Holistic Well-Being
In recent years, a more holistic view of health and well-being has gained traction in the field of human service, including social work, medicine, and psychology. There are two notable changes in the research on well-being. First, the growing emphasis on the interconnectedness of body, mind, and spirit means that a person’s total well-being does not depend only on a single domain (physical, emotional, or spiritual), nor is it a simple sum of all domains. Second, spirituality is increasingly differentiated from religiosity, and viewed as embodying fundamental values, beliefs, and meanings of life. To this end, an instrument was developed to measure holistic well-being in terms of affliction and equanimity. Affliction as a consequence of maladaptive attachment is similar to depression but qualitatively distinct, with components of resentment, jealousy, and bitterness coming into play. Three factors are associated with the concept of affliction, which includes emotional vulnerability, bodily irritability and spiritual disorientation. Equanimity as ideal state of well-being is first and foremost characterized by a sense of unflappability and resilience in face of challenges, which is composed of non-attachment, mindful awareness, general vitality and spiritual self-care. Holistic Well-being is conceived as the absence of affliction and presence of equanimity.
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