What Is Wellbeing? Psychological Wellbeing | Wellbeing Applications

Wellbeing can be briefly described as having our experiences of happiness, health, and prosperity at a sufficiently high level. It depends on the wellbeing of our mental health, a high level of life satisfaction, having at least one life purpose, and being able to manage stress. Wellbeing is what everyone is looking for in their lives nowadays because it encompasses many positive attributes like feeling happy, being healthy, and having a social life. In fact, the answer to the question “What is wellbeing?” covers a very broad area.

What is Wellbeing?

One of the first answers that can be given to the question “What is wellbeing?” is feeling good about ourselves and our lives. The absence of illness or worries does not necessarily mean that our wellbeing is high. Wellbeing is more related to physical, mental, emotional, and social health factors. Additionally, although it does not clearly answer the question “What is wellbeing?”, we know that it is strongly related to life satisfaction and happiness. Moreover, the factors that affect our wellbeing are often interconnected with each other. For instance, our job not only provides us with a means to earn money but can also give us a sense of purpose, help us make friends, and create a sense of belonging. Furthermore, some factors can fill the void created by negative influences on our wellbeing. For example, if we have a happy marriage, we can experience the pain of a lack of friends more lightly, or our religious beliefs can make it easier for us to cope with a physical illness.

Our wellbeing is influenced by changes in almost every area of our lives. Here are some factors that can increase people's wellbeing:

• A happy and healthy romantic relationship
• Time spent with close friends
• A satisfying and fulfilling work-life
• A satisfying income
• Regular physical exercise
• Healthy and regular nutrition
• Spiritual or religious beliefs
• Enjoyable hobbies
• High self-esteem
• A positive outlook
• Realistic and achievable goals
• A meaningful and purposeful life
• A sense of belonging
• The ability to adapt to change
• Belief in living in a fair and democratic society

Corporate Well-being and Employee Wellbeing in the Workplace

The answer to the question of “What is wellbeing in the workplace?” does not significantly differ from the general answer to “What is wellbeing?”. What is essential is that our wellbeing in the workplace increases when we improve and maintain the things we value. Developing professional skills that align with our life's purpose and maintaining a healthy work-life balance influences our wellbeing in the workplace. By doing so, we can enjoy our work more and achieve greater success. As we improve our wellbeing in the workplace, we begin to find our workdays more meaningful. 

Since we spend a significant proportion of our lives at work, we can say that our wellbeing in the workplace has a substantial impact on our overall wellbeing.

What Are the Benefits of Wellbeing?

We may frequently hear the question “What is wellbeing?” and strive to support our sense of wellbeing. But do we know the benefits of increasing our wellbeing? What is wellbeing in terms of beneficence? 

 Let’s take a look at the advantages of high wellbeing in different areas:

• Physical Wellbeing: What is wellbeing in a physical sense? Physical wellbeing occurs when we feel safe despite the physical challenges and threats life presents. When we have good physical health, we recover from or even avoid illnesses more easily. We have more energy and, therefore, do not tire quickly. With high physical wellbeing, we can engage in a wider range of physical activities. For instance, if everyone is going on a mountain hike and we think we will get out of breath and be unable to complete it, we might choose not to join and feel left out or unhappy. However, if our physical wellbeing is in good shape, we can join our friends and have an enjoyable day. Additionally, physical health contributes to higher self-esteem, which, in turn, increases our overall wellbeing.
• Emotional Wellbeing: What is wellbeing in an emotional sense? Emotional wellbeing means being able to cope with life's challenges, uncertainties, and perceived threats. Emotional wellbeing provides a foundation for establishing healthy and supportive relationships, contributing to increased social wellbeing.
• Occupational Wellbeing: What is wellbeing in an occupational sense? Occupational wellbeing signifies contentment with the chosen profession. The close connection between maintaining work-life balance, finding our work meaningful, and enjoying our job plays a crucial role in our occupational wellbeing. Our wellbeing at home and in our social life supports our occupational wellbeing, and likewise, occupational wellbeing enhances our wellbeing at home and in social life.
• Intrinsic Wellbeing: What is wellbeing in an intrinsic sense? High intrinsic wellbeing boosts our love and gratitude for life. It helps us see the parts that make up and do not make up ourselves. We understand better that we are not merely defined by our thoughts or behaviors.

How Is Wellbeing Achieved?

