Examine the dimensions of wellness New Year’s resolutions abound with intentions to lose weight, eat healthier and exercise. But good health parameters actually involve five dimensions — physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual. At St. Benedict’s Senior Community, we know that taking care of the whole person is vital. With our housing tenants, we are promoting wellness as a quality way of living. But wellness really places the responsibility on the individual. It becomes a matter of self-evaluation and self-assessment. So as you make your resolutions for 2013, think about the five following elements. Emotional Wellness Emotional wellness is the ability to understand your own feelings, accept limitations, achieve emotional stability, and become comfortable with your emotions. Emotional wellness implies the ability to express emotions appropriately, to adjust to change, cope with stress in a healthy way and enjoy life despite occasional disappointments. At St. Ben’s, we encourage residents and tenants to build friendships and have a support system to maintain emotional wellness.

Linda Doerr, Vice President of Senior Services

Intellectual Wellness
Intellectual wellness is a state in which your mind is engaged in lively interaction with the world around you. Intellectual wellness involves unbridled curiosity and ongoing learning. This dimension of wellness implies that you can apply the things you have learned to create opportunities to learn more and actively engage in the world around you. Our Therapeutic Recreation staff challenge our residents’ minds with trivia and other games during weekly events. Card games, crossword puzzles and reading the newspaper also keep the mind active.

Social Wellness
Social wellness provides confidence and ease to be friendly, outgoing and affectionate toward others. Social wellness not only involves a concern for friends and family, but also an interest in humanity as a whole. The various activities and outings at St. Benedict’s Senior Community provide many avenues for social stimulation.

Spiritual Wellness
Spiritual wellness is the sense that life has a meaning and purpose. Ethics, values and morals guide us and provide direction for daily living. Spiritual wellness is a search for meaning in human existence leading one to strive for a state of harmony with self and others. It also includes working to create and maintain balance of inner needs with the rest of the world. Having a chapel at Benedict Village and daily Mass at the Care Center as well as access to ecumenical services assists our residents’ spiritual growth.

Physical Wellness
A healthy body is maintained by good nutrition, regular exercise, avoiding harmful habits, making informed decisions about health and seeking proper medical attention when needed. To remain well, physical wellness requires that you take preventive measures such as: eating well, getting enough sleep, maintaining a balanced diet, getting plenty of physical exercise, and restricting intake of harmful substances such as drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Whether it’s chair dancing or a low-carb diet, St. Benedict’s works with each resident to help him/her live life to the fullest.

Linda Doerr
Vice President of Senior Services

For a personal introduction to our community or to schedule a tour, please call (320) 252-0010 for St. Cloud and (763) 295-4051 for Monticello.