Describe an experience within your community related to one or more of the eight dimensions of
wellness in which bias had an impact.
What did you take away from this experience, and how did it influence your understanding of
wellness?
How does having a better understanding of bias influence your thoughts about this experience and
about wellness?
For me, this is a challenging question to be able to answer. I struggle with this because I feel like I try
to look at things from all perspectives. I would say something that I grew up with and worked with
when I was younger though was that of not being the same religion as most people in the state.
Making friends who would not try to push religion on me was always a challenge. This never
bothered me because I am fine with anyone and their religious choices. I would say it has caused
bias when meeting new people who are not from the state and the first questions will always be
asked are you...? I would say there is some bias in opinions when it comes to people from the state.
It is something a lot of times is implicit bias from people in this state. I do tend to see though that
many people who live here because of the lack of diversity there is implicit bias from them as well
because they may something they do not fully see as people having an issue with and even after it is
explained they do not often see it still. I think this fits in all of the dimensions of wellness.
I always try to understand things and listen and be open to all things. I know I have my own biases at
times and may not even recognize them. I think what all this teaches me is to continue to look for
those. Seeing some of the biases that are impressed by others. Being aware and trying to make
yourself better is always important and helps to make oneself better and work on our overall
wellness. c
This week’s module resources have provided excellent information on the 8 dimensions of wellness.
The eight dimensions include emotional wellness, environmental wellness, financial wellness,
intellectual wellness, occupational wellness, physical wellness, social wellness, and spiritual
wellness. Each dimension has certain “tasks” associated with obtaining wellness through that
dimension. For example, our SAMHSA Eight Dimensions of Wellness state that for intellectual
wellness, one should be a lifelong learner by expanding one’s knowledge and finding creative outlets
that stimulate your mind and sense of curiosity (SAMHSA, 2016).
Using the intellectual dimension, I have watched my younger sister struggle for years after her high
school graduation to find adequate stimulation for her mind. Let me elaborate, she decided that
college wasn’t for her and in truth, it's not for everyone. Her initial plan was to go to cosmetic school
but the main hurdle was finding the money to enroll. After about a year and a half of trying to save
money, find the right location for her, her search began to diminish. I should preface this with the
fact that she is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and Major
Depressive Disorder, most of these can go hand in hand and have very similar symptoms to each
other.
Apart from these “setbacks” if you will, she has always tried her hardest to get to wherever she
wants to be in life. The past three years after her search for a cosmetic school ended, she has stuck
with working at call centers, retail, and management positions. It can be easy to get lost in the
negative when life seems to be going in the opposite direction of what you saw for yourself, and
countless phone calls with her later have always resulted in the same narrative. At heart, my sister is
one of the most creative people that I know, and watching her struggle to fuel her mind with various
methods that are not conducive to a happy life (drugs and alcohol), I wonder if this is one dimension
that is lacking, and contributing to her feelings towards where she is at in life currently. Intellectual
wellness does not explicitly state that higher education is the key, it states that one must try to be a
lifelong learner. Reading, meeting new people, going to new places, finding your passions and
theories that interest you most would all aid in one’s intellectual wellness. Although there are
factors that may make it more difficult for my sister to reach out, try new things, and explore her
interests, I believe that fueling her mind may help take the load of life off her shoulders, even if just
for a little bit.
