Introduction
It is very important for health professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically. People tend to model what they see and especially in the case of someone we look to as an authority on something. We look for our health professional to be compassionate and impart knowledge of which she/he has invested lots of time and resources. We must hold our professional accountable and they must build themselves to be someone we can trust. In order for us to grow and become whole, we must also invest the time and energy to be mindful in our psyche, our spirit and our physical well-being. As a means of getting to that place, we look to our health professional; hopefully they will lead us by example. After all, for most of us, seeing is believing. As for me, there are definitely some areas in which I can improve myself. I need improvement in staying calm when it comes to my daughter. I also need to improve my eating habits and exercise. These are areas within the three; psychological, spiritual and physical.
Assessment
I would assess my wellness with obvious ratings of poor, fair, good and excellent. In the area of psychological wellness, I would rate myself in the good category; still with room for improvement. I must say that before taking the Creating Wellness class, I probably wavered in this category. I have become much more stable in the environments in which I find myself. I have more of an understanding of who I am in many circumstances, where before, I wasn’t quite sure how to handle or approach situations. I understand that I cannot control many of the external things going on around me including how people will respond to me; however, I can be intentional and not reactive towards them.
In terms of spiritual wellness, I would also rate myself as good. I say that because I have an open heart and I am at peace about how I fit into the world. I volunteer my time and I am a spiritual caregiver for those who are in crisis. For some time, I let my emotions rule me and was always getting upset about other’s expectations of me. I’m a caring and compassionate individual with goals of lending myself to the world with loving-kindness but not to the extent that I am overwhelmed. It is in this area and the psychological area that I need to improve where it concerns my daughter. Since starting this class I have done better and not upset myself when it comes to her, but in the last couple of weeks, I have become flustered about her care and education. Having to advocate for a child who is so defenseless can be extremely challenging when they can’t speak for themselves. I have to remind myself that I must do the things for her that I can and trust in my absolute, God that is, to handle the rest.
The physical aspect of my health could definitely use some improvement so I rate it at fair. Before the fall weather hit, I was exercising 5 times a week and my eating was almost good. After the cool morning set in, the air was making me ache so I decided to find somewhere to go and get exercise and I never did. Lately I’ve been eating good foods, but I don’t ration them and I eat at odd times. This is definitely not something good for me. I am fighting diabetes so I must get a handle on this area. I have had to make some adjustments to my medication and that seems to be settling now. I do, however, think that with some of the practices that I have adopted since taking this class, I am doing better with managing the medication. It would all be better when I get the meals and exercise in line.
Goal Development
In the physical area my goals are to start with exercising at least four times a week and also some mind/body conditioning at least once a week. I will measure this goal by weight and endurance. In the psychological area my goal is to stay calm when handling the challenges of balancing the care and advocacy of my daughter and keeping the bills down while still looking for gainful employment. I can do this by being more organized in keeping up with her progress more frequently at school so that I don’t build up anxiety and also organize bills and appointments. As for my spiritual goals, I will try more meditation and try balancing it with my prayer life. I’m sure that my health will be a measurement of this aspect.
Practices
In order to foster better personal health, I will try certain strategies. For my physical health, I will get back to exercising at least four times a week by walking or doing aerobics. I will also try yoga for the mind/body conditioning. My walking has always been a great stress relief. Previously, I used that time to talk to myself and think about how I will use my day and also work through problems. I think now, since I’ve taken the Creating Wellness class, I will use my exercise time to sometimes free my mind. Also, I have already sought a class for the mind/body experience. These will help in keeping my constitution strong and will give me the adrenaline needed for the body to fight.
The fight or flight concept of health would be nothing without the practices needed for the mind. I am going to meditate more often to give myself the opportunity for calm-abiding to deter the disturbances that can come from external noise. The use of calendars and journals will help in keeping the clutter out of my mind and on paper to refer to when needed. These will be instrumental in reducing the anxiety mentioned. Finally, for spiritual health and growth, I will keep volunteering my time towards causes that are important and I will recite the serenity prayer more, especially at night, to remind myself that some things aren’t meant for me to tangle with; this will probably aide me in getting a better night’s sleep.
Commitment
I think that I will go back to journaling more often. When I look back at my journal at mid-year, I should be able to tell how my new practices have helped me in my whole health. The use of the calendars and documentation should make a big difference. Previously I’ve used calendars but now I will use them to keep things together and to keep my mind free of pressure. I think if I start each week by taking a look at it, I will better handle all of the things that I must endeavor for the week. My friends and I will also continue our practice of the check-in; which has been a great tool in the past. We often ask one another, how things are “really” going. Some people use “how’s it going” as just a phrase, but when we ask it of one another, we really want the other person to talk out whatever they need to and listening to yourself talk about things can often give you the solutions you need.