As important as the question “What is wellbeing?” is to know how it is achieved. To increase our sense of wellbeing, we need to take actions that affect different areas of our lives. For instance, high occupational but low physical wellbeing may create a mismatch in our lives, which negatively affects our overall wellbeing. To ensure a balanced wellbeing, we may need to make some changes in our lives or strengthen certain characteristics. Here are some of the things we can do to enhance our sense of balanced wellbeing:

• Investing time in strengthening our social bonds: building and sustaining strong relationships with family and friends
• Maintaining nutritious eating habits: consuming foods that are rich in nutrients.
• Engaging in regular physical exercise.
• Participating in events and activities that interest us, such as theater or cinema.
• Cultivating a positive mindset: encouraging positive thinking.

Psychological Wellbeing Scale

The 18-item version of the psychological wellbeing scale is widely used and it focuses on six different dimensions. These dimensions are self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. Individuals complete the scale by indicating how much they agree or disagree with the items. Let’s go through the dimensions to learn about the different aspects of wellbeing:

1. Self-acceptance involves having a positive view of ourselves and accepting our different qualities. Example items on the scale include: "When I look at the story of my life, I am pleased with how things have turned out," and "I think it is important to have new experiences that challenge how you think about yourself."
2. Positive relations with others encompass forming warm, satisfying, and trusting relationships and showing empathy and understanding toward others. Example items are: "People would describe me as a giving person, willing to share my time with others," and "Maintaining close relationships has been difficult and frustrating for me."
3. Autonomy involves self-determination, independent thinking, and action. Example items contain: "I rely on the judgments of others to make important decisions," and "I am confident that I can make my own decisions about what I will do."
4. Environmental mastery deals with being able to control and choose complex activities, seize opportunities, and select contexts that are suitable for one's personal needs and values. Example items include: "Some people wander through life without a purpose, but I am not one of them," and "From time to time, I feel like I have done everything that could be done in one’s life”
5. Purpose in life refers to a sense of directedness and intentionality, understanding that life is meaningful, and having goals in life. Some items on the scale are: "I am committed to living my life for a reason," and "I have a sense of direction and purpose in life."
6. Personal growth relates to seeing personal improvement over time and developing one's potential. Example items on the scale contain: "For me, life has been a continuous process of learning, changing, and growth," and "I have a sense of mastering new challenges."

Characteristics of Individuals with High Psychological Wellbeing

Research indicates that individuals with high levels of wellbeing tend to exhibit certain characteristics. These can include experiencing fewer physical illnesses, bouncing back quickly from setbacks, and being more productive. Maintaining a positive emotional state can actually bolster the immune system, rendering the body more resilient to diseases. Plus, a positive outlook and emotional resilience may play a role in expediting the healing process. Also, those with high wellbeing are inclined to adopt healthier lifestyles, which contributes to the rapid recovery from illnesses and the maintenance of their physical health. Moreover, individuals who feel good about themselves and their lives often excel in various domains of life and can make valuable contributions to their communities and environments.

Many people associate wellbeing with being cheerful and carefree. There is a common belief that only individuals with these characteristics possess high levels of wellbeing. But it is essential to remember that anyone can improve their wellbeing with the right motivation. People with high wellbeing often approach life with an open-mind and a positive attitude, which makes them more willing to work on their wellbeing. Especially when facing tough times, maintaining focus on wellbeing can be challenging, but it is worth the effort.

Wellbeing Applications

The key to an effective wellbeing application lies in setting goals related to behavioral change. With appropriate intervention, people can develop the necessary skills, maintain their motivation, and receive the social support they need to make sustainable changes in their behavior.

One example of a wellbeing application is the "Exercise for a Good Day" exercise. In this exercise, individuals are asked to reflect on whether they had a good or bad day and identify the reasons for their evaluation. The exercise prompts participants to assign a numeric value to their day's quality, like rating it on a scale from 1 (worst day) to 10 (best day). This exercise is sustained for at least two weeks. Upon completion, participants answer a set of questions:

• What were the factors or circumstances that led to rating the day as "bad"?
• What contributed to rating the day as "good"?
• Can activities or experiences that contributed to a "good day" be incorporated more frequently into one's life?
• Can there be more frequent interactions with individuals who contributed to a "good day"?

By answering these questions and reviewing the past weeks, individuals can realize the factors contributing to the wellness of their daily lives and shape their days accordingly. 

Another wellbeing application can focus on increasing positive emotions since they enhance self-awareness and encourage innovative thinking and behavior. In this application, we can select three positive emotions that we feel rarely, such as gratitude, contentment, appreciation, curiosity, love, closeness, and trust. Then, we can consider the ways to experience these emotions more frequently in our lives. Finally, we will put these strategies into practice!

In improving your wellbeing #RelateByYourSide!

Deciding to increase your wellbeing is a good start on this journey. If you need a hand in enhancing your wellbeing, you can record your daily emotions and review your day on Relate. You can also start the “Gaining a Positive Perspective” journey to have a better perspective on life and achieve a higher wellbeing!