did.

Ontario worked with other provinces in Canada to outline a set of competencies that are important to have to be successful in today’s world. Ontario then developed its Transferable Skills Framework as a set of skills for students to develop over time.

Explore the following video to learn about each of the seven transferable skills.

To learn more about each of the transferable skills, read the following document entitled Transferable Skills Overview (Opens in a new window) to explore the framework and the descriptors for each skill. Download, print, or copy the information in the document into your notes—you'll refer to it in each unit.

Throughout this course, you will be given the opportunity to reflect on the transferable skills you are developing. Keep your notebook up-to-date and be mindful of opportunities to apply and develop transferable skills.