I was going to start this discussion reflecting on what I have been through with Covid 19 and the
eventual lock down that occurred throughout the country and how that effected my social wellness
as I did not have the opportunity to go out with friends and family, however, the news reported
today that there was a murder less than a mile away from my home. So, taking this opportunity to
share about that and how that murder is making me fell. As I wrote in my first post, I am a recent
widower and lost my partner going on a year on August 25th 2021. c c The murder however is making
me feel thankful that at least my partner died with dignity, at home, surrounded by loving family and
friends. c I need to be grateful for that. c The person who was murdered was a transgendered woman
who went out to the local store and is now never going back home to loved ones and their loved
ones will have the heartache of dealing with the loss of someone who died for being open of who
they are. I think about and makes me feel sad and happy at the same time. c I feel sad that as part of
a hate and biased that still exist towards people of different lifestyles or race in our current world
and that hate drives some people to murder. I also feel happy that I was fortunate to have my loved
one died in a safe space and that gives me comfort. Comfort that all the current rash of hate crimes
will not impact her. Due to my partners death I have been feeling stressed with finishing my
undergrade program and was considering to just drop out, but with the death of the innocent
person who was killed just for living his/her life as best as they could I feel I owe it to my partner, the
transgender who was killed and to myself since I have the privilege of keeping my education going. c
In my head it's my way of starring fear and hate in the face and saying you can't scare me, and I will
go on and meet my goals to live my best life.
An experience in my community where bias impacted me involved dental insurance and care. Tricare
dental is always searching for the most cost-effective vendor to provide dental insurance for military
families. Dental insurance is not included in primary healthcare benefits and must be enrolled, and
members pay premiums. There came the point where the coverage was worse than the state-
provided insurance in CT, or so I was reminded every time that I scheduled appointments for my
children at their local pediatric dentist. Treatments plans and payments were excessively discussed,
and reminded of the problems with our insurance. Appointments were very unwelcoming, and they
were reluctant to schedule appointments for those possessing our insurance at the time. These
occurrences are related to emotional, physical, social, and financial areas of wellness. Biases impact
our wellness and can be prevalent in our communities (Smith, 2021).
At the time of these experiences, I was just focused and persistent in seeking out dental care for my
children. The experience made me feel stuck, even with having insurance. I cannot imagine how
those who do not have insurance are impacted. It gives me insight into healthcare biases that more
deeply exist. Biases affect everyday lives even if we are unaware when they occur and amplify if we
are. Business and healthcare biases affect the well-being of our community individually and as a
whole.
While this experience did have negative impacts, there was a positive impact. Many providers
removed our insurance from being in-network, forcing our insurance to become better by pointing
out its deficiencies. However, the biases at the office should not have occurred as the face of their
practice. Patients should not be treated differently based on their insurance type (Smith, 2021).
I have decided this week, to discuss a personal experience that I have recently gone through. I
have lost 85 lbs. since January 1st. I was a college basketball player years ago (I am 37 now), and I
had always been in great shape. Up until the last 5 years ago, I maintained a healthy lifestyle. But last
year, I got on the scale. I had ballooned up to 270 lbs. I was shocked to say the least. I decided as my
New Year’s resolution, that I would re-commit to a weight loss plan, and better all aspects of overall
wellness. So, I did a LOT of research on diets etc. I am now 185lbs and living the healthiest and
happiest life to date. I am also writing about dieting/weight loss for my Final Project because it hits
close to home. There is nothing like experiencing the ups and downs of losing a significant amount of
weight, and hard work that you have to endure to achieve it. The mental and psychological hurdles
are even tougher than the physical aspects. Of the 8 dimensions of wellness; physical, emotional,
financial, and environmental all had an impact on me.
What I took away from this experience is simple. Losing weight/dieting is a lifestyle change,
not just a body change. They mental and emotional hurdles that I had to endure were just as difficult
as the running and jogging. It is a commitment. Your mind and your body are constantly at a tug of
war. Having a better understanding of bias allowed me to appreciate the process as a whole. Losing
85 lbs in 6 months, your body and emotions go through many changes. You see the way people look
at you and the reactions they have. You can also see how people may judge your lifestyle in one way
or another, and sometimes you even see jealousy and animosity.
c c The last 6 months have made me realize the true meaning of wellness. The state of being in
good health, especially as an actively pursued goal. I have lived this since January 1st. It is why I
chose this class. To learn more about the finer points of wellness and living/maintaining a healthy
lifestyle.
