Dedicating yourself to learning and problem solving is not as simple as just attending school. For some of those who do not fit into the school system very well, they prefer to teach themselves what they want, at the pace they want, and how they want. They become autodidaktikos, which is Greek for “self-taught.” Autodidacts are those who prefer to teach themselves, commonly rejecting the enforced school system and sometimes the optional (though fruitful) school system (K-12 and University, respectively). Choosing the autodidactic path can look different for everyone, but there are some commonalities among those who engage in autodidactic activities. One commonality I already mentioned is rejecting the school system(s). While I do agree that mandating education for children and adolescents is beneficial in most cases, some are better off learning on their own with the guidance of a mix of wise, knowledgeable, and intelligent mentors. I expand more on the education system in subseque
Hello everyone, welcome to my blog, Wellness in Meaning. My name is Sophie. I suffer from a chronic illness and ADHD. Just getting out of my second hospitalization due to my illness, I decided that I will blog about my recovery journey. I want to recover my mind and body in all facets of my life; I want to improve my physical health, my cognition, my symptoms, my role functioning, and my ability to produce meaning in my life and in the world (wellness is nothing without meaning). I will write about a variety of things relating to wellness including my fitness progress, my emotional health, my intellectual pursuits, my musical and creative ventures, and some of my symptoms and medications.
Some facts about me: I am an intense, passionate soul with a love of learning and beautiful things. As an amateur photographer and writer of poetry, I am into aesthetics as a way of expressing myself. Philosophy and the arts are what guide me through life, while the sciences keep me grounded. I love learning about medicine and mental health. As I am down to earth, I enjoy doing photoshoots in nature, so you’ll see a lot of that on my blog and Instagram. I’m a bit of a hippie at heart with a touch of intellectual angst. Meaning is not inherent to our lives, we must create it, so that is why it is at the core of self-care and in the title of my blog.
This wellness journey will rely on effort, time, and trial and error. If I find something that works well for me, I will post about it and explain how others can do it too. Likewise, if I find something not so helpful, I will post about how to avoid the pitfalls I encountered in trying it. I really think this will be an interesting journey considering my symptoms tend to be unique for the illness I have and there will be plenty of opportunity for creative expression.
The main goal I’d like to accomplish here is to inspire and help people with their own wellness journeys, with or without the added challenges of comorbidities. Ultimately, this will be a wholesome blog about wellness and recovery. I hope you’ll join me on my wellness and existential adventures. Thank you for reading, and have a lovely week.
-Sophie
Hi Sophie
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insights.
What does wellness look like? Where are we and what are we doing when we are well?
I’m always evaluating what is important to me and what gives meaning to my life. Sometimes the sacrifices I need to make to achieve “meaning” may seem extreme to onlookers.
Curious what another view of being well is. Can you share?
Hi Grace
DeleteWellness in general looks like good mental and physical health. This is individual though because "goodness" of health is relative, taking into account any conditions one may have. Where we are and what we are doing when we are well is also very individual, as each person's story and wellness journey is different. For example, a person who has a passion for painting would be well if they were well in the aspects of health that relate to not just overall well-being but those that relate to art, as art provides meaning to the person's life. If this person incorporated painting into their life often enough, as long as general wellness needs are being met, this person would be living in wellness through meaning. Now, would incorporating horseback riding in this artist's life be beneficial to their well-being? Maybe, if they also have a passion for horses, but if they dislike horses, forcing them to horseback ride consistently would not greatly help their well-being through meaning/purpose (although the exercise aspect would help with overall wellness, it would probably still be more detrimental to this specific person).
About you, if you have evaluated your sources of meaning and you find that they are helpful to your wellness journey, then continue doing what you are doing. You have to be honest with yourself though, and ask yourself "am I sacrificing to much of one thing to feed into another thing?" If you feel that how you are deriving meaning from life is beneficial for you, then, do not worry too much about what others say. While it is good to have others' opinions sometimes, use them for reflection, but don't let others' opinions dictate what you should do in your life.
Thank you for your comment, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask!
Hi Sophie
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insights.
What does wellness look like? Where are we and what are we doing when we are well?
I’m always evaluating what is important to me and what gives meaning to my life. Sometimes the sacrifices I need to make to achieve “meaning” may seem extreme to onlookers.
Curious what another view of being well is. Can you share?
Hi Sophie! I am on the same journey!
ReplyDelete