INTRODUCTION. Mary Anne Radmacher

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1 0-Mayol_Intro.qxd 7/13/12 6:05 PM Page 1 Introduction from Mindy Mayol's Wellness: The Total Package INTRODUCTION Wellness Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. Mary Anne Radmacher

2 2 INTRODUCTION Wellness The objectives in this introduction include the understanding of: n Wellness and its many dimensions n The balance of these dimensions n Decisional balance and how energy drainers and energy fuelers play a role n Identifying your overall goals for wellness n The readiness to change n Setting your goals and commitment of these goals n How to get to your goals when faced with challenges and obstacles Online Reminders n Complete the poll question before the next class meeting. n Complete the interactive activities for this chapter. n Complete all of the online assignments for this chapter. n Complete the Pre-Course Assessment: Multi-Dimensional Wellness Inventory. wellness Isn t it just the same thing as health or exercise Doesn t wellness mean that you eat right, you re active, and you try to prevent getting illnesses or diseases Is there more to it than that These are questions you may be asking yourself, and they are appropriate questions to ask. The term wellness has been traced back to the 1650s but was not often used in the media and within the medical and health profession until the 1950s. As a part of the 1948 World Health Organization s constitution, the promotion of healthy lifestyles began to materialize as: Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In the late 1950s, Halbert L. Dunn, chief of the National Office of vital statistics, defined wellness as an integrated Kendall Hunt Publishing Company

3 INTRODUCTION Wellness 3 method of functioning, which is oriented toward maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable. Through the decades, wellness certainly has become trendy shorthand for physical fitness or health. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, wellness is the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal with synonyms fitness and health often used in its place. Health is (a) the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; especially the freedom from physical disease or pain (b) the general condition of the body with wellness and fitness used synonymously. Fitness is the quality or state of being fit with you guessed it wellness and health used as synonyms. Writer, Ben Zimmer, wrote Wellness an article that appeared in the New York Times discussing the popular gain of the word itself. Zimmer writes: Wellness, intoned Dan Rather in November 1979, introducing a 60 Minutes segment on a new health movement known by that name. There s a word you don t hear every day. Zimmer then talks of committed groups of early followers of the wellness movement, such as Drs. John W. Travis, Donald B. Ardell, Bill Hettler, Tom Dickey and Rodney Friedman, whose motivations and missions included using self-directed approaches to well-being as an alternative to the traditional illness-oriented care of physicians and providing health promotion and wellness professionals unparalleled resources and services that fuel professional and personal growth. Zimmer summed up his article saying But carping over wellness faded away in the '90s as the term gained a foothold in everyday use. A word that once sounded strange and unnecessary, even to its original boosters, has become tacitly accepted as part of our lexicon of health. Well, well, well. Wellness isn t just one simple thing it is multidimensional with each dimension as important as the next. One dimension of wellness does not work without the other. There is certainly crossover between each of the dimensions. There is a delicate but practical balance to each of these dimensions that make the state of your wellness secure. Here it is folks: If one of your wellness dimensions is negatively affected, it will certainly put more strain on the other supporting dimensions. That is why BALANCE is key to our everyday living, our everyday function, and in our everyday outlook. We must give ourselves a chance to cope with various afflictions and issues that come our way in life, because they will come and go. The following ten chapters will introduce you to these dimensions of wellness, and the assignments within the chapters will help you in the discovery of your current wellness status and goals for BALANCE in your life! The approach of this book focuses on prevention as its sole purpose. However, most of us are managing certain dimensions of wellness or states that are past the prevention stage. If you find, when reading this book, that you are past the prevention stage of certain items, manage them to the best of your ability and keep making plans and goals to sustain your overall wellness state.

4 4 INTRODUCTION Wellness It is the hope that this book commences a journey to healthy, energetic, and productive planning for your current and future health. But, of course, your own continuous engagement in practicing healthy behaviors is a must-have not only as you read through this book but as your overall mindset. We are always trying to improve our wellness status we all strive for balance and for optimal health. Decisional balance is one of the major components of the model of behavior change, and it involves looking at the pros and cons of a given health behavior or choice. It is like a cost-benefit analysis designed to assist you in considering change, to help you understand what keeps you from changing (payoffs) and to provide incentive for change. Online Assignment: Energy Drainers and Fuelers Complete this assignment online. Go to: Select >Chapter Content>Introduction>Enter your username and password Now, refer to the various dimensions of wellness and your energy drainers to figure out what the changes or improvements you want to make to your life are. Again, the ultimate goal is BALANCE. ASSIGNMENT: Complete the sections below to help you determine your three overall goals for change or improvement. A. Identify three behaviors relating to wellness that you would like to change or improve B. Now make each of the above behaviors into a question

5 INTRODUCTION Wellness 5 C. Read the statements below and choose a response to match 1, 2, and 3 listed above. You may have the same response for one or more of your behaviors YES, I have been for MORE than 6 months. YES, I have been, but for LESS than 6 months. NO, but I intend to in the next 30 days. NO, but I intend to in the next 6 months. NO, and I do NOT intend to in the next 6 months. D. So, what does all of this mean for each of your behaviors YES, I have been for MORE than 6 months = Maintenance Stage YES, I have been, but for LESS than 6 months = Action Stage NO, but I intend to in the next 30 days = Preparation Stage NO, but I intend to in the next 6 months = Contemplation Stage NO, and I do NOT intend to in the next 6 months = Pre-contemplation Stage We all progress through a series of changes as we are looking to make a change in our current behavior. This is also called your readiness to change. These five series of changes are pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. Maintenance Stage = You are keeping up with your new goal and doing everything possible for goal sustainability. Action Stage = You are starting to move toward a healthier behavior. You have your motivation, you understand that you are in control for being responsible for your changes, and you have your sights set on your goal. Preparation Stage = You are monitoring your behavior, analyzing and identifying patterns in your activity, and setting a goal.

