In our tech-saturated lives, we’re bombarded with health advice from all angles, all the time. Often labeled as “life hacks” or “simple tips and tricks,” these overconfident tidbits are almost guaranteed to populate your social media feeds.
It’s 2024, and we’ve reignited the drive to improve our lives. But instead of eyebrow-raising life suggestions from dubious sources, why not take a foundational approach to improving your health and happiness this year?
We’re talking about fostering holistic well-being: a multi-dimensional method of balancing physical, mental, emotional, and social wellness. In this guide, we’ll dive deep into holistic well-being and empower you with strategies to nourish a balanced and fulfilling life in 2024.
The Shift Towards Holistic Well-Being
What is well-being? Put simply, it’s an overall state of wellness and happiness. In modern health circles, support for taking a holistic approach to individual well-being is growing.
According to St. Katherine University, “holism” refers to the theory that all parts of a whole are intimately connected. So, if you hyperfocus on just one aspect of your health—for example, your physical fitness—and neglect other equally important pillars of your total well-being, such as your mental health or social connections, you may not see overall improvement.
The shift towards holistic well-being is partly in response to the pandemic’s impact on healthy lifestyle habits and privileges we took for granted, as well as its impact on mental health. According to a 2021 study, rates of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse disorder increased since the pandemic, and 10% of survey respondents felt their mental health needs were underserved.
By taking a holistic approach to health, individuals can examine all the various aspects—physical, mental, emotional, and beyond—that contribute an overall sense of well-being and make adjustments to nurture the unfulfilled components.
Mental Health and Well-Being: Cultivating Resilience
Our mental health might be the most complex of all the pillars of holistic well-being. Mental well-being encompasses our emotional, psychological, and social health. When the mental state is compromised or undernourished, it may result in anxiety, depression, and other chronic mental disorders.
The CDC states that mental health plays a significant role in overall body health. For example, depression increases the risk of long-term physical health conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
To cultivate your mental resilience and better protect yourself from the harmful effects of anxiety and depression, holistic health experts recommend the following strategies:
- Stimulate your mind – Our minds are hungry for stimulation and creative expression, so investing in activities that spark your curiosity and wonder can create a satisfying sense of mental fulfillment.
- Stay mentally fit – Mental health and mental fitness are similar but not interchangeable. Mental fitness is the active awareness and management of how we think, act, and feel. A mentally fit individual can control their reactions to difficult situations and be more present in life and relationships.
- Meditate – One effective way you can increase your mental fitness is to practice meditation. Meditation can help us realize when life’s daily distractions disrupt our thought patterns and help us heighten our awareness and consciousness. You can start meditating today by sitting with your eyes closed or softly focused on something for 10 to 15 minutes. Monitor your feelings, and try detaching from disempowering thoughts.
Our mental and physical states can often feed off of each other. But for some, physical activity is intimidating. Luckily, incorporating movement into your daily life is easier than you might think, and it can make a massive difference in your physical health.
Physical Fitness: Integrating Movement for Health
If physical fitness is defined as keeping the body free from ailments and injuries, what is physical well-being? While it includes physical fitness, physical well-being also encompasses energy, flexibility, strength, and sleep.
So, improving your physical well-being can be as simple as increasing your movement throughout the day, especially if you have a career or lifestyle that keeps you sedentary. Regular movement (physical activity or exercise) can benefit the mind as well as the body, allowing emotions to move through our bodies, releasing both endorphins and stress.
Here are some tips for keeping yourself mobile and boosting your physical well-being:
- Recruit a buddy – Often, it’s motivating to work alongside a friend or family member with like-minded goals. Doing so can make physical activity fun and social, and keep you accountable and encouraged. Not sure where to start? Creating a daily step challenge and inviting friends to participate is a great way to inspire movement together as well as experience the benefits of being outside and getting fresh air throughout the day.
- Find your fun – No one type of exercise is perfect for everyone. Finding an activity or sport you love can take the pain out of exercising regularly and even turn the activity into something you look forward to. This is the key to learning how to stay consistent with working out. To find your perfect movement method, consider whether you like indoor or outdoor activities. Do you like to work out alone or in a group? Do you want exercise to feel calm, energizing, peaceful, or stimulating? Use these questions as guidelines to find your perfect movement match.
