Personal health status and goals

Hello again,

A goal I have after graduating is help people incorporate healthier choices in their own lives. However, before I can help others it is important to know my own health status and have my own goals that I continue to try reaching. This will help others take me seriously. That whole practice what you preach concept comes to mind. So the assignment this week: assess your own health in wellness in three areas: physical, spiritual, and psychological. Creating a goal in each area and what activities to incorporate that will help reach the goals is the second part of the assignment.

First up is my physical status. Right now, I think this needs the most work. I had a baby 9 weeks ago, so I am working to lose my baby weight. Therefore, on a scale from 1 to 10 I would rate my physical health at about a 6. I try to eat healthy and incorporate physical activity into my day but I still have not gotten the strength or the endurance back that I had pre-baby. My goal in this area is to lose the remaining 15 pounds and get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I can do this by gradually increasing my physical activity and being able to start jogging and running again.

Ok, next subject. Psychological health. I would rate mine at an 8. I did not get the baby blues after having my son, even though there are times that can be very frustrating. I credit this to my psychological health because I know that I always "talk myself down" and "go to my happy place" when things get rough. A goal in this area is to incorporate more mental health exercises into my day. Right now, I do not practice them on a regular basis. In order to meet this goal, I can purchase CD's that have guided relaxation techniques, and maybe try yoga. This would help improve my psychological health.

Finally - spiritual health. This is the area that I am lacking the most. I would rate my spiritual health at about a 3. I am not a religious person, and many people associate spirituality in religion. However, I find hope, comfort, and inner peace in other things. I have a belief in a higher power, and I know that some things are not able to be explained and that having hope and believing in something does help; however, I do not name this power or attend public services to discuss my beliefs. A goal I have in this area would be to try different exercises that help build spiritual health. Doing this can be accomplished by finding time to meditate, or reading an inspirational book.

The other part of the assignment was to reflect on another relaxation exercise. Personally, I am not a fan of the "rainbow" exercise. I have done it before and it does not work for me as well what I thought it would. Focusing energy on a body part and trying to connect it with a color was very odd to me. Repeating a phrase over and over does not help me either.