Introduction to Wellness
This important lesson defines "wellness" and the impact of wellness practices on quality of life. Because "wellness" is a contemporary concept, an understanding of it's many dimensions and lifestyle/behavioral determinants must be mastered before proceeding to the specific wellness practices discussed later in this course. All students should complete a lifestyle assessment found in the text or offered over the internet in order to determine their current practices and identify those most needing change.
Use the resources linked above in order to answer the following questions (which are the objectives to be mastered in this lesson):
 | 1. Discuss the "wellness" concept, including contemporary definitions of
"health" and "wellness" and how they differ. |
| 2. Identify and discuss the dimensions of health/wellness. |
| 3. Describe the benefits of a wellness lifestyle. |
| 4. Discuss the primary influences on wellness. |
| 5. Explain the basic elements of behavior change. |
| 6. Analyze and discuss your personal lifestyle practices and identify those needing improvement (you need to complete a lifestyle inventory analysis in order to complete this objective). |
Assignments:
1. Complete
the lifestyle inventory analysis found in your textbook (pp.
23-28) and assess your level of wellness using the special scoring system.
Answer the 3 follow-up questions at the very end of the assessment and e-mail
them to the instructor in MS Word format.
2. Scan the major news websites for health/wellness related articles. Write a brief description of at least 2 news stories related to wellness and how you feel about them. Your report should be about 1/2 page for each news story. E-mail them to the instructor in MS Word format. Some of the major sites include http://www.usatoday.com http://www.msnbc.com http://www.cnn.com and others of your choice.
3. Briefly, but completely answer the objectives listed above in written form (typed or hand-written)
4. Begin scanning the CD that came with the text for information related to each chapter. This assignment does not have to be turned in.