Nowadays, health can mean very different things when we consider our status. Indeed, being healthy is not the same for a patient struggling with cancer compared to a young woman dealing with PCOS. When understanding the essential thing to do to achieve health is, it is tough to give a simple answer. Nevertheless, wellness as a healthy lifestyle invites us to do anything in our power that adds to our curative process. 

Seven keys to wellness:

Spirituality:  Spiritual wellness is a process of understanding beliefs, values, and ethics that help guide the patient’s life.

Positive mental attitude: Learning to be the guardian of our thoughts instead of running with our brain’s impressions leads to positive emotions and thoughts. Acquiring a positive mind may lead to experiencing positive emotions.

Community: Having positive relationships and living in a community enhances the quality of life, lowers mortality, and increases life expectancy.

Healthy lifestyle: This encompasses the basics of taking care of our body, such as: having a good night’s sleep, avoiding smoke, drinking enough water, following a healthy diet, and incorporating exercise into our daily routine. In addition, new research has encouraged the application of breathing exercises, mindfulness, and meditation as the basics of care. 

Exercise: As a critical part of our physical wellness, exercise is crucial to maintaining or acquiring general health. Furthermore, the type, time, or intensity of such exercise have to fit the patient’s needs and capabilities, and preferences.

Balanced diet:  The dietary part of wellness is also part of our physical needs. Nevertheless, the quality of our diet is strongly associated with our financial health. Hence balance, to fit our budget and our requirements and preferences. 

Support your body: This may mean introducing nutritional supplements such as a complete multivitamin, vitamin D, omega- 3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. Furthermore, self-care in the form of massage or chiropractic adjustment can be the perfect additive to your healthcare. 

Essential supplementation for Wellness

In our clinic, we encourage the use of high-quality supplements. When recommending a good multivitamin, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants, this is one of my go-to’s.

Stress & how to manage it:

Humankind has constantly been exposed to the stress of daily living. Indeed, our ancestors dealt with the stress of hunting or starving, the physical stress of moving from place to place. Stress is always present. 

Physiology can explain stress as the activation of our sympathetic system, increased heart rate, blood pressure, and the fight or flight response. Indeed, this condition has saved us from predators.

However, all this energy invested in stress cannot be used in the healing process. On the contrary, to heal, we need to activate our parasympathetic system, which associates with relaxation. Nowadays, it is essential to apply relaxation as part of our wellness journey.

Parasympathetic system activators:

• Deep breathing exercises.
• Meditation. 
• Prayer.
• Progressive relaxation.
• Self-hypnosis.
• Biofeedback.

Being congruent is one of the most important things to be when determining the treatment of a patient. In a world where multiple conditions coexist in one patient, the treatment must not be simple. As a professional, this is why we must do the most and attack the problem. To do the most is to care the most. – Ana Paola Rodríguez Arciniega, MS