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Navigating Your Wellness at GVSU
Welcome
We acknowledge your life as a student. We understand the stresses and challenges, and we know that you're not alone. Knowing that and caring about your individual well-being and your experience as a student, we invite you to prioritize yourself and your well-being.
What does that mean, exactly?
Wellness is a life-long journey; "a conscious, self-directed, and evolving process of achieving full potential" (National Wellness Institute). According to the World Health Organization, wellness is "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or illness." As a college student, it is especially important to take care of yourself. Many of the habits you form in college may stick with you, so it’s important to build healthy habits now. Understanding the 8 dimensions of wellness can help guide your personal well-being during your college experience.
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WIT Peer EducationWellness CoachingWellness NavigatorsQUIZ: Assess Your WellnessEvents Calendar
8 Dimensions of Wellness
What are these dimensions we're talking about?
Recreation & Wellness is here to support you on your journey to health and well-being. A model was created that identifies 8 key dimensions of wellness. Learning about the 8 Dimensions of Wellness can help you choose how to make wellness a part of your everyday life. Use this model and the university resources available to help you on your journey to wellbeing.
Each dimension button below helps you understand what they mean by providing definitions and resources within each that will help you on your journey.
Emotional Wellness involves expressing your feelings, adjusting to challenges, coping with the stress that life brings, and enjoying your life.
Environmental wellness inspires us to respect our surroundings and involves feeling and being safe in your current environment.
Financial Wellness includes things like your income, savings, and expenses as well as how you understand your financial situation and resources.
Intellectual Wellness includes your educational journey through life including formal classroom learning as well as your hobbies or interests (students orgs, art, reading, learning a new sport, etc.) where you take part in discussions or conversations that you find interesting with others.
Occupational Wellness is your involvement in activities like volunteering, employment, or career preparation. It also includes your balance between these things and the time you have for things you enjoy like friends, exercising, or whatever you do to relax.
Physical wellness is about making positive choices to maintain a healthy body: from engaging in regular physical activity, sleep, eating nutritious foods, drinking responsibly, and routinely visiting your healthcare providers for regular check-ups.
Social Wellness is about maintaining healthy relationships with your friends, family, and community. It includes how you spend time in community with others, your social life, and meeting new people.
Spiritual Wellness is about understanding your own values and beliefs and taking time to deepen your spirituality (perhaps by learning about other religions, using your beliefs to guide your decisions, or finding a peaceful place to reflect).
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Recreation & Wellness is a department in the Division of Student Affairs at Grand Valley State University.