As this class has already shown, the eight dimensions of wellness are vital to the overall wellbeing
and health of an individual and a community. This discussion topic reminded me of the time during
nursing school where I worked at the Veterans locked psychiatric unit where I spent two months
working alongside mental health specialists in helping support these young veterans through their
mental health struggles and working to improve their social, emotional, and physical wellness.
Throughout my time in this unit, it was clear that not only is there a lack of mental health resources
in the United States, but there are many biases that negatively impact those who struggle with
mental illness.
Some of these biases include the false stigmas that those with mental health disorders are
dangerous, “crazy and unhinged”, and completely incapable of being functional and productive
members of society. While not everyone holds these exact viewpoints, they have enough of an
influence on society that those with these disorders often feel such shame and discrimination when
they voice their issues or try to seek help that they often refuse until they have no choice. Being able
to understand the struggles these veterans face can help me work with fellow public health workers
on ways to educate the public and dismantle these harmful stereotypes. It also taught me that
negative mental health biases have an immensely negative impact on the overall wellness of the
individual by alienating them and affects whether they try to seek help and treatment.
I had an experience within the community setting relating to the physical dimension of wellness in
which bias had a major impact. The physical dimension of wellness fundamentally revolves around
caring for one’s body and staying healthy in the present as well as in the future (Stoewen, 2017). The
specific experience that I had involved an obese man living in my neighborhood who was trying to
reduce weight by curtailing the intake of calories and excess fat. During a feast in the community, he
had vowed not to consume any unhealthy food as it could adversely impact his weight. However,
after a few hours, he was unable to resist his temptation and consumed a large quantity of junk food
and became sick the next day. The specific bias that was observed is restraint bias.
Restraint bias arises when a person overestimates his or her level of self-control in the face of some
kind of temptation (Are biases hurting your health? | wellness | US news. US news, 2016). In the
specific community setting, the obese man overestimated his expectations to control the urge to
consume unhealthy food, and he ultimately gave in to his temptation. Thus, the specific bias played
an instrumental role and impacted the physical wellness aspect of the person.
The experience served as a major eye-opener for me. It made me realize that even though a person
may have confidence in himself to focus on his personal wellness, the inability to have proper
control can act as a major barrier. It is necessary to identify one’s capabilities to resist temptations
that could adversely affect one’s health and wellness. In case the temptation is extremely high, one
might want to take more strict measures to resist the temptation. In the community setting, even
though I had previously seen the obese man control his eating habits, his lack of control in the
specific occasion showed that restraint bias could have an adverse impact on one’s well-being. The
event has reshaped my comprehension of wellness. To attain wellness at the comprehensive level,
one must be able to overcome diverse kinds of biases that may arise.
Every person needs to have a complete and thorough understanding relating to biases and how they
might influence one’s thoughts. The insight into bias has made me rethink the specific experience
and the concept of wellness. As it is human nature to have several kinds of cognitive biases, one
must take into consideration such tendencies to thinking when it comes to health and wellness. The
personal beliefs and opinions that one has may play a key role in skewing one’s perspective and give
rise to health-related implications. The experience that I have shared gives a glimpse into how the
overestimation of one’s capacity can drive a person towards making unhealthy decisions. It is vital to
think in a practical and logical manner by eliminating biases so that the wellness of a person would
not get compromised because of personal views and beliefs. Since biased perceptions can lead to
risky health behavior, it is vital to keep a check on these elements (Arni et al., 2021).
References
Are biases hurting your health? | wellness | US news. US news. (2016). Retrieved July 6, 2022, from
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2016-10-05/are-biases-hurting-your-health
Arni, P., Dragone, D., Goette, L., & Ziebarth, N. R. (2021). Biased health perceptions and risky health
behaviors—Theory and evidence. Journal of Health Economics, 76, 102425.
Stoewen, D. L. (2017). Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life. The Canadian
veterinary journal, 58(8), 861.
Smith, A. (2021, August 31). Biases in healthcare: An overview. Medical News Today.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/biases-in-healthcare
SAMHSA. (2016, July 1). The eight dimensions of Wellness. YouTube. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDzQdRvLAfM
