People have argued about how many dimensions of wellness there actually are, but whether there are six all the way up to nine dimensions, I find them to be extremely valuable. I don’t want to say some are more important than others, though for sure sometimes one might be more relevant than another. The most poignant to me (thus the reason I am writing about them) seem to be the following: physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual.
Physical
Everything from the food I eat to the type of sleep I get at night, from the exercise I attempt (or don’t attempt) to the fact that sometimes I stay still for too long, all of this can affect my health. I found that having an autoimmune disease can make everything more difficult. I also found that it gives me a good excuse to not do things I don’t want to at times. Physical healing would ideally be a cure for the autoimmune, but realistically be figuring out what prevents flareups and how to deal with them once they occur.
Emotional
Placing a firm wall between myself and my feelings has always been something I might have been a little too good at. I never want to be sad, disappointed, angry… But that’s sort of how I felt so many times, especially after I started fighting my autoimmune. Throughout encounters with many others, there are countless circumstances in other people’s lives that suggest this realm of wellness merits the investigation of the heart and mind. Emotional healing allows you to move forward instead of being weighed down by burdens you should not continue to carry.
Spiritual
If you attempt to be at peace with the world, perhaps you’ll be at peace with a few of the closest people around you; if you choose to be right with God, it doesn’t matter if the entire world is in chaos. I let my health and mental attitude get the better of me, letting my doubts consume me and steer in hundreds of directions. God needs to be on the throne, not you, not your ideals, not anything of this world. Only God. Spiritual healing is crucial for reconciling the desire to have control and actually giving it up to Christ.
Social
I hesitate to talk about this subject since I am by no means a relationship expert… Ask my friends and they might laugh at me. However, this blog is really about processing what I am thinking and what I have learned, and supporting people who are going through an autoimmune disease can be a lot. I think that this area is so important for the mere fact of honesty. Also, this section was originally “intellectual” but wasn’t going anywhere.
