This series of fact sheets highlights each of the Eight Dimensions of Wellness and offers practical guidance for care providers to enhance the wellness of individuals with behavioral health conditions. Each fact sheet examines strategies to enhance a specific dimension of wellness, provides an overview of how each dimension relates to the others, and highlights that dimension’s connection to mental health. This series aims to educate and equip providers with the knowledge and tools necessary to support holistic well-being.  

Fact Sheets 

The series is composed of the following eight fact sheets: 

  1. Environmental Wellness: This fact sheet explores how safe, healthful, and pleasant surroundings contribute to overall wellness. It highlights the importance of access to clean air, food, and water, and how spending time in nature can improve mood and lower stress. The fact sheet emphasizes the role of community-based organizations in filling resource gaps and promoting healthier environments.   
  2. Emotional Wellness: This fact sheet focuses on a person’s ability to express feelings and cope with stress. It underscores the importance of strong social networks and self-reflection. It highlights mindfulness practices and the impact of both positive and negative emotional states on other dimensions of wellness.   
  3. Financial Wellness: This fact sheet defines financial wellness as having the resources to meet practical needs and the knowledge to manage them. It discusses the challenges individuals with serious mental illness face regarding healthcare expenses and treatment access and promotes supported employment and financial literacy programs as vital tools for enhancing financial stability.   
  4. Intellectual Wellness: This fact sheet explores how engaging in intellectually stimulating activities supports recovery and cognitive functioning. It highlights the benefits of supported education and creative pursuits like journaling and art therapy for individuals with serious mental illness.   
  5. Occupational Wellness: This fact sheet discusses the significance of meaningful activities, whether paid or unpaid, in providing purpose and structure. It highlights the positive impact of occupational engagement on recovery and overall well-being and offers guidance for pairing individuals in recovery with supportive employment opportunities.  
  6. Physical Wellness: This fact sheet outlines the benefits of proper nutrition and exercise in reducing stress and improving mental well-being. It addresses the high rates of obesity and chronic illness among individuals with serious mental illness and promotes smoking cessation as a key component of physical wellness.   
  7. Social Wellness: This fact sheet highlights the importance of healthy relationships and social connections in fostering overall wellness. It discusses how supportive, intimate relationships promote trust and belonging and how social wellness positively influences other dimensions of wellness.   
  8. Spiritual Wellness: This fact sheet explores the concept of finding meaning and balance in life. It highlights the role of spiritual practices in reducing stress and enhancing emotional connections. The fact sheet discusses the core elements of spirituality—connection, peace, and purpose—and how these elements support recovery. 

Citation 

Program to Achieve Wellness. (2019). Eight Dimensions of Wellness: Fact sheets [Fact Sheet]. https://www.prainc.com/resource-library/ 

This resource was first shared in 2019.  

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