Back in 2016, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published a brief document titled “What Individuals in Recover Need to Know About Wellness.”
In it they discussed, Why is Wellness Important?, and The Eight Dimensions of Wellness: https://library.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/sma16-4950.pdf
But wellness also has important implications for substance use prevention specialists, teachers, coaches, parents and health professionals who work with youth and young adults.
This paper will describe how wellness is as important to the prevention of drug use and misuse as it is for those recovering from substance use disorders.
We’ll also offer some examples of how to integrate wellness into drug prevention for young people.
Why is Wellness Important?
According to SAMHSA, wellness is important for individuals with behavioral health issues because it can “improve quality and years of life.”
Wellness is ubiquitous when discussing recovery from substance abuse and mental health problems.
An online search using the words “Wellness and Recovery” found 829 million results!
But is wellness also important for drug prevention?
In an article published last year on “Mental Health and Well-being for the Prevention of Substance Use Disorders” in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry (2024) the authors concluded that:
- There is a clear relationship between problematic substance use and poor well-being across different age groups.
- The pathways that influence the risk of developing mental health issues, such as problematic substance use, overlap with those that build resilience and well-being.
- Interventions that reduce risk or increase protective factors can lead to greater well-being and reduced mental morbidity, including problematic substance use.
- Universal interventions, which include multiple components, such as nutrition, physical exercise, and self-regulation are likely to have greater effects on well-being and mental morbidity: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10911324/
The results of this review of research indicates that wellness, or well-being, is clearly linked to substance use and mental health.
Furthermore, programs promoting wellness are important for preventing problematic substance use and mental health issues.
Wellness-promoting lifestyle behaviors like regular physical activity, healthy nutrition, sleep and self-care promote mental health and less substance use: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/lifestyle-to-support-mental-health
8 Dimensions of Wellness
SAMHSA has identified Eight Dimensions of Wellness for achieving improved quality of life and longevity. These dimensions, along with a description and examples of how each can be addressed by prevention specialists, are presented below.
PHYSICAL: Recognizing the need for physical activity, diet, sleep, and nutrition.
· Communicate the benefits of healthy behaviors and how they help avoid drug use and promote mental and physical wellbeing, performance and happiness.
· Discuss how substance use harms one’s ability to engage in healthy habits and achieving personal improvement goals.
INTELLECTUAL: Recognizing creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills.
· Have youth explore new hobbies, experiences and activities that interest them and promote mental and social development.
· Discuss how drug use harms brain development, thinking, learning and educational success.
FINANCIAL: Satisfaction with current and future financial situations.
· Share resources with students about local opportunities for part-time work and opportunities to make money.
· Have youth create a prioritized list of what they’d like to spend their money on and show how the cost of drug use and addiction would significantly reduce their purchasing options.
ENVIRONMENTAL: Good health by occupying pleasant, stimulating environments that support well-being.
· Encourage youth and give them opportunities to get outside in nature or visit a park to walk, play sports, exercise, meditate or relax.
· Have students identify an indoor space where they can go to experience quiet and contemplate, relax, listen to quite music or nature sounds and experience peace and calm to promote mental health and reduce stress.
SPIRITUAL: Expanding our sense of purpose and meaning in life.
· Give youth opportunities to meditate, practice deep breathing or pray to enhance inner peace, reduce daily stress and find meaning in their lives.
· Provide students with resources and opportunities to act on their values by volunteering to help others in their school and community, such as serving on a youth drug prevention coalition.
SOCIAL: Developing a sense of connection, belonging, a well-developed support system.
· Have students make a list or a chart showing their relationships and communication patterns (direction, amount of time) with friends and family members, and how they’d like them to change in the future.
· Have youth set a goal to go places or do things to make new friends, especially those that would support their goal to live an active, healthy lifestyle.
OCCUPATIONAL: Personal satisfaction and enrichment derived through one’s work.
· Share resources with students about available local, regional and state careers and work options and have them make a list of possible careers/work they would like to learn more about and report on one of them.
· Introduce youth to careers in the substance abuse, prevention and mental health fields.
EMOTIONAL: Coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships.
· Have students make a list of their strengths to positively express emotions and feelings and handle stress in their lives, and those emotions/feelings/stress aspects they’d like to improve.
· Have youth set a short-term goal to improve their ability to identify and express their emotions or reduce stress in their lives, including avoiding substance use which increases stress and blunts emotional expression.
Conclusion
While wellness is often identified as a critical component of successful recovery, it is also essential for preventing substance use and improving the mental health of young people.
Substance use prevention professionals and others who work with youth and young adults should use the dimensions of wellness to develop creative strategies for integrating wellness and prevention for improving well-being.