Well-being: a Holistic Approach

Posted by nutrisavvysblog on February 1, 2012 · 2 Comments 

by Emma Poole, contributing writer

 

Well-being can mean different things to different people, but essentially it means feeling both physically and mentally well and happy. To achieve well-being, we need to work on several different aspects of our lives, creating a circle of well-being. For example, if you exercise regularly, but don’t eat well; or you eat healthily, but are often anxious, then you haven’t really achieved well-being.

Exercise, food, mental health and substance abuse facts all play a part in our understanding of the nature of well-being and how to achieve it. Making sure that things are going well one area of your life generally helps you in other areas too. If you’re exercising regularly, you’ll probably find that you’re keen to eat well and stay away from alcohol and drugs to support that. As a result of doing all these things, your mental and physical health will improve and you’ll then be in a better place to keep going. All these actions feed into each other.

If you want to improve your well-being, don’t see it as a chore – that defeats the purpose! See it as something you can integrate into your life and decisions. Here are some ideas for how you can achieve well-being as a lifestyle.

Eating Well

Eating well (or not) tends to become a habit. So if you want to eat better, start introducing small changes. Ditch the packet of crisps mid-morning or the after-work cake, or whatever it is that you tend to indulge in. Replace them with something healthier (fruit, a few nuts), allow yourself the odd indulgence and have the crisps or cake now and again. Otherwise, you’re likely to get hungry and give in to temptation. The same applies to your meals.

Rather than try to drastically change what you eat, look at ways to make what you eat already, healthier:

• Have half a pizza with a salad, rather than just a whole pizza.
• Replace deep-fried chips with healthier baked potato chunks.
• Use olive oil rather than butter in cooking; use spices, rather than fat and salt for flavor.

You can still eat the things you love while feeling healthier.

Exercising

Many of us were put off exercise back in our school days, when the competitive atmosphere often put-off those without a natural aptitude for sport. The key to enjoying exercise is to find something that fits both your personality and your lifestyle. Then, it becomes something you’re doing for fun, rather than just another job. If you like to wind down alone after a hard day at work, then a few laps of the pool or a gym session might be a great way to do that. If you want something more sociable, then think about a class of some kind. And if you are the competitive type, indulge that by taking up a team sport. Also try to include exercise in your daily routine: swapping the car for a brisk walk to work will provide an instant fitness and wellbeing boost. Remember too that activities like rock-climbing or horse-riding can help improve your fitness and certainly your well-being: if there’s something you’ve always dreamed of trying, why not take the plunge?

Being Kind to Yourself

General health and wellbeing is boosted when we’re nice to ourselves. There are all sorts of ways to do this, and they all help support each other. If you’re exercising and eating well then you’re half way there, but there are lots of other ways you can improve your wellbeing. Cutting down on alcohol and avoiding drugs can really help improve physical and mental health – there’s nothing wrong with the odd glass of wine, but everything in moderation. It’s easy to lock yourself into a cycle of hangovers and drinking, which gives your brain the message that you don’t much care about yourself, which then encourages you further.

The same is true of generally being sociable and involved in life. If you’re in a cycle of work-home-work, force yourself to go out and do something different. A couple of hours spent walking in the countryside will recharge batteries and make you feel more content. Make time to enjoy your loved ones’ company too – go to the park, or have a family barbecue. Making connections with others while looking after ourselves is a pretty sure-fire way to improve how we feel about life.

So eat healthy, exercise and be kind to yourself and others. These factors can go along way to good health and longevity.

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Emma Poole is a freelance creative who juggles her writing and graphic responsibilities with looking after two kids. She specialises in both travel and food, particularly in the areas of nutrition and holistic health.

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Filed under diet, Guest posts, healthy lifestyles