Living a Life You Love: A Workbook for a Richer, More Beautiful Life

By Diane S. Brissey LCSWC

Working as a therapist for the last twenty-five years, author Diane S. Brissey has focused on her own growth as well as that of countless others. She’s identified factors that both hinder and help the path to wellness. She believes an overall wellness plan is key to overcoming today’s mental health issues, health crisis, and our own drive for fulfillment in our lives.

In Living a Life You Love, she offers a workbook, a compilation of her years of experience in helping her clients overcome obstacles such as depression and anxiety, financial stressors, and relationship issues to create a life filled with lasting health and joy. By evaluating eight dimensions of wellness and creating changes in your life, she shows you how to live a life you’ll love.

For those who may be experiencing problems with a family member, struggling with a feeling of depression, or just questioning your purpose in life, Living a Life You Love sets you on the journey to personal wellness, helping you feel complete, whole, and fulfilled.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Aug 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781982259624

Diane S. Brissey LCSWC

Diane S. Brissey, LCSWC, has worked as a therapist for more than twenty-five years, taking her training as a clinical social worker and creating a wholistic perspective for clients she has worked with through the years. Brissey became interested in the role of nutrition, movement, and lifestyle choices in producing optimal wellness and is a certified primal health coach and a mental health integrative medicine provider in addition to being a clinical social worker.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 Diane S. Brissey, LCSWC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views

of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of

treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or

indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest

for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself,

which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9822-5961-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-5962-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020923880

Balboa Press rev. date:   08/03/2021

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Assessment

Chapter 2: Physical Wellness

What Is Physical Wellness?

Barriers to Getting Healthy

Nutrition

Movement

Chapter 3: Social Wellness

What Is Social Wellness?

Connecting with Others

Intimate Relationships

Chapter 4: Emotional Wellness

What Is Emotional Wellness?

Understanding Your Emotions

Changing How You Feel

Meditation

Journaling

Focusing Your Intentions

Chapter 5: Environmental Wellness

What Is Environmental Wellness?

Benefits of Nature

Decluttering

General Environmental Health

Chapter 6: Spiritual Wellness

What Is Spiritual Wellness?

Values

Meditation

Spirituality and Nature

Building a Community

Gratitude

Chapter 7: Financial Wellness

What Is Financial Wellness?

Steps to Creating Financial Wellness

Developing Your Dream

Finding the Joy in Giving

Creating a Financial Wealth Mind-Set

Chapter 8: Occupational Wellness

What Is Occupational Wellness?

Identifying Your Purpose

Stress and Work

Goal Setting

Chapter 9: Intellectual Wellness

What Is Intellectual Wellness?

The Sky’s the Limit

Creativity

Connection and Community

Learning and Personal Development

Appendix A:  Month of Journaling

Appendix B:  Value Reflection Exercise

Introduction

Over the years working as a therapist, focusing on my own growth as well as that of countless others, I have been able to identify factors that both hinder and help our path to wellness. I have come to believe that having an overall wellness plan is the key to overcoming today’s mental health issues, health crisis, and our own drive for fulfillment in our lives. In 2018, I created Acadia Counseling and Wellness, which would become a wellness community focused on all aspects of health and wellness. I am excited to continue that journey by creating this workbook for those who may not be able to engage personally with our services. I hope to share with you at least a portion of what we provide to our clients so that you too can begin—or perhaps continue—your journey to personal wellness.

At this moment, you may be experiencing problems with a family member, struggling with a feeling of depression, or just questioning your purpose in this life. I will identify eight aspects of wellness that I believe we all need to focus on in order to feel complete, whole, and fulfilled.

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By honestly evaluating and improving your life in each of these areas, you will be able to more accurately identify where you are struggling and need improvement and where you excel. Throughout this workbook, I would like to challenge you to unleash your potential by identifying your personal goals and dreams as well as the obstacles that you allow to get in your way. I will help you to evaluate where you are now in each of these areas and develop a plan to get you to where you want to be. Please don’t see this as a one-time event in your life. I would encourage you to, at least once a year, reevaluate yourself