Wellness is a concept that includes taking responsibility for your own health, creating a full and balanced lifestyle and being the best person you can be. The six dimensions of the College's wellness model provide a framework by which you can measure your growth as a whole person and determine how well-rounded and balanced your lifestyle is at any given point.
The institution's wellness model includes six components: social, occupational, spiritual, physical, intellectual and emotional. To understand fully what each component means review the examples below of behaviors you can engage in to maintain or grow in that area.
Social
- Being comfortable with and liking yourself as a person
- Interacting easily with people of different ages, backgrounds, races, lifestyles
- Contributing time and energy to the community
- Communicating your feelings
- Developing friendships
- Recognizing a need for "fun" time in your life
- Budgeting and balancing your time to include both responsibilities and relaxation
Occupational
- Finding satisfaction and worth in your work
- Utilizing resources that help you develop personal job hunting skills
- Feeling confident in your ability to find and obtain a job
- Recognizing opportunities that lead you to new skills and acting on those opportunities
- Pursuing careers that complement your personal goals and values
Spiritual
- Being open to different cultures and religions
- Giving your time to volunteer or participate in community service activities
- Spending time defining personal values and ethics and making decisions that complement them
- Spending time alone in personal reflection
- Participating in spiritual activities
- Participating in activities that protect the environment
- Caring about the welfare of others and acting out of that care
Physical
- Exercising regularly
- Eating properly
- Getting regular physical check-ups
- Avoiding the use of tobacco or illicit drugs
- Consuming alcohol in low-risk quantities
- Taking time for stress reduction and relaxation
Intellectual
- Learning because you want to - not because you are told to. Doing the work assigned.
- Learning through varied experiences - reading, writing, sharing and exploration
- Observing what is around you
- Listening
- Finding applications for material learned in the classroom
- Staying current with world affairs/news
- Questioning
- Exposing yourself to new experiences (e.g. arts, theater)
Emotional
- Keeping a positive attitude
- Being sensitive to your feelings and the feelings of others
- Learning to cope with stress
- Being realistic about your expectations and time
- Taking responsibility for your own behavior
- Dealing with your personal and financial issues realistically
- Viewing challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles
- Functioning independently but knowing when you need to ask for help