- Support your movement with Vionic – Vionic footwear and accessories are designed by podiatrists to keep you comfortable during just about any activity. A quality sneaker with arch support, like the 23Walk Classic Sneaker or Walk Max Lace Up Sneaker, can extend your comfort on long walks, or you can upgrade your current pair of shoes before your next errand run with Vionic’s supportive, cushioned collection of insoles.
To further support your healthy exercise habits, you also need to fuel your body with the proper vitamins and nutrients. So, it should come as no surprise that the next pillar of holistic health is a big one—nutrition.
Nutrition as a Pillar of Overall Well-Being
Wholesome, nourishing foods are crucial for feeding our bodies and minds for the hurdles life throws at us. In fact, you could argue that both physical and mental health start with proper nutrition.
Although it may seem challenging to eat right all the time, keep in mind that progress is more important than perfection. So, consider starting your journey to better nutrition by tackling one poor eating habit at a time and making a conscious effort to stick to a balanced, nutritious diet. With this strategy, you have the power to unlock the following benefits:
- Improved skin, teeth, and eye health
- Boosted immunity
- Lowered risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers
- Supported digestive system
- A healthy weight
A healthy diet can help nourish a healthy mind—but sometimes, stress can persist, especially in our fast-paced lives. Here are some ways to tackle stress utilizing holistic health practices.
Mindfulness and Stress Management: Balancing Life in 2024
Holistic well-being encourages the practice of mindfulness, or being aware of your thoughts and emotions in the moment you’re experiencing them. For many, this is a difficult task in 2024.
Our attention is often pulled in different directions by social media, current events, and technology—and when these distractions divert our attention, it can leave us feeling unfulfilled or anxious.
Many Methods of Mindfulness
Mindfulness asks us to learn lessons from our emotions and feelings. Meditation is one of the most popular approaches to mindfulness, but it’s far from the only route. Some people feel more at ease when they can be out in nature or partake in a spiritual ritual or practice that helps them connect to a larger presence than themselves.
In some cases, disconnecting from technology may encourage better mental well-being and mindfulness, as the excessive use of personal tech devices (smartphones, laptops, etc.) is a possible cause of the deterioration of mental health.
Social Well-Being: Nurturing Connections and Relationships
While severing connections to technology often benefits us, connections to friends and loved ones are a different story. Making time for your loved ones isn’t always easy in the midst of our hectic schedules, but holistic well-being experts advise that it’s worth it to nurture our friendships, family bonds, and romances.
In fact, holistic well-being identifies the social element of our lives as a primary pillar of our foundational health that requires nourishment, just like our mental and physical health.
To bolster your social well-being, proactively consider the people who mean the most to you and how you can strengthen, repair, or renew those relationships. At the same time, prioritize healthy boundaries to protect your social wellness and seek community with those who help elevate your holistic health rather than contribute to its degradation.
Support Your Holistic Wellbeing in 2024 and Beyond with Vionic
This year, make Vionic your partner for a healthier body, mind, and spirit. With Vionic’s footwear, you’ll have the support you need to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Perfect for all facets of your well-being, Vionic knows the right pair of shoes can uplift more than your physical health.
Through studying the core concepts of holistic well-being, we know that the individual parts of our wellness intimately interact with each other. To support your body is to support your mind; so to practice healthy movement is to relieve stress and foster mindfulness.
Want to find footwear that can handle a fitness class with your friends? Or connect with the outdoors while maintaining optimal comfort? For an essential shoe that’s as reliable as it is comfortable, check out Vionic’s walking sneakers with arch support. And, when you’re ready for either a leisurely stroll in the park or cooldown walk after a tough workout , slip into our cushon-y Rejuvenate Recovery Sandal or Restore II Recovery Toe Post Sandal.
No matter what you’re looking for, Vionic’s footwear prioritizes your health and happiness with superior support, protection, and style.
Sources:
St. Catherine University. What Is Holistic Health? Overview and Career Outcomes. https://www.stkate.edu/healthcare-degrees/what-is-holistic-health
National Institutes of Health. Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://covid19.nih.gov/covid-19-topics/mental-health
CDC. About Mental Health. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm
University of Colorado Boulder. Mental health is… Moving your body. https://www.colorado.edu/health/blog/moving-your-body
CDC. Benefits of Healthy Eating. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/resources-publications/benefits-of-healthy-eating.html
Scholarly Community Encyclopedia. Mindfulness and Technology. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/27819