alt=The Eight Dimensions of Wellness|thumb|The Eight Dimensions of WellnessWellness is a state beyond absence of illness but rather aims to optimize well-being. Ayurveda mentions the concept and also has dedicated a whole speciality for the concept of wellness and maintenance of health.
The term wellness has also been misused for pseudoscientific health interventions.
History
The term was partly inspired by the preamble to the World Health Organization's 1948 constitution which said: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." It was initially brought into use in the United States by Halbert L. Dunn, M.D. in the 1950s; Dunn was the chief of the National Office of Vital Statistics and discussed “high-level wellness,” which he defined as “an integrated method of functioning, which is oriented toward maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable.” and wellness gurus have gained more prominence.
Dimensions of wellness
In the 1970s, Bill Hettler, a doctor at the University of Wisconsin, developed a six-factor model of wellness, now commonly known as the dimensions of wellness. The original dimensions included intellectual, emotional, physical, social, occupational, and spiritual wellnesses. Since then, a number of organisations and researchers have adapted the dimensions of wellness into their health programs, including the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which includes two more dimensions of wellness—environmental and financial—along with the original six. Many universities have also incorporated the dimensions of wellness into their student care programmes.
Corporate wellness programs
By the late 2000s, the concept had become widely used in employee assistance programs in workplaces, and funding for development of such programs in small business was included in the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, while there is some evidence to suggest that wellness programs can save money for employers, such evidence is generally based on observational studies that are prone to selection bias. Randomized trials provide less positive results and often suffer from methodological flaws. There are two types of wellness programs that are under the Americans with Disabilities Act: Participatory and Health-contingent. but it is often used by promoters of unproven medical therapies, such as the Food Babe Pseudoscience is typically used to describe something that looks like science, but is somehow false, misleading, or unproven. Things that fall under the pseudoscience umbrella consists of: astrology, phrenology, UFOlogy, creationism, and eugenics. Some critics also draw an analogy to Lebensreform, and suggest that an ideological consequence of the wellness movement is the belief that "outward appearance" is "an indication of physical, spiritual, and mental health." During the covid lockdown there has been an increase of far-right wellness influencers linking themselves with the political beliefs of QAnon conspiracies, causing an increase of misinformation and adding numbers to the group. Both groups connect on similar beliefs including: anti-vaccination, COVID-19 misinformation and the idea that there is a secret organization of government officials running a child trafficking sex ring.
The wellness trend has been criticized as a form of conspicuous consumption.
See also
- Complementary and alternative medicine
- Healthism
- Mindfulness
- Organic food culture
- Salutogenesis
- Self-care
- Wellness tourism
- Workplace wellness