Dimensions of Wellness and the Health Matters Program at Penn State

Being well can no longer be thought of as one-dimensional. Rather, being well should be thought of as the delicate balance among many dimensions. This article offers a five-dimensional model to describe how wellness is multifaceted. The dimensions discussed are physical, mental! emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and social. In addition, Penn State's faculty and staffwellness program, Health Matters, offers programs that help participants keep their own dimensions in balance. Prior to 1940, people were considered healthy ifthey displayed no symptoms of disease. In1940, the World Health Organization (WHO) provided a new definition. It stated that health was "a state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. " The defini