Spiritual, Physical, and Psychological Self Assessment

                Why is it so important for health and wellness professionals to develop an integral perspective of psychological, spiritual, and physical wellbeing?  To me, the answer to this question is quite simple.  Health and wellness professionals must continually work to develop their psychological, spiritual, and physical wellbeing for a number of reasons.  The first reason that comes to mind is that as a health and wellness professional, people look to me as some sort of example and/or mentor.  In other words, I must lead by example.  For instance, how can I give advice on physical fitness, if I don’t exercise?  Furthermore, how valuable can my advice be perceived if I obviously do not practice what I preach?  Additionally, before I can help anyone else help him or herself, I must first be able to help myself.  I must also travel the path to self healing and awareness, also known as “human flourishing (Dacher, 2006).”  As health and wellness professionals we must be able to honestly look within ourselves for the answers to health, happiness, and wholeness, and encourage others to do the same.  I feel that I should also mention the fact that integral healing is holistic, evolutionary, intentional, person-centered, and dynamic, as Dacher has outlined (2006).  Joshua Rosenthal is known for saying “health is not a destination; it is a journey (2011).”  I think that quote sums up the path to a higher level of wellness.  As our needs change, the care we require also changes.  And health professionals are not exempt from this concept.  For example, as things in my life have changed (I recently gave birth to our little girl, Melina), I have created goals for myself to get back into the same physical shape I was in prior to my pregnancy.  Therefore, I must make a plan, and take action on that plan to work toward the goal I have for myself:  to be able to run two miles in 15:30 or less. 

            The next question is, “how do I score my wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?  In answer to this question, I will use a scale of one to ten; ten being the highest level of satisfaction and one being the lowest.  Let’s start with the spiritual aspect of my wellbeing.  I would rate my spiritual wellbeing as a seven or eight.  I believe in God, and I see his presence in many things.  I have been blessed with a beautiful little girl and a husband who loves and supports me.  There is just so much to be thankful for in my life.  However, there is still room for growth.  I would like to learn more about Jesus and his teachings.  I would like to participate in a Bible study and learn more about the Old and New Testaments.  And I would like to take the time to teach what I learned to my baby girl.  These goals do not sound like a lot, but they require time and dedication to make them happen.  Therefore, I ask myself:  “how can I make this happen?”  Well, the first idea that comes to mind is going to church more regularly.  My church also offers a Bible study before church service on Sundays and also on Wednesday evenings that I can attend.  Also, there are so many books available and websites at my disposal that I can also use to learn more about the Old and New Testaments.  And I can read children’s Bible stories to my daughter as she grows.  After six months of implementing all or most of these strategies, I should be able to quote or reference the various books of the Bible, and be able to relate parables to everyday life.

From a physical aspect, I am also very blessed.  I would rate my physical wellness as a seven or eight as well.  As I mentioned, I recently gave birth to our daughter about three weeks ago.  In a very short amount of time, I was able to return to my pre-pregnancy weight.  (I am extremely happy about that!)  On the other hand, I have lost quite a bit of physical strength and endurance.  This will need improvement.  I know I will get there, but I need to take my time to finish healing, and slowly work my way back to my pre-pregnancy workout regimen.  Also, I want to be able to pass the Army’s Physical Training test (PT test) with a minimum score of ninety in each of the three events.  The three events are:  push-ups, sit-ups, and a two mile run.  Each of these events has a scoring system that is specific to my gender and age.  I will need to train myself on each of the three events.  I could start out training every other day for a couple weeks, and then increase my time to two consecutive days of training and then one day of rest and so on, until I reach my personal goal in each event.  Six months after giving birth, I will be required to take one of these tests.  My performance and the scoring of this PT test will assess my progress in this facet of my overall wellbeing.  Physical fitness is a must-have in the Army.  Therefore, after this PT test, I will be required to complete another one six months later.  This requirement will make long term physical fitness easier to maintain. 

And lastly, how do I rate my psychological wellbeing?  I would have to go with a seven or eight again for this aspect of health and wellbeing as well.  I think of myself as a mentally strong person.  I am able to multi-task, adapt to changes relatively quickly, and in many cases, I am able to think “on my feet.”  These skills are important, in my opinion.  However, I do not feel that I take enough time out of my day for myself.  I have flooded all of my free time with other tasks that I have placed more importance on than my own quiet time.  This is especially true in the past few weeks since my daughter’s birth.  She is obviously my number one priority.  Therefore, I take the time to drive to Pittsburgh everyday and visit her in the hospital.  After that, I am still working on my school studies, job searching, trying to keep the house in order, tending to the needs of my father-in-law who recently moved into our house, cook healthy meals, attend countless doctors’ appointments, and update relatives on the status of Melina’s progress.  As a result, there is not much, if any, time left for me to just enjoy “the quiet.”  I want to calm my mind down.  I feel so bombarded at times.  But talking to my husband does help me to calm my mind down—a lot.  I discussed this predicament with him last night.  Together, we decided that it would be a good idea to start going to bed an hour or so earlier than we have been.  We chose this course of action because we can have conversations, or “pillow talk” without his dad listening in and commenting.  This way, we can have some privacy without being rude to his dad, and we can “catch up” with each other and talk about the day’s events.  My husband is truly my best friend, and I love to talk and laugh with him.  Additionally, I have also decided that when my husband leaves for work in the morning, and before my father-in-law wakes up, I will take some time to do good things for myself.  For example, I can take a long shower or a bath, I can listen to Dacher’s meditative practices that I was introduced to recently, and I can take time to pray.  The best way to assess my progress in this respect is to do another self evaluation in six months and see if I still find myself at the same stress level.  (I never like to admit that I have stress in my life, so these self evaluations are a “wake up call” for me.)

Integral health and wellbeing addresses the mind, body, and spirit.  All three of these areas must be given the proper amount of attention in order to thrive and to continue to grow.  I have given myself a rating of one to ten in each subject.  Within this self assessment of my spiritual, physical, and psychological wellbeing, I have also devised a plan for improvement in each facet of wellbeing, as well as a method for assessing my progress six months later.  My intention is that by implementing my strategies for improvement, that my next self assessment will receive higher scores.

 

References

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health:  The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA:  Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Rosenthal, J. (2011). Integrative nutrition:  Feed your hunger for health and happiness. New York, NY:  Greenleaf Book Group.