We like pillars. There’s a noticeable structure and I recognise it. It’s a strong visual and has been used in many different aspects of corporate communications.
Wellbeing has now adopted the “pillar” approach. It makes sense there’s four separate aspects of wellbeing; physical, mental, financial and social.
What isn’t as straight forward to visualise in this form is how the four pillars work together.
At Mind & Mission we try to avoid talking about pillars and would aim to steer organisations from this communications approach. Although we can name four separate aspects, these are intertwined and ultimately shouldn’t be viewed in isolation.
We see the visual more as Venn diagram. Four aspects all interlinked, impacting each other constantly both positively and negatively.
Physical
Looking after our physical health is good for our mental fitness, proven to reduce cortisol, lessen anxiety and to some extent prevent depression. Exercise boosts our energy and releases “happy” chemicals to benefit our social presence and ability to connect with others. Maintaining a level of physical health can help us to avoid illness and days off work, which can impact our financial wellbeing.
Mental
How we feel, our emotional state, is driven by our thoughts and these emotions drive our actions and behaviours. Poor mental health could be as a result of factors affecting our physical, social and financial wellbeing in some small way or to a high degree; indeed to opposite is also true as poor mental health can cause you to avoid looking after the other areas too. Recognising when you are feeling low is a crucial part of managing your mental wellbeing.
Financial
There are many sayings around money but the simple truth is that we need “enough” to satisfy our basic needs. We are however, all different, with differing attitudes towards money and how much is “enough”. Clearly financial insecurity has a detrimental impact on our overall wellbeing, with research suggesting it is a direct link to declining mental health. Financial security also allows for worry free socialising and potentially a better work:life balance.
Social
Not everyone thrives in social situations or with other people but if Maslows hierarchy of needs is to be believed, we all require love and belonging in order to self-actualise (be our best self). This becomes difficult for those who are physically or mentally impaired.
It’s easy to visualise pillars falling down and taking the others with them, that I do see. In terms of looking after each one separately, we would urge everyone to be less siloed in their thinking and consider those overlaps.
