Unit 9 Final!

I Introduction:




Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because in order to fully approach a person’s wellness, you must examine each aspect of health. By neglecting one or more facet, the health professional is unable to treat the patient as a complex and dynamic individual. Each person must be seen as a unique person, not a set of symptoms or be defined by a disease. It is important for health and wellness professionals to look in-depth at each and every individual, without bias or judgment.

I need further development in every aspect of my health; physical, psychologically and spiritual. I have general goals in mind for each of these areas, but even those goals need to be developed more thoroughly. The aspect that I need most improvement upon is psychological. I need to further develop my mindfulness and mental abilities, especially with regards to my emotions. I get stressed out easily and become grumpy and angry. If I make the effort to control my thoughts, I can reason with my emotions and block the instant reactions from becoming actions and therefore am able to make better decisions as opposed to hasty ones.



II Assessment:



How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?



Physically I have assessed my health, but this has been done in much more detail in other classes. I know that I do lack physical fitness in each area: strength, endurance and flexibility. If I were to score myself in this area on a one-to-ten scale, at this point I would give myself a 4. There is much to be desired in this department and I have made it a goal to get back into shape after this baby is born, once the strain on my body has been relieved.

Spiritually, I have assessed my health using the assessment tools given to me in this course. I now understand more thoroughly that, although I feel that I have established a good connection to my own Heaven personally, I do need to work on my daily behavior as it reflects that relationship. In other words, I need my actions to be intently “good” as opposed to reactive or neutral (or even worse, bad!). I would score myself as a 7 in this area because I have worked on strengthening this relationship a lot more in the past 10 years.

I have used the personal assessment tools from Dacher’s book to assess my psychological wellness (Dacher, 2006). I had done a bit of this assessment in therapy sessions as a teenager, but I am better able to perceive my psychological health now that I am older. Going through the exercises and practices throughout this course, I have come to a greater understanding of myself and have learned about my psychological wellness, or lack thereof at times. I would score myself as a 5 psychologically. I absolutely need improvement in this area.



III Goal development:



List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.



Physically, my goals are to become regularly active. I have a treadmill at home and am going to begin taking advantage of its availability and will make it a part of my daily routine. I will also work to improve my flexibility and strength through yoga and belly dance (one of my favorite exercise videos!).

Psychologically, my goal is to practice regular mindfulness meditation so that I can master my thoughts and become as impeccable as I can be in my actions and behaviors. This is especially important because I have children that model my behavior!

Spiritually, I aspire to have a much deeper relationship to my higher power and wish to bring the “fruits” of that relationship into my life through my work and my actions, be they small or large-scale. I will work to take advantage of every day as an opportunity to help improve the lives of those around me and help to make a difference in the world.



IV Practices for personal health:



What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

As stated earlier, I will use regular walking and jogging- eventually leading up to running- and the use of exercise videos to improve my physical health. I can also improve my nutritional health by being more diligent with my grocery-shopping choices, which will also help to improve the health of my family.

Strategies for improving my psychological health include the practice of meditation, but more importantly, the mastery of thought on a daily basis. Another great way to keep my life in perspective on a regular basis is to practice the creative visualization of happiness so that I can reconnect with my inner self and see that, whatever may be going on in my life that causes stress or negative reactions, I can reconnect to times of happiness and joy and overcome these obstacles (Dacher, 2006).

The best strategy I can implement in my life to flourish spiritually is the practice of prayer. When I need to reconnect with The Divine, I can just take a quiet moment to collect my thoughts and pray. Another strategy that I could use as an alternative to prayer is the exercise from Dacher’s book that taught mentor connection. The practice of this connection will help me to become a better person through the influence and energetic connection to this chosen person.



V Commitment:



How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

To assess my progress or lack of progress in the next six months, I can create a reoccurring schedule in which I re-read sections of Dacher’s book every month or so (more often if needed) in order to remind myself of my goals and of where I strive to be. I can also look back on this very assignment since it details my assessments of my health as well as the goals I have set for the development in each of these areas. I will write a commitment statement to myself so that I can be fully dedicated in writing and put it up where I will see it every day and remember what I have set out to do. A constant reminder of who I want to become and how I will get myself there will help me to not lose focus as well as keep it in my conscious mind every day so that I do not forget the importance of reaching my full potential.