The Wellness Lifeline

Emotional Environmental Healthy Lifestyle Pet Wellness

Pet Wellness

Benefits of Dog Ownership

There are many acknowledged benefits of owning a pet. A pet fills your heart with love. Pets are a great way to beat the blues as they offer unconditional love and give us a sense of purpose. My furry friends bring me joy, happiness and often laughter in their companionship. Pet ownership gives us an instant icebreaker, whether they’re with you or you’re just using them as a topic of conversation. It is believed that we get sick less. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) have both conducted heart-related studies on people who have pets. The findings showed that pet owners exhibit decreased blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. For those who have already experienced a heart attack, research indicates that patients with a dog or a cat tend to have better recovery rates as they help reduce their owners’ overall stress levels. Continue Reading

Emotional Financial Healthy Lifestyle

Financial Wellness

Although the original Six Dimensions of Wellness by Bill Hettler doesn’t include financial wellness, it is seen fairly often. And in fact, financial stress does interact with the other dimensions. Stress can cause you to be emotionally and physically ill. Financial stress has reached such heights that more employers are now adding “financial wellness” programs to their menu of employee benefits. I have been in an area of financial stress, but have learned how to stay healthy. According to Robert Powell in USA Today, financial wellness is having minimal financial stress and a strong financial foundation with an emergency savings fund and living within your abilities. The plan you follow should also put you on track to meet future financial goals like education or retirement. This plan is similar to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Are you financially healthy? If you are, what are your tips? If not what questions do you have?

Emotional

Emotional Wellness

We have talked about physical, spiritual, intellectual, social, & occupational wellness so far. This week we will look at emotional wellness. I chose emotional wellness because holidays can be especially emotional at times. Dr. Bill Hettler, co-founder of the National Wellness Institute (NWI), states that “The emotional dimension recognizes awareness and acceptance of one’s feelings.” It includes the amount of positive feelings we have about ourselves and our life. In 2015, due to the car accident, I had to work at my emotional wellness. I was positive about still being alive, but had trouble being enthusiastic about each day in my life or my future as it was very unsure. Continue Reading