Healthy living is essential for enjoying a happy life by ensuring overall wellness.  However, not dealing with any significant health condition is no reason to assume that you are enjoying your life. Unless you enjoy the highest quality of life, good health might become quite meaningless. Therefore, maintaining a healthy lifestyle by remaining sensitive and responsive to the various dimensions of the body is the way to ensure wellness and attain fulfillment.  Creating the perfect harmony between the body and mind is what wellness is all about, the secret sauce for enjoying a happy life. Once you discover the power of wellness to light up your life you can become an advocate for health and wellness. To play the role effectively, you must know what are three things you could do if you were asked to become an advocate for health and wellness.

This article should help to understand better the need for advocating for health and wellness.

Wellness, happiness, and life satisfaction

Happy living is all about creating the perfect blend of wellness and good health. People who can successfully create the desired blend are the ones who can overcome obstacles and achieve their life goals. Happy living is much more than leading a disease-free life which often people refer to as good health. Happiness results from a complicated mix of physical, emotional, mental, and social elements that deeply impact a person’s health. Wellness is the sum of happiness and life satisfaction and an expression of how you feel about yourself and your life.

The components of wellness

 Physical wellness

Staying physically active and making all efforts to operate and function to the best of your ability is a sure sign of your physical wellness. Regular exercise, healthy food, and a disciplined lifestyle not only ensure healthy living but also elevate our mood. Staying fit and active motivates you to achieve more than what you are normally capable of and provides a huge satisfaction that makes you happy. Physical wellness directly affects your social wellness and you become more active within the community while connecting with others and finding a common ground. The synergy between our physical and social activities is an excellent booster for wellness and well-being.

Mental wellness

How composed you feel emotionally and psychologically is a good measure of your mental wellness. The more composed you stay, the more relaxed and confident you will feel as you stay surrounded by positive vibes and find new meaning and purpose in your life.

Social wellness

Focusing on self-care and staying away from critical thinking are the most important triggers to social wellness. Be empathetic and take care of the people who matter most to you and have a great impact on your life. Treat them with respect and support them in the best way they deserve.

Financial wellness

Money gives us a sense of security and ensures better control of our lives by making financial decisions with enough independence. Financial soundness leads to mental stability which in turn affects our wellness positively.

Who are Wellness Advocates?

Rendering a community service is the best way to describe the role of Wellness Advocates. They provide a crucial level of support to people searching for resources that can help them enjoy the highest quality of life. Trying to locate wellness resources can be overwhelming as there are numerous wellness services available. Without the right knowledge and guidance, the task can be quite challenging and this is where patient advocacy comes into play. Since most people do not have a clear idea about what constitutes wellness, the task of finding the right wellness resources becomes tougher. The guidance of Wellness Advocates helps people to navigate the course with confidence as they learn about the various dimensions of wellness that help in choosing the right resources.

Anyone can become a Wellness Advocate to spread the message of wellness and well-being across the community either as a professional or a volunteer. They have their task cut out to spread awareness about the need to maintain wellness to enjoy a better quality of life. Spreading knowledge about healthy lifestyles with emphasis on important topics such as dealing with stress, drinking, eating well, and sleep, is their main task when serving as volunteers.

Professional Wellness Advocates are healthcare professionals who have extensive knowledge about various wellness resources and assist people searching for wellness resources. Usually, they are part of some wellness establishments that offer different types of wellness services. Since the wellness needs of people are unique, the Wellness Advocates use their knowledge to identify the appropriate wellness services that match the requirements. Besides helping in choosing services from the range of services offered by the clinics, they also identify other community resources that might benefit people. Since Wellness Advocates can address a full spectrum of health concerns from physical fitness and nutrition, to memory care and cancer care, you can look upon them as your medical advocate, too.    They can become your trusted companion and advisor in your health journey that strives for long-term wellness and well-being.

The link between health optimization and wellness

Staying healthy is not only about leading a life free from diseases. It is more about maintaining the level of health that helps you operate at the highest level – physically and mentally by ensuring overall wellness.  When your body and mind are in perfect sync, you enjoy tremendous happiness in living your life to the fullest in the way you want.  Therefore, striving to maintain optimal health should be your goal, and with the support from Wellness Advocates, you can choose some wellness program that helps to bring about small changes to push the needle from good to optimal health.

What is health optimization?

If healthy living is the baseline, then you need to go some distance beyond it to achieve optimal health. You should continuously strive to improve your health and attain a stage where you can focus on habits and actions that improve your longevity and health span. You will have a healthy life for many more years and be energetic enough to keep performing to the best of your ability without fatigue. When striving for health optimization, you have to check in within yourself with subjective and objective analysis to address any shortcomings and keep performing and functioning at your highest capacity for many more years.  

For example, women who have undergone menopause can address their concerns about wellness by undergoing Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) which aids health optimization, too. Besides restoring hormonal balance, HRT improves the mental state by overcoming depression that grips most women. The overall improvement in wellness helps to restore self-esteem among women as they enjoy an improved quality of life.

Another popular health and wellness trend across the United States is vitamin IV therapies or Intravenous Nutrient Therapies (IVNT). Even some celebrities are promoting the wellness program on social media. The therapy involves the administration of a high dose of vitamins and minerals directly into your bloodstream. The direct infusion of vitamins allows for rapid absorption of nutrients at higher doses. Although such infusion was for the treatment of some medical conditions earlier, the growing interest in wellness has brought about a change in the context.  Receiving regular doses of vitamins and minerals rejuvenates the body and triggers a sense of good feeling that lifts the spirit.

