Final Project - Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

Introduction:  Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

It is important for health and wellness professionals to incorporate all the areas of integral health practices into their own lives.  As a healthcare professional one should have a working knowledge and live the lifestyle in order to be effective and to be considered legitimate.  In other words, this means practice what you preach, or “walk the walk” before you “talk the talk”. 

The two areas that I need to develop in order to achieve an optimal and balanced physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness is implementing a daily exercise routine and daily meditation practices.  I believe that if am successful in developing these areas that my overall health and wellness will improve and I will be closer to achieving the complete integral health and human flourishing I am seeking.

Assessment: How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

Spiritually I give myself a 7 on the scale of 1-10.  I am a very spiritual person.  I pray daily.  I listen to Christian music daily.  I read uplifting and inspirational books including the scriptures frequently.  I try to watch only good, wholesome television programs and movies. I gladly enjoy helping others and look for ways to serve as often as I can.  I give myself a 7, though, because I have not been attending church regularly for the two years I have lived where I do now. It’s mostly that I hate being the “new” person.  Once I go I will be fine.  It’s just getting myself to do it is the problem.  Attending church regularly is important to me and is how I view myself in being a spiritual person.

Physically I would rate myself as a 4 on a scale of 1-10.  I am overweight and out of shape.  While I don't have any known illnesses or diseases such as diabetes (yet), I know that I am taking a risk with myself in this area. The weight loss battle I have fought on and off since I was in my twenties.  I have gained and I have lost and gained it all back again. I know what I need to do.  I know how I need to do it and why.  I just need to get back on the wagon and do it.  I know how wonderful I feel when I am eating right, exercising regularly and losing weight.  

Psychologically I give myself a 5.  Six years ago I went through a very difficult and nasty divorce after 22 years of marriage to the father of my kids.  During those 22 years he was abusive to me not physically, but verbally and emotionally.  Coming out of that I have dealt with severe self-image issues.  It has been a very rocky road for me to climb out of that hole I felt I was in.  I am; however, glad to say that I am on the mend. I now have a wonderful husband who treats me like a queen and has helped me overcome some very serious issues.  Without him I probably would not be here today.  With a little more refining in this area I will be able to give myself a 9 or 10 in the near future.

Goal Development: List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

Spiritually, I have set a goal to attend church this week.  Once I go and get the “newness” formalities out of the way it will be easy for me to continue attending church on a regular basis.  With that said, I foresee my rating in the spiritual area will move up into the 9 to 10 area over the next few weeks. 

Physically, I have already begun to work towards achieving goals in this area.  I recently joined a gym and I purchased a treadmill.  Now I am scheduling time into my week to walk and do resistance training.  I am starting out slow with a goal of walking 15 to 20 minutes 5 days a week with the goal of increasing that to 30 minutes per day within a month’s time.  I also made a goal to go to the gym twice a week for 30 minutes to start with and then progress into 3 to 4 days per week.   I have also joined weight watchers, where I have to keep track of my daily food intake, as well as daily exercise.  I also am required to weigh in each week. 

Psychologically, I have been working on goals in this area since my divorce 7 years ago.  I am progressing well, through the love and encouragement I receive from my husband.  My self-image and self-worth is so much better than it used to be.  I have a self mantra that I say to myself every day.  It has taken me a long time to believe in myself and know that I am worthy of love.  I am finally feeling that way.  With a little more time, I will be where I want to be.  I believe my self-image will also improve once I start to see results in the physical area with weight loss and better health.  Regular meditation exercises being included in my daily routine will also improve my psychological health. 

Practices for personal health: What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

Strategies I will implement in the spiritual domain include continued prayer, reading the scriptures, regularly listening to Christian music, watching wholesome television programs and movies as well as regular church attendance.  All of these actions will help me stay where I desire to be on the spiritual level.     

Psychologically I will use the subtle mind medication exercise to calm my mind and relax.  I will continue to use the mantra I repeat daily to help improve my self-image and self-worth.  I am also considering giving yoga a try improvement in this domain as well as in the physical domain. 

Physically I will use the treadmill for my walking program, and resistance training at the gym with weights.  The key here is consistency and motivation.  Having my husband and sister who check up on my results will keep me motivated and consistent because I won’t want to let them down.  Being accountable to Weight Watcher’s is another motivator.  I am required to weigh in each week and I want to show significant weight loss each week. 

Commitment: How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

To keep track of my progress I will be keeping a simple journaling tool on my phone where I can jot down activities I did that day or what got in the way of eating healthy on another day etc.  I will also continue to use my blog I created for this class as a way to report my results each week.  Additionally, I am also a member of weight watchers online where I will log in my daily food intake, daily exercise activities and weekly weigh-ins. 

All of these tools will provide a way for me to go back into the past to see where I started and how I have progressed along the way.  I believe that evaluating oneself is an important part of the growth process.