In today’s busy,
fast paced, and often stressful world there will be people who seek out those
in the wellness profession to help teach them how to cope and manage these
stressors. As counselors, therapists, or whatever human service profession you
may be working in it is important that we have a sense of balance
psychologically, spiritually, and physically so that we are not distracted by
our own state of wellbeing. If we are distracted by trying to find our own
balance it will make it difficult for us to help those who have come to us for
treatment. When we practice the concept of integral health ourselves we gain
our own sense of confidence and this transfers to those we work with and our
work becomes not just a job but a responsibility that is one we hold sacred (Dacher, M.D., 2006) . For me personally I
need to work on finding that balance between the three areas mentioned. I seem
to be off kilter at times, by that I mean that my psychological or spiritual
health will be great but physical not very well or at times at least one area
is out of balance. I need to work on focusing on a healthy and steady balance
of the three so that they can all function at a level that makes me a healthier
person in general.
In
assessing myself I would say that lately my spiritual level of health is well
set, I have re-discovered a love for music that is spiritual to me and use it
often throughout the day to help my spirit feel at peace. Psychologically I am
doing well also, by having my spiritual needs met it keeps my attitude and
outlook positive and uplifted and has really made a difference on how I face
some of life’s stresses. Physically is my area that I feel is out of balance
right now, I have let my healthy habits slide a good bit and that has taken a
toll on my physically as I have been experiencing a lack of energy as well as
back to having headaches so this is an area I need to help focus on by making
some goals to help everything balance out.
When
it comes to making goals my first goal would be for my physical health and
develop a plan of workouts as well as meals to get myself back on track. I also
need to find an accountability partner for this area to work together with one
another to provide that support that is so needed on this part of the journey.
When it comes to my psychological
and spiritual health my goals intertwine here, I plan to take at least 20
minutes a day and meditate, either listening to calming music or spending time
alone in silence reading my bible or another devotional book. Taking time out
of my day to do this is something I am just going to have to make myself do,
this is essential to helping keep a picture of total health.
Developing
a plan always includes putting together strategies to help make that plan
successful and encourage growth. For my physical health I plan to come up with
a workout schedule that is of a level that will be challenging but not to the
point I will feel defeated or develop excuses on why to skip it. I also plan to
make out my meals weekly and prepare food ahead of time so that there is no
excuse not to have healthy food readily available. When it comes to my mental
health two ways that I can continue to grow in this area is to surround myself
with positive people to help foster a productive level of mental health and
also to work at doing exercises that stimulate my brain such as memory
exercises or puzzles. Lastly, when it comes to my spiritual health two strategies
that I can employee would involve meditation each day as well as developing my
spiritual relationship with God by learning more in the bible.
To stay committed to these goals and plans I
will need to develop a method of tracking them. When it comes to tracking
progress the best method for me personally will be to develop a schedule to
make set times to do these activities. I can do this using my outlook calendar
that way in 6 months’ time I can look back over the calendars and see where I
actually carried out the scheduled activities and what adjustments if any need
to be made. As far as tracking progress and growth in these areas I will start
doing a personal journal of my emotions and feelings in regard to how I am
dealing with every day stressors and learning and growing in this journey of
staying healthy body, mind, and soul.
References
Dacher, M.D., E. (2006). Integral Health The Path
to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications, Inc.
I think we all struggle to find the balance at different times in our life. One suggestion would be to take a step back and focus on yourself when life gets complicated and stressful. With being in the healthcare field we tend to put our patient’s health first and forget to focus on our own health at times. We can’t take care of other people like you mentioned if we are not healthy ourselves.
ReplyDeleteBarb Engel
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI also focused on your comment that we must be balanced as to not deter or distract from helping our clients or patients. I am at odds with that statement in a way. I disagree that we must be "put together" in order to help others, for me it goes against some of the baser principles of integral healing. If we are to rid our selves of prejudices and "knowing" which therapies work for specific disorders or acknowledging dysfunction related to a certain mechanism or organism by simply evaluation than why should we need to be "balanced" or "complete". If we are striving for a certain level of achievement and actualization than we can have a better connection to our clients and understand some of the hurdles they are working to overcome. I thoroughly enjoyed your whole assessment and evaluation. It was a pleasure being in class with you.
Good luck in all you pursue,
Christine M. Campanella Dixon
Great plan Amy. It is amazing how much we all have grown from this class. I think you will do great with your plan and future plans. I hope that you continue to have a greater understanding with life and all that surrounds it.
ReplyDeleteI really loved your write-up. Im having a struggle with my spirituality and loved your intake on Music. I will try to incorporate tunes into my meditation and maybe add gospel songs to spice it up.
ReplyDelete