Welcome, Warrior, to the third post in my Dimensions of Wellness Series. I’m taking the Dimensions of Wellness model and breaking it down to spend a bit of time expanding on the different areas. You can read my intro post here and the first post on Occupational Health here. Today, let’s delve into Environmental Health.
Dimensions of Wellness
If you are new to the concept of Dimensions of Wellness, I’ve got a full blog post that goes into some detail. But the quickie version is this: Whole person wellness can be divided into different subcategories. An individual has relative health in each category, or dimension, which can also spill over to other dimensions affecting the whole person. Each model uses slightly different dimensions, but the interacting nature remains the same, as does the need to constantly re-evaluate what is happening in our own unique Dimensions and respond in kind.
Defining the Environmental Dimension
When most of us hear the word “environment,” we are probably thinking about recycling programs and organic food and the like. While Mother Earth and how we are treating her certainly does play a factor in Environmental Health, it certainly isn’t the only thing to talk about. But let’s start there. What we see and what we have access to in terms of the great outdoors has an affect on our overall well being.
From a more practical standpoint, though, the places we live in and encounter the most are what largely shape our environment. Additionally, the actual items in those places will play a role in our wellness. We aren’t just interacting with people (although individuals can be tied to a situation or environment), we are interacting with the space and things located there.
Environmental Health encompasses those spaces and locations we commonly or frequently encounter. This is including, but not limited to, home and living spaces, work spaces, material possessions, and our relationships to community spaces and the planet.
Outdoor Spaces, Community Spaces, and the Planet
I’m covering a lot of ground here (unintended pun!) but the common denominator is that these spaces are generally shared with the larger population. In other words, these are environments where you are more likely to encounter people and things that you don’t know or otherwise have a personal attachment to.
Where you actually live will have a huge influence on these things. An individual who lives in a large city may not have access to open outdoor green spaces as quickly or easily as someone who lives in the suburbs or country. Each of us has our own individual preference for being outside (season, time of day, scenery we like, etc.), but as a general rule, being able to be outside in nature is good for our Mental Health.
Community spaces can encompass a myriad of things, but some common ones might include church or religious gathering spaces; community gardens, parks, or fields; and museums, galleries, or libraries. Access to these spaces for recreation and socialization, again, has generally positive outcomes for other areas of wellness.
The planet is a big broad thing, but we each live here and arguably have certain responsibilities about maintaining the health of the Earth. However, being able to actually do something can be a much trickier prospect.
Anyone notice that during this discussion of these shared environments, I’ve mentioned access every time? A lot more intersects with Environmental Health than we think. It isn’t always possible to choose exactly where you live and if that happens to be in a place where access to safe walking paths or community centers is something lacking, then not only does your Environmental Health suffer, but Physical, Mental, Emotional and Social aspects of wellness probably suffer too.
Many may not have the Occupational or Financial security (i.e. steady income) to worry about the planet. It doesn’t mean they don’t want to, but as I’ve said before, basic needs have to come first. I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again: wellness should not be reserved for the well off. Increasing access to safe environments for everyone is a huge step in increasing wellness of not just individuals but whole populations.
Work Spaces
I’ve written a lot about work with regards to Occupational and Financial Health Dimensions, so I will try to avoid beating the proverbial dead horse here. But work spaces are worth talking about because these are environments that most of us interact with on a daily basis. Whether you have a place of employment, work from home, or are a stay at home caregiver, that’s all work.
Anyone who has held jobs has had a great work environment (or at least better) and a crappy one. Even when pay isn’t fabulous or benefits are lacking, it is always easier to go to work when the space is inviting. There is a lot of overlap here with Social Health as our coworkers (and bosses/subordinates) can often make or break the work environment. But even the things and the space itself can impact wellness.
When I worked as Fitness Manager at a large hospital owned gym, my coworkers often gave me a hard time about my office. Not because it was a mess, just the opposite actually. I was the one who cleared my desk every night before I left and had a system for scheduling to dos for the next day. But I worked more efficiently and with more purpose when I came in to a clean desk in the morning. My point here, is that no matter your work situation, optimizing what is in it based on how it affects you can help you be more productive.
Home and Living Spaces
Home should be a sanctuary, but for many it isn’t. The most usual reason cited is clutter. Clutter and too much stuff bogs down a space. It makes us feel heavy and lazy and we are therefore unproductive (see the above example about my desk). The things, both in terms of what and amount, in our living space has a profound effect on our wellness. There are blogs and YouTube channels dedicated to decluttering and minimal living and the benefits to be found there. Basically, we need far less than we think we do.
There are other ways a home environment can impact wellness. How often regular cleaning tasks are accomplished may affect things like allergies (i.e. mold, dander, pollen). The temperature we keep the space (i.e. cooler at night to optimize sleep). How much regular maintenance needs to be done to keep the space functioning properly. And there’s a huge overlap with Financial Health here, these things generally all take money and/or time.
And I would be remiss in mentioning living spaces that aren’t safe environments. Whether that is due to the structure itself, the items contained within, the location, or other individuals in the space. When home isn’t a safe place, nowhere feels safe. And even if you haven’t experienced this type of trauma personally, it shouldn’t be difficult to understand how something like this might impact whole person wellness. (If you have been paying any attention to the global news lately, you’ll probably have some idea of what I’m attempting to convey here.)
Much like Occupational and Financial Health, Environmental Health is dependent upon many factors. Many of which change from place to place and are outside of our control. However, there are small things, like decluttering or cleaning, that can have big impacts on our overall wellness.
Until next time, be well, friends!
