Health and Wellness Discussion

When we approach discussions about wellness, we each come to conclusions with our own perspectives that have been shaped by our experiences. As we begin our first discussion, take a moment to consider what has influenced your ideas of wellness and compare those ideas with what you read in this module’s readings. Then, address the following:

• Introduce yourself to the class by sharing a bit about yourself, such as your preferred name, where you’re from, and your major.
• In your own words, define the term wellness and discuss how it is used or impacts your daily life. How does your definition compare and contrast with those that were presented in the readings?
• What is the influence of wellness on your chosen field of study or future profession? How can you use your understanding of wellness in your professional career?

In response to your peers, provide feedback about their definition of wellness. Compare and contrast your answers and consider the following:

• What are the similarities and differences between your peer’s response and yours?
• How do the two definitions of wellness help to illustrate how wellness and society are intertwined? How can a perspective through the four lenses help to provide a greater understanding of wellness?

Let’s start the course by checking what you know about the general education lenses! We’ll be using them throughout the course, so it’s important to make sure we’re all on the same page. This knowledge check uses multiple-choice questions to help you check your understanding of the lenses and provide feedback to enhance your understanding. You have two attempts at this activity, so take advantage of them.

Having developed a definition of wellness in the last module, this week we’re turning to how wellness applies to you personally. This could be related to your personal experiences or things you’ve observed of those around you. Because Milestone One is also due this week, we’ll start to discuss the issues and events that interest you. Consider the eight dimensions of wellness and the module resources, then choose the dimension that is most relevant to your program of study or professional experience. Make sure you specify in the subject line which dimension you chose. Then address the following in your initial post:

• List three factors that you think could help people improve their levels of wellness, and then list three challenges that you think people could face with regard to that dimension.
• Describe an event related to wellness that either you or someone around you has experienced. What did you take away, and how did it enhance your understanding of wellness?
• Share a current issue related to wellness that you have found interesting or that has personally impacted you. Post an article from a news source. How does wellness help you better understand this issue?

Post at least two responses to your fellow students. When responding to your peers, select peers who have chosen different dimensions from yours. Compare and contrast your chosen dimension and issue with theirs. What do you like about your peers’ explanations, and what would you add?

Over the past two weeks, our readings and discussions have been focused on establishing a baseline for understanding wellness. In this module, we’ll begin our tour through the four lenses, beginning with history. As we dive into the four lenses, keep in mind that each lens is framed as a way of seeing the issue and is not necessarily tied to the associated discipline. So, looking through the historical lens isn’t just about History Channel documentaries—it’s also about how you use the lens to understand the past and present. As you write your initial post, answer the following questions:

• In what ways does looking through the history lens enhance your understanding of wellness?
• Consider a current event in the news that has a historical counterpart. How does looking through the history lens influence how you perceive both the current and historical events? Please share a news link to your events.
• How does analyzing the relationship between history, culture, and wellness have an influence on your discipline of study or chosen profession?

Review the module resources and overview, then select a popular culture example. (It can be a television show, a commercial, a game, a movie, etc.) Analyze the representation and social message that is associated with the example. If you like, you can select a particular episode of a show.

In your initial post, briefly describe the popular culture example you selected and address the following:

• Share a link and/or summarize your topic so that we all have enough information to understand your discussion even if we are unfamiliar with the example.
• Discuss how your example relates to the concept of wellness as defined in this course and how it relates to specific challenges or supports of wellness.
• What are the social implications of this message? Briefly discuss any potential social impact or response to the example.

In response to your peers, provide feedback about the example used and the social message that was provided. Are there other messages being represented?

Search the internet for a recent news event (i.e., within the last six months) about scientific advances in supporting wellness. The event should come from a well-known news source, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, NPR, PBS, BBC, National Geographic, The New York Times, and so on. Post a link to the news story, and in your initial post, identify the following:

• Summarize your news story and its contributions to the science or STEM fields.
• If your news event is overtly related to wellness, how does this event contribute to wellness studies? If your news event does not directly relate to wellness, how could the science behind your event be applied to wellness studies?

In response to your peers, provide feedback about their news story and describe the value of the scientific lens for understanding wellness.

So far in this course, we have explored wellness through the lenses of history, the humanities, and the natural and applied sciences. In this module, you will wrap up your draft of Final Project Part One with Milestone Four, and the social sciences lens is the last piece of the puzzle. Look back over the topics you chose to discuss in previous discussions, select one, and reexamine it now through the social sciences lens. In your initial post, address the following:

• Describe or summarize your previous topic.
• How has your understanding been affected by the social sciences lens?
• How does the social sciences lens support the lens you previously used?

In responding to your peers, provide feedback on their topic analysis and describe the value of the social sciences lens for understanding wellness.