Today I’d like to take share more on what’s behind my idea of what I call the “wheel of holistic health” or “wheel of holistic being”. I first came across this notion of health from a local news program in the early 1990s (the State College, PA public television station). Though I have long forgotten its author and his exact elements, I have never forgotten its wisdom and continue to apply it’s fundamental premise in my psychotherapy work.

As I shared before, the individual health of the different elements or pieces of the “pie” of the whole being is vital to the health of the whole. Again, examples of these elements include: physical health, family functioning and support, social connectedness and support, work or educational pursuits, intimacy and affection, emotional health and competency, spiritual and religious practice and more. Another way to consider the parts of the wheel is to look at the many “needs” that we have at any one point in our lives or the developmental life tasks that we must accomplish over the expanse of our lives. For example, the development of a personal identity separate from our family and the identification with one’s peer group is important developmentally in adolescence. Another example is the importance of a good livelihood and pair bonding/ friendship in finding fulfillment in adulthood.

Yet another way to think of these essential aspects of our total health is to think of how we as a species adapted over thousands of years prior to the age of agricultural and industrial technology. We lived in small isolated bands and later small villages, totally dependent on the core group or community with it’s close knit, reciprocal social bonds. Daily life included included well established social traditions and rituals that reinforced expectations and knowledge and gave special meaning to life. Tradition and ritual also made social bonds strong and helped create a means for emotional healing and sense of belonging. We were also dependent on an intimate knowledge and respect for nature that infused all aspects of our lives and efforts. How we lived and coped then is illustrative our our current needs and potential resources (or lack there of) as individuals in a much larger society since, though many years have passed, our psychological make up has not changed that much in all those years.

My stress reduction tip for the day is to take some time to reach out to supportive family and friends. Though a face-to-face visit is preferable, a meaningful phone conversation that provides supportive and reassuring words can provide much needed calming and centering effects. Just remember though, to make sure those you reach out to are those friends most likely to be available emotionally to listen.

Please visit my web site at http://www.harborcounseling.net to learn more about my work as a therapist.
Wishing you peace and happiness!