Monique Munoz

Professor Knott-Silva

HED 044

03/24/2019

Project 1: Personal Prescription Paper

I used to think that I was fairly healthy before taking this class. After learning in depth

about all of the different dimensions of health, I realized that I wasn’t as healthy as I thought I

was. I wasn’t aware that you had to be balanced in all of the dimensions to be okay. Often times,

when people think about health, they usually think about physical health completely disregarding

mental, emotional, and environmental health.

As of right now I don’t exercise like I used to. I usually work six days a week and I am

almost always sitting down. I don’t go to the gym anymore so I would estimate that I only get

around three hours of exercise a week. One year ago, I used to go to the gym almost every day.

My physical activity has changed drastically. Since I don’t exercise the way I used to, I try to

make up for that by trying to eat healthy most of the week. I’m not really someone who loves

sweets so I don’t eat that much junk. I try to eat home cooked meals all week, with the exception

of going out to eat on the weekend. I try to eat a lot of chicken, fish, and fresh fruits. I took a

self-assessment relating to all of the dimensions of health. For my physical activity I scored a

14/20. My score isn’t too bad but it tells me that some risks are showing. Another dimension

tested was my social health, social health being interactions with your family/friends and things

of that nature. For that section I had scored an 18/20 which didn’t really surprise me. Even

though I don’t always think I'm a social person, I have good healthy relationships with my family

and friends. I could be honest with both groups and I know I have the support from them and
vice versa. A third dimension tested was my emotional health. It asked about things like how

comfortable you are showing emotion and if you recognize when you are stressed. I scored a

17/20 which isn’t so bad. I don’t resort to drugs and alcohol is wrong in my life and I try to get

through them with the help of my family. I am also very comfortable showing my emotions to

people in a positive way. Another dimension that was tested was my environmental health which

I ended up scoring an 11/20. I scored really low in this dimension but that didn’t surprise me. It

made me aware of the problem I need to change and fast. I do not recycle and I use a lot of

unnecessary plastic. I need to be more well aware of my plastic and water consumption. Next,

my spiritual health was tested and I scored a 17/20. I always take the time to think about what I

want in my life as well as what’s important. I also always do caring things for people without

expecting anything in return. My intellectual health was also tested and I scored a 17/20 in this

dimension. When I was younger, I never really thought about my actions and their consequences.

Now, I weigh out my options and think about their possible consequences. I also have hobbies

that I like to do when I am stressed. Drawing and photography are my escapes at times when I'm

stressed. The final dimension that I was tested on was my personal health promotion /disease

prevention which I scored a 19/20. I’d like to think of myself as a responsible person who

doesn’t put themselves at risk. I don’t starve myself or have any eating disorders. I also make

sure that the tattoos I get come from a good respectable shop that is clean. Similarly, I get myself

tested for STD’s and I make sure I am responsible if I engage in any sexual activity.

There are many simple ways that I could improve or maintain my current health. One of

them being getting more physical exercise. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to go to the

gym, I could simply go on walks with my dog two times a day. I could also improve my

environmental health by buying less packs of water bottles and going to refill my gallon at the
store. I didn’t realize how many water bottles or cartons we throw away until now. Another way

I could improve my environmental health is by remembering to take my reusable bags to the

market instead of always purchasing them at every market trip. I could fix my emotional health

by learning how to relax and breathe when I become stressed. At times it could be hard to deal

with stress but if I learned how to do breathing exercises or yoga that might be a big help. Lastly,

I could improve my intellectual health by learning how to manage my time better. I am very

forgetful at times so I should have a notebook of tasks I have to do daily to help.

