PROMOTING WELLNESS A GUIDE TO COMMUNITY ACTION
USING THIS GUIDE
This guide aims to inspire communities to promote wellness. The tools in this guide define wellness and present a number of ways communities can share the message that wellness is central to recovery from behavioral health conditions . Since the path to wellness is different for each individual and community, this guide includes a range of recommendations that can be tailored to a community’s unique considerations.
What Is Wellness? Wellness has a personal meaning for each individual, so it can be defined in many ways. In general, wellness refers to overall well-being. More than the absence of disease or stress, wellness involves having :
Eight Dimensions of Wellness
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Purpose in life; Active involvement in satisfying work and play; Joyful relationships; A healthy body and living environment; and Happiness.i
Wellness incorporates many dimensions of health, each of which is interconnected within an individual’s total well-being. SAMHSA’s Wellness Initiative supports embracing the Eight Dimensions of Wellness—emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual—to achieve longevity and improved quality of life.
Source: Adapted from Swarbrick, M. (2006). A Wellness Approach. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 29 (4), 311–314.
www. samhsa .gov/wellness-initiative
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