6 6 INTRODUCTION Wellness Contemplation Stage = You are aware that a problem exists and are seriously thinking about overcoming it but have not made a commitment to take action. Pre-contemplation Stage = You are not ready to make a change in your life in the foreseeable future. Just as people have their own personal goals in mind, they also may be at a different stage of change for each of the goals. Wellness, fitness, health they are individualistic. One size does not fit all. Therefore, it is ultimately up to you to identify the change, to identify your readiness to change and to MAKE the change! In order to make positive changes in your life, you must identify behaviors that need modification and behavior changes that would support your life change goals. When setting goals: n Make achievable and measurable goals. n Establish long-term goals, with weekly or monthly short-term goals that support the long-term goals. n Identify behavior changes that will directly support your short term goals. n Identify how you will measure your goals. n Set target dates and reasonable rewards for goal achievement. A reward should be something that you enjoy but might not always get to do. It should be relatively inexpensive and accessible. It should not be anything that would reinforce the behavior you are trying to change. ASSIGNMENT: Complete Your Personal Behavior Change Contract. A. Write down your three behaviors relating to wellness (completed in the previous assignment) that you ve identified and would like to change. Consider these your long-term goals B. Write down pros for each of these goals

7 INTRODUCTION Wellness 7 C. Write down cons for each of these goals D. What will your short-term goals be that will support you reaching your long-term goals Write down short-term goals for each long-term goal E. Specific behavior changes that will support my short-term goals are: F. I will achieve my long-term goals by (enter a target date for each goal): G. My rewards for reaching each long-term goal will be: I,, agree to what I have written above and will comply with the goals and target dates I have set for myself. Signature: Witness: Date: Date:

8 8 INTRODUCTION Wellness A note for the future: After achieving your goals, congratulate yourself and then make new goals. If you did not succeed with your goals, examine what behavior changes you were not able to do in order to support your short-term goals. Learn from your mistakes and try again. Perhaps you made your goals too challenging. You Are a Work in Progress: Suggestions for Getting There! When making any change, you will face self-doubts and remarks even from those with your best interest in mind. Here are some common reactions to expect: External factors that may be hindering your choices or attempts to change n Family obligations, real or imagined n Stereotyping others hold about you (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, personality) n Financial obligations or limitations n Regional limitations (partly due to unwillingness to leave family or friends) Internal factors that may be limiting your possibilities for change n Lack of skills, education or credentials (e.g., degrees, licenses n Lack of willingness to ask for and accept help n Lack of knowledge of how to work with others (interpersonal skills) n Limiting your choices due to your own stereotypes of yourself (may include false beliefs about what a choice requires how hard it will be, skills required) n Beliefs that your personality, motivation, temperament or past limit your choices n Lack of knowledge of available choices (e.g., what a major or career really is, how to find out about options or careers, where to get information, how to get started) Some common fears that may be roadblocks for you n Fear of change n Fear of failure n Fear of making a wrong choice n Fear of not having enough confidence, motivation or skill to pursue a choice n Fear of adverse impact on present relationships (e.g., loss due to move, time pressures, growing apart n Fear of rejection, disapproval, or ridicule n Fear that it really won t make life better or that it isn t better anywhere else n Fear of making a fool of yourself or of embarrassment while learning a new path n Fear of losing security, of abandoning a safe, familiar behavior, situation, or person

9 INTRODUCTION Wellness 9 How Do I Cope with These Real or Imagined Fears or Limitations Here are some ideas: n Take one step at a time (break large steps into smaller steps). n Visualize yourself coping successfully with the next step of your goal. n Minimize risk by taking a practice tour of a choice you might make. n Use positive self-talk, psych yourself up, be optimistic. n Sometimes you think you need change when you re just bored. Examine your current life. n Avoid self-limiting talk (too old... too young... too shy... too unlovable... too afraid... too inexperienced). n Self-help groups can be very useful for major long-term changes. n Realize you have many options and choices available. n If you can, talk to someone who has already made the change you are planning. n Allow time for change to become natural. n Realize that persistence is more useful than mere confidence when making changes. n When making changes, be honest about the costs and rewards for a change. From Suriving College: A Real World Experience by Constance Schick et al. Copyright 2001 by Constance J. Schck, Brett L. Beck, and Eileen C. Astor-Stetson. Reprinted by permission of Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. References Bounds, L. et al. Health and Fitness: A Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle. Behavior Change and Goal Setting. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company (2006): 117. Geithner, C. et al. American College of Sports Medicine s Health & Fitness Journal. Personal Balance: Its Importance and How to Achieve It (2007): Vol. 11, Issue 1: Hettler, B. The National Wellness Institute. The Interdependent Model/The Six Dimensions of Wellness. accessed on Thygerson, A. and Larson, K. Lab Manual to Accompany Fit to Be Well. Jones and Bartlett: 2006: 9 10 Prochaska, J. and Velicer, W. The Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change. American Journal of Health Promotion. 1997: 12:38 48 Richardson, C. Take Time for Your Life. Broadway Books: (1998). Schick, C. et al. Surviving College: A Real World Experience. In Hot Pursuit of Happiness. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company (2001): Zimmer, B. The New York Times Reprints. Wellness (2010): Apr. 12. nytimes.com/2010/04/18/ magazine/18fob-onlanguage-t.html accessed on April 26, 2010.

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