It is important to sustain a healthy lifestyle for many reasons. You have to have a balance

between your health dimensions because most of the time they go hand in hand. “Studies have

found an association between both physical and psychological health and academic success”

(Donatelle P.3). If you are depressed you are most likely to miss class and assignments. This

causes you to have bad grades and fall behind in class. Stress is also one of the highest obstacles

that affect your academics by 30.3% (Donatelle P.2). It is important to learn how to deal with

stress and problems so you won’t turn to the bottle when you’re feeling down. “Alcohol causes

88,00 deaths in adults annually through cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, and other

diseases, as well as motor vehicle accidents and violence” (Donatelle P.8). People should have

healthy hobbies that distract their mind and at the same time aren’t life threatening. Someone

could also take up running as their way to ease off some stress. You'll be clearing your mind and

at the same time working on your physical health. One last and crucial reason it is important

sustaining a healthy lifestyle is because you’ll live longer without any diseases. The top leading

cause of death for all ages is diseases of the heart. If we put some effort to exercising and

watching what we eat, we might have a chance of changing this.

 After becoming aware of my own personal health, I have created three goals for myself to

try to improve my overall health. My first goal is to exercise more and to be more mindful of

what I eat. I found an article online called “Holistic Approaches for Health Education and Health

Promotion.” It states that the Indian experts proposed that “overeating, excess of sleep, lack of

exercise, and anxiety may cause narrowing of channels in the body, resulting in heart attack and

death" (Itharat). I know I don’t want to die or have a heart attack so I am going to try to get at

least thirty minutes of exercise a day. I am also going to try to eat more fresh fruits, vegetables,

and less meat. Sometimes when I get bored or stressed, I overeat so I'm going to try to catch

myself next time I want to do that. A second goal that I have is to be more aware of the

environment, my plastic consumption, and my water consumption. At times I could get lazy to

go refill my water gallon so I end up buying around three packs of water bottles. There are

twenty-four water bottles in a pack, that’s a lot of wasted plastic! I have to get in the habit of

going to refill my gallon and stop using so much plastic. I found an article called “Dimensions of

wellness: Change your habits, change your life.” The author gave tips on habits and how to self-

regulate. “Habits, in fact, are key to wellness. For better or worse, habits very much influence

health, well-being, and quality of life. If you are striving to improve these, you need to think

about habits, because if you change your habits for the better, you change your life for the better”

(Stoewen). I agree with the author because if we initiate the process of change, sooner or later we

are going to form good habits. I want to form the habit of not using as much plastic as I currently

do. I also want to form the habit of only using water as I need and not stay in the shower longer

than I need to. My last goal is to learn how to cope with stress and depression. A way to achieve

this goal is by practicing meditation and yoga. I can learn how to meditate and that would calm

and relax me. I could also go for a run or a walk to clear my mind and refocus. I’m not the best at
coping with things at times so I should research ways to do so. Sometimes I get so stressed that I

just go crazy and can’t focus. My old English teacher in high school recommended that I write

things down that I have to get done throughout the day. I will go back to this method so I won’t

get as stressed and physically see what I have accomplished throughout the day.

Overall, your health is way more than just your physical health. You should be aware of

all the dimensions of health which are physical, social, emotional, environmental, intellectual,

emotional, and spiritual. You need a balance of all these dimensions to live a healthy life. Ways

to change our behavior towards these are by increasing our awareness of where were at with our

health and by thinking about change and how we’re going to accomplish this change. We should

also be aware of how not only we’re affecting our bodies with our habits but the environment

also. Although change could not always be easy, there is many simple ways we could start.
 Works Cited

Donatelle, Rebecca J. Health: The Basics, the Mastering Health Edition. Benjamin Cummings,

2016.

Itharat, Arunporn. “Holistic Approaches for Health Education and Health Promotion.” Proquest ,

World Heart Journal , 29 Aug. 2017, search-proquest-

com.ezp.pasadena.edu/healthcomplete/docview/1931517759/9E1C95304F5B4BF7PQ/7?

accountid=28371 .

Stoewen, Debbie L. “Dimensions of Wellness: Change Your Habits, Change Your Life.” NCBI,

PMC, Aug. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5508938/.