Creating Wellness: Psychological and
Spiritual Aspects of Healing Final
As
a professional in the Health and Wellness field it is very important that each
practitioner develop themselves psychologically, spiritually, and physically.
Each of these areas is important to optimal and integral health. We as
individuals cannot separate one aspect of health and fail to develop and work
on the other areas. This would be like putting a band -aid on the split knuckle
after punching a wall and saying, “There, you are all fixed up now!” As health
and wellness professionals we recognize that not only does the physical need to
be cared for but also the emotional and psychological needs to be addressed.
This person I described needs to learn better coping skills, the ability to
recognize the triggers for their anger, and respond to the anger in an
appropriate way before they reach a boiling point. The spirit needs to be
assessed giving this individual the ability to see they are broken and help
them understand that healing is in fact possible!
With
that said, we as the Health and Wellness professional must care for ourselves
in the same manner that we instill and prescribe to our clients and patients.
We have the responsibility to uphold this within ourselves. As a Health and
Wellness professional we uphold the vow to “enter a personal process of
self-development, study, understand, and integrate an integral vision and its
principles and practices into our personal and professional life, to hold a
vision of health and healing whole final goal is health, happiness, and
wholeness, uphold the ethical principles of a spiritual life, meet every
individual as a unite sacred being, develop through personal contemplative
practice a healing presence that is acknowledging, comforting, reassuring,
safe, nonjudgmental, and infused with loving-kindness, acknowledge and support
the innate healing capacities in each individual, hold all life as unique and
precious, and serve” (Dacher, 2006, p. 172-173). This gives us credibility and
authority to speak into the lives of those seeking out our expertise. The
client that comes with the split knuckle can then glean from our own individual
healing process. We have a greater opportunity to share from personal
experience. This gives the client and patient hope knowing healing has come in
our own individual life. For me personally I need to develop all three aspects,
psychological, spiritual, and physical to reach my individual goals for
integral health.
Assessment
Integral assessment helps us to focus on
ourselves as a whole. There are 6 Principles of Integral Assessment. They are
as follows according to Dacher from Integral Health (2006): 1. The goal of integral health is to alleviate needless suffering and
promote human flourishing.
2. Integral health recognizes the distinction between short-term relief
of needless suffering and permanent relief. 3. Integral health recognizes the distinction
between immediate pleasure and long-term flourishing. 4. Psychospiritual
development is an essential component of integral health. 5. Integral assessment relies on deep listening and guidance. 6. Integral assessment addresses the aspects, levels, and lines of
development that are relevant to our current circumstance (Dacher, 2006, p.
105-106).
Having
an open and honest evaluation of these aspects of our lives gives us the
freedom to discover what we can work on, where we are growing, and set goals
for change with the ultimate goal of reaching human flourishing. It is
important within this process to reach the realization we cannot have it all
together but making a start gets us one step closer to wholeness, health, and
the life we hope to live. It is also important that we have an unbiased mentor
or guide to walk us through this process and give their impression of our
assessment as well. It is often those people we share our life with or allow
into the deep places of our heart and mind that can see and point out aspects
of our life that may be screaming for change.
I am a very self-reflective person by nature. I
was honestly a bit intimidated by the above list and assessment. Of course the
overwhelming theme that comes to mind is working on my psychological and interpersonal
areas of development. Since I am in the waiting process of a divorce I still
have loads of pain and disappointment to work through. I am at a much better
place with this than I was eight months ago but the effects of the depression
and the hit to my confidence and ability to trust will not be restored in a
short period of time.
Physical Assessment
I
would rate myself a five. I am fairly healthy or at least my latest blood work
shows this. I try to eat right, take my vitamins, and get enough rest. But I do
have ten pounds to lose and it’s been a process trying to take that off. I
struggle with fatigue at times and I think that relates to my lack of
consistent exercise.
Spiritual Assessment
I
would rate myself a seven. This aspect of wellness is very important to me. I
try to spend time reading the Bible, worship Jesus through music, pray about
issues on my heart, and have to attend Church each week. Church is my way to
continue being feed through community worship, hearing the Word of God taught,
and attending weekly Bible study. There is always ways to improve my intimacy
with God and there will always be more to learn.
