What are the 5 Components of Holistic Health?
When you are wanting to look after your health and your body, you may automatically think about the foods you eat and how much movement you incorporate into your daily life. While these are vital to your physical wellbeing, you also need to pay close attention to your holistic health.
You may have had days where you are overwhelmed, feeling fatigued, finding it hard to concentrate, your sleep routine is all over the place and you find yourself relying on caffeine to keep you going.
This is because it is not just what you eat and the exercise you do that affects you but also everything around you, from the places you go, to the people you interact with. It can all have a detrimental effect if you are not looking after yourself.
In this article, you will find out exactly what holistic health is and how this can improve not just your body but your overall wellbeing.
What is Holistic Health?
Holistic health goes beyond your physical body and focuses on your physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social health. When all of these are working together and balanced, they help you to live your best and most authentic life.
The Holistic Model of health makes sure everything works as one, all together. Rather than as five different parts. It is not a puzzle, everything has to work together, harmoniously to leave you feeling your best.
1. Physical Health
Most people only know physical health as going to the gym or working out regularly but it is much more than that. It is about your physical body, all the aches and pains you may be feeling, which is a sign that you are not balanced. Your physical health is about listening to what your body needs, rather than physical activity.
Once you have become in tune with your body, it is much easier to pick up on what you need.
Fitting in exercise is a vital component to help you sleep at night, regulate your hormones and to supporting your organs such as your heart and lungs. But your one-hour of exercise may look completely different to someone else’s. You can go for a walk or a swim, it doesn’t need to exert you.
Sleep is one of the main ways to make sure you are in peak physical condition as it helps repair and heals your body, as well as aiding in your digestion. When you lack sleep, your body will struggle to function.
2. Emotional Wellbeing
Your thoughts and feelings play a huge part in your overall wellbeing, as your emotional health is based on how you think and feel. If you are emotionally healthy then you are able to better understand your emotions as well as communicate with others.
If you are struggling with your emotional balance then try writing things down. This can be anything: what you have achieved, what you are grateful for, what you are looking forward too. Just your general thoughts and feelings and you will feel like a weight has been lifted off of you. There is power in putting pen to paper and helps to clear your mind.
If you can, try talking to a friend or family member, when you are able to connect with someone you love and trust you can strengthen your bond and relationship, as well as give you a safe and loving space to air your feelings and to vent.
Even, try talking to a therapist as they can help you work through your emotions and build your emotional intelligence and strength, helping to better understand certain responses and behaviours.
3. Social Needs
Your social health is another vital element that also should not be overlooked. Investing in having healthy relationships, community, and strong social networks directly impacts your life and having this in place helps you to manage stress and difficult situations. Having quality relationships helps with your mental health and overall mood.
Try to connect with people in real life and not just over the phone. If you rely on your phone or social media then this can lead to social anxiety as you won’t get enough exposure. Connecting in person can greatly impact emotional and physical health throughout your life.
Start setting boundaries and sticking to them, negative people bring you down and affect your life. To grow and thrive, you need to release anyone who isn’t serving you and is affecting your spirit.
4. Spiritual Health
Your spiritual health helps to connect you to your inner self and everything around you.
When you have this connection you will find everything becomes clearer and easier to navigate. Connecting and truly listening to yourself aligns everything you do with your own values and beliefs. This brings everything in your life into focus and you can view things from a different aspect.
When you spend time outside, enjoying nature, it helps to ground you and build this relationship with yourself, free from distractions.
Meditation is an amazing way to connect yourself to your spirit, linking mind, body, and soul. Being at one with your breath helps to align and balance your thoughts and feelings.
5. Mental Wellness
Your mental health has a huge impact on your psychological, social, and emotional well-being. Many areas of your life can become entangled with your mental state. If you are not in a good mental state, then everything in your life can be overwhelming and you may not know which way to turn.
Taking time for yourself is a way to help maintain good mental health. It helps when things become too much and you feel overwhelmed, learning to take a break, breathe and refocus helps to realign your thoughts and help you to be rational.
What a lot of people may not know is that your gut health has been called your ‘second brain’ as the two are linked. Making sure to eat healthy foods is vital.
Want to share your journey of holistic health? We would love to hear it! Send your story using our Wellness Tips form.
