What’s the connection between wellness and happiness? If you are well, does that mean you are automatically happy? Our understanding of the human experience leads us to say probably not, but you’re definitely on the right track. Keep reading to learn more about the connection between wellness, happiness and the power you have over both in your life.
Yes, being “well” truly can make you feel happier
While there’s so much more to wellness than happiness, there is no denying that your well-being directly affects how happy you feel. It is difficult to feel fulfilled when there are parts of your life that echo with emptiness and, due to this, there is a direct correlation between caring for yourself and positive emotional experiences.
But wellness is about more than being happy
However, you cannot simply dismiss emotions that aren’t “happiness” and expect to find meaningful wellness. True happiness is a sense of positive regard for yourself and the life you live. With that in mind, it’s important to note that true wellness will be inclusive of a variety of emotional experiences integrating into an overall sense of personal fulfillment.
What does wellness mean, exactly?
The Global Wellness Society tells us that wellness is “the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.” By its very existence, this definition puts the power of your wellness into your hands—exactly where it belongs.
Wellness is yours to attain, and doing so is a choice you get to make across every dimension of your lifestyle. Choosing to seek wellness is to engage in the things that contribute to a sense of fulfillment in some aspect of your life. Wellness is fueled by action in that it is not simply something that happens to you. You have the power to create wellness in your life, and it is something you can directly contribute to no matter what other ways the world seeks to disempower you.
Factors that improve your wellbeing
Resilience
How well you adapt or respond to things that don’t go the way you thought they would is a key part of your wellness. Being resilient means that, come what may, you are up for the challenge. There is no requirement for you to be unafraid of change or completely confident in your resilience. It simply asks you to believe in your ability to cope until you overcome.
When you look ahead in your life and the world at large, do you see something worth thriving for? A positive or optimistic outlook is a beneficial part of supporting your holistic wellbeing.
The good in the world is worth enduring the difficult days when you come to them. An outlook that helps you to remember that will support your happiness levels in becoming a baseline for positivity.
Generosity
Giving—and giving back—are important in the impact they have on your wellness and a general sense of personal fulfillment. Be generous with your time, your energy, and your positivity. When you can, be generous with spreading your wealth through the world in every sense of the word. A well person is a therapeutically positive person, so be generous with the way you share your wellness with the world.
Here’s how being happy can actually improve your wellness
Body
A happy body is connected to itself in breath and movement. Intentionally moving your body will reward you with an awareness of self. When your body is hurting, you struggle to stay connected to the ways in which it grounds you and that sense of awareness is lost.
The movement of your body gives you a practice run of producing a positive stress signal and responding to it in a positive way. In that regard, a happy body is one that is conditioned to respond to stress without immediately hitting crisis mode.
Mind
A positive mindset is the secret to thriving. This isn’t to say that you must be happy all the time. Dismissing all of your difficult or negative thoughts would be a disservice to your overall well-being.
A positive or happy mind is not a relentlessly cheery one, but instead, a mind in which all thoughts are validated and supported in appropriate ways that help you reach toward fulfilling goals instead of self-harm.
Spirit
Whether you are a spiritual person or not, the overall sense of self that keeps us rooted in our identity throughout our lifetime plays an important role in your wellbeing. Happiness in your spiritual center can contribute to a sense of peace that leads you toward your path of desirable outcomes. This sense of enlightenment or rightness can be achieved through meditation and spiritual practices that are customized to fit your needs and beliefs.
Happy people are better for the planet. From the way we connect with animals to the way we treat the world around us, science has found evidence that even our Mother Earth benefits from the healing energy we put into our own happiness.
Whether you are trying to get well or hoping to harness happiness along your holistic journey, recognizing the connection between wellness and happiness is a valuable step in the process. Every effort you make toward a life wholly lived is one that will benefit your wellness and, in turn, help you to move through life as a happier, healthier person
If you want to learn more about our programs or the way that we integrate holistic wellness into our addiction treatment programs, give us a call at (866) 950-0644 or connect with us online today!