Psychological Assessment
I
would rate myself a six. I have been a journey of healing and discovery in a
huge way this last year. With my husband choosing to initiate an extramarital
affair and end our marriage I have had a lot to face in a short time. I have
been diligent to go to counseling and get involved in a Divorce Care group at a
local church. It has been a hard road but I have learned so much about myself
through this terrible experience. I have learned I have a huge fear of
confrontation, I am co-dependent; have a hard time setting healthy boundaries
in my life, and struggle with effective forms of communication in a
relationship. I have been determined to take care of myself, go through
counseling, heal, and work on positive changes for myself. This has required
loads of self-reflection and leaning on those close to me in my life for
support.
Goal Development
My
goal for my psychological
development is gaining the ability to articulate and put into words all that I
feel and hurt in regards to my recent divorce. I have been avoiding this and
have wanted to journal my experiences and feelings but placing this down in
print is hard for me. This forces me to see all that has happened and makes the
events even more real to me. I realize that this would help me by getting out
of my mind all the hurt, bitterness, anger, and sorrow. My goal is to start
this process to help aid my healing process.
My
goal for myself physically involves implementing physical exercise into my
weekly routine. My hope is this will facilitate extra energy for me and allow
me an outlet for my stress. Plus with this goal I expect to shed excess pounds
and reach my goal weight.
My
spiritual goals include developing a deeper personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. As I continue to deepen this relationship it builds my faith and
ability to look at life through eyes of hope, peace, perseverance, and love for
others and myself.
Practices for personal health
Having
a goal is not enough when reaching integral health. There is the aspect of
activity and follow through that help us attain these goals. As we assess and make
these goals for ourselves we must brainstorm ideas of realistic activities and
set a plan for action. For my psychological development I have chosen the
strategy of starting a journal. I need this safe outlet to put my feelings and
thoughts on paper. I want to set aside at least thirty minutes a day four times
a week to write. I as well want ton continue practicing the meditation
exercises we have learning in this course. I do not see myself doing this
realistically on a daily basis. I would like to instead set aside time three
times a week initially and work up to time daily. For my physical development I
want to engage in consistent
exercise at least three times a week whether this is yoga, walking, doing an
exercise DVD at home, or jogging with a friend. I as well want to commit to
limiting the amount of sweet food and dessert that I allow myself. I believe
limiting myself to two of these a week is a good start. And for my spiritual
development I plan to spend time daily reading the Bible and praying to give me
strength for my day and increase my relationship with Jesus. Along with these
two forms of spiritual growth I plan to bathe my spirit as well with uplifting
music such as instrumental, classical, and gospel while I commute to work and
when I have quiet periods on the office.
Commitment
I’m
very thankful this is a process. It’s up to me to cut myself some slack realizing
this but to remain faithful to the task at hand by continuing working on myself
in efforts to taking steps closer to reaching integral health. With this
assessment, goal development, and setting strategies for success there must be
a strong level of commitment. I think that this requires some accountability in
our lives. Whether it is a trusted friend, a co-worker, a spouse, or a mentor
someone needs to be aware of these goals and be allowed to stand in a place of
accountability. Being open to this is not easy but with any challenge it is
extremely beneficial to have someone there cheering you on or pointing you back
on track when you slip up. Along with an accountability partner I believe using
a planner would be a good strategy for success. Life is busy! For many people
if it is not “penciled in” to their day, an event or task is not completed.
Evaluating these goals and looking realistically at my day I can set aside a
time slot and this will help me to complete and hold to the task. In six months
time I would want to reevaluate myself to assess has there been positive change
in my life. This can be done by stepping onto the scale, reading the journal I
have started, seeking feedback from close friends or family in my life, and
assessing my mental state and present stress levels.
Conclusion
As
we learned from Ken Wilber in the beginning of our time together this term,
“integral medicine goes one step further: it treats the illness, the person,
and the physician” (Schilitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). As we have started
this journey towards integral health we are each a sojourner stepping out into
an area that has not been well traveled. With the knowledge gained, our own
individual assessment process in conjunction with applied steps we can see
change. Each day is a new opportunity to travel further on this road. We each
can continue applying these principles into our daily lives. As we move closer
to integral health it will be apparent to those clients and patients that we
care for, the loved ones we live with, and even our co-workers.
References:
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T.,
& Micozzi, M. (2005). Consciousness
& Healing: Integral Approaches
to Mind-Body Medicine. St. Louis, MO: Churchill Livingstone
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health. The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publishing, Inc.