Take a proactive approach

 When you set out to address your wellness, you are doing a lot of good to your health because of the underlying relation between wellness and good health. Your pursuit of correcting your health parameters including addressing mental health issues through constant monitoring of the health parameters ensures a better quality of life by discovering your best self.  As you focus on health optimization, you automatically embrace a proactive approach to taking care of your health to maintain vitality for many years. It is a marked departure from the reactive approach of preventive medicine.

How to use the services of a Wellness Advocate

 The interest in Wellness Advocates is growing fast as research results reveal that people who use their services tend to have better overall health. Complimentary wellness programs are useful in encouraging self-care which is part of the health optimization goals. More awareness about self-care is leading to more popularity of wellness programs that address the issues of emotional well-being and physical well-being.

 Meet your Wellness Advocate for a one-on-one meeting to discuss your current health situation, where you want to be in the next few months, concerns, and health goals in the long term. Your Wellness Advocate is like your personal trainer who will guide you through your journey and ensure that you achieve your target within the desired timeline. To make you feel your best, the Wellness Advocate will determine a set of personal recommendations and guide you in choosing the appropriate wellness programs.  To support your health goals, the advocate will also recommend some community resources.  Providing the most personalized support is the goal of the Wellness Advocate so that you can learn about and manage your wellness in the long term.

Your companionship with the Wellness Advocate continues as you move ahead in life, and your health needs and goals change. Since the advocate knows your health profile and aspirations about staying healthy, you can keep receiving additional support and recommendations in the years to come.

A wellness advocate actively promotes health and well-being within their community or workplace. This can encompass a variety of activities, including:

1. Advocacy – They often spread awareness about health issues, champion healthier lifestyles, and encourage preventive healthcare.
2. Support – Wellness advocates may provide support and resources for mental health, advocating for better health services or changes in public health policy.
3. Education – They might also focus on continuing education, helping others understand the importance of self-care and a balanced work-life, and informing them about essential oils and other complementary health approaches.

By addressing physical and mental health, wellness advocates play a crucial role in shaping health outcomes and promoting quality of life in their communities. They often collaborate with healthcare providers and may use various healthcare systems and wellness programs to aid their advocacy.

The role can be a formal profession or a volunteer effort and is essential in driving healthcare improvements and community health initiatives.

What are three things you could do if you were asked to become an advocate for health and wellness?

Assuming the role of an advocate for health and wellness gives you a splendid opportunity to make a positive impact on individuals as well as communities. The task involves promoting and supporting initiatives that boost physical, emotional, and mental wellness.  Wellness advocates are not mere counselors but have to play the role of a mentor and guide who can show the path to good health and happiness that ensures a better quality of life. It is important to remember that when you become a Wellness Advocate, you take the responsibility of making others happy by infusing positivity in them. You have to teach them how they can improve their health and stay happy for many years while exploring their abilities without any inhibitions.

 Here are three high-impact actions that you can take to do justice to your role.

Spread awareness and knowledge

Since good health is the foundation of wellness, as a Wellness Advocate you must make people aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Besides raising awareness, you must educate them, too, and show them the ways they can make healthy choices that impact their lives. Not only do you become a preacher but also a practitioner of healthy living who can walk the talk.

Since connecting with people is most important, you can make extensive use of social media to write blogs and articles to raise awareness about healthy lifestyles. Through your writings, you can share valuable information and tips and help them find useful resources. Make use of any public speaking platforms to engage with people more closely. Choose the topics carefully so that you can address many problems that people are facing and provide solutions. Topics like exercise, nutrition, stress management, mental health, and preventive care are highly impactful. 

Engage with the community

One of the most powerful ways to advocate for health and wellness is to engage directly with communities. Organize workshops, community events, or health fairs to provide accessible health education, resources, and screenings. Create a network of local fitness professionals, healthcare providers, nutritionists, and mental health experts and collaborate with them to offer low–cost services to the needy. Moreover, you can reach out to organizations that focus on disease prevention, health promotion, or community wellness initiatives and share your expertise with them. Your active engagement with the community will have a deep impact and inspire others to attach due importance to health.

Support policy change

Advocating for policy change is a top agenda for Wellness Advocates. Advocacy for health and wellness transcends the boundaries of individual choices and should consider the greater good of the community based on policy changes. You should be an advocate for important policy changes that promote healthier lifestyles and environment.  Identify policies at local, regional, and national levels that impact public health and trigger positive changes. Join hands with like-minded organizations and individuals to lobby for initiatives such as improved physical education in schools, better access to nutritious foods, mental health support services, or smoking cessation programs. You can create sustainable improvements in community health by working towards impactful policy changes.

 Knowing what are three things you could do if you were asked to become an advocate for health and wellness, you are now ready to inspire and empower individuals to take charge of their lives. You have to lead from the front and demonstrate your thoughts through actions that lead to reduced healthcare costs and healthier lifestyles. 

Keep educating yourself, stay informed about the latest trends, and research, and make the best use of your advocacy prowess to address evolving health challenges. By supporting policy change, raising awareness, and engaging in community outreach, you can touch upon many lives and show them the way to live happier and healthier lives. Among everything else, how you engage with the community matters most to create the most visible impact on the lives of people seeking a better quality of life.