What Is Well-being and What Does it Mean to Be Well?

5 min readDec 23, 2024

Well-being is something that many of us know we want. But what is well-being? And what is the true meaning of being well? And where does wellness fit into the picture? In this article, we will explore these topics to help expand your understanding of well-being and its importance for leading a healthy, happy life.

The Difference Between Wellness and Well-being

While the terms “well-being” and “wellness” are often used interchangeably and inconsistently, there are some key differences. Let’s unpack the meaning of wellness and well-being and explain how the two concepts are connected.

What is Well-being?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of well-being is “the state of feeling healthy and happy”. This is a very broad concept. Put simply, well-being is a multifaceted state of feeling well in every area of life. A key component of well-being is that it is holistic; this appreciates the interconnected nature of all the aspects of health. Therefore, well-being is a blend of physical, mental, psychological and spiritual health to create an overall sense of fulfilment, contentment and purpose. Another key component of well-being is that it is deeply personal. What contributes to one person’s well-being might not be the same for another.

What is Wellness?

Is wellness the same as well-being? Not exactly, but they are connected. Wellness focuses more on the active pursuit of maintaining good health in specific areas. According to the Cambridge dictionary, the definition of wellness is “the state of being healthy, especially when it is something that you actively try to achieve”. This state is attained and maintained by health-supporting habits such as sleeping and eating well and moving your body. Therefore, wellness can be thought of as an element of well-being; the activities, thoughts and behaviours that create well-being. With this in mind, the word wellness can be used to describe one aspect of overall health e.g. physical wellness or financial wellness, with each pillar of wellness adding up to holistic well-being.

Wellness vs Well-being Explained

In summary, well-being is the broader, more subjective concept of living a fulfilling life in a holistic sense, while wellness is a more specific, action-oriented approach to maintaining and improving health in various dimensions with a view to achieving a state of well-being.

“Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind, and spirit — the realisation that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an effect on our state of well-being.” — Greg Anderson

The 8 Dimensions of Wellness Explained

If we understand wellness as a proactive process focused on health-related behaviours, what are the different dimensions of wellness that contribute to our well-being? There are generally considered to be 8 mutually-interdependent elements of wellness: physical, emotional, social, intellectual, financial, vocational and environmental and spiritual.

Physical Wellness: Taking care of your body in a way that supports your current and future health.
Emotional Wellness: Understanding and respecting not only your feelings but also the feelings of others, connecting with and managing your emotions in a healthy way and feeling positive about life.
Social Wellness: Maintaining healthy relationships and contributing to your community.
Intellectual Wellness: Continually expanding your knowledge and skills, sharing these with others and responding in a healthy manner to intellectual challenges.
Financial Wellness: Managing your resources for both short-term and long-term financial needs.
Vocational Wellness: Applying your unique skills and gifts to fulfilling, meaningful work that is aligned to your goals, values and lifestyle.
Environmental Wellness: Appreciating the impact your social, natural and built environments have on your health and well-being and contributing to planetary health through your daily habits and actions.
Spiritual Wellness: Having purpose and meaning in your life as well as conducting yourself in a way that is aligned to your beliefs and values.

The combination of these elements add up to a thriving life where you can achieve a state of well-being; where you feel truly well.

What Does It Truly Mean to Be Well?

There is no one-size-fits-all notion of what it means to be well. Therefore, to be well, one must acknowledge both the holistic and deeply personal nature of well-being. However, it can be helpful to think of being well as the fullest embodiment of health in a holistic sense. As the World Health Organisation says: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This underlines that being well encompasses much more than just physical health or the absence of illness. Rather, being well is a state of balance and vitality in multiple dimensions of life, a unique blend of the mutually-interdependent elements of wellness that feels harmonious for us as an individual.

Holistic Well-being: Balancing Mind, Body, and Spirit

It is this holistic approach to well-being that appreciates the interconnected nature of the mind, body and spirit. That is why any attempts to improve your well-being must take a 360-degree approach rather than simply working on one aspect of health or wellness. For example, if you have physical pain or discomfort, it is integral to focus on both physical and mental wellness due to the mind-body connection. Everything is connected, after all, and the root cause of your pain may well be mental or emotional, even if it is manifesting physically. Furthermore, when you work on one area, there is a ripple effect to every aspect of wellness and an impact on overall well-being.

Wellness Practices for a Balanced and Fulfilling Life

How can you enhance your well-being? By focussing on each and every of the elements of holistic wellness. This may feel overwhelming but by starting to focus on one area, you will soon see a knock-on effect on other areas. The first step is to reflect on all the dimensions of wellness (physical, emotional, social, intellectual, financial, vocational and environmental and spiritual) and decide on one area that you would most like to improve first. For example:

Social: seeing one friend per week.
Emotional: working with a therapist.
Intellectual: reading 1 non-fiction book per month.
Physical: training for a half-marathon.

Whenever you feel sufficient improvements in one area or a new habit becomes ingrained, you can shift your focus to another pillar of wellness. In doing so, you can take small but consistent steps towards the deeply personal sense of holistic well-being we have defined in this article.

Embarking on Your Personal Wellness Journey

No matter what you are going through in life at the moment, you can take action to set off on your personal wellness journey and enhance your well-being. We have a variety of mental health, addiction and well-being treatment programmes that are 100% bespoke to your unique needs. You can contact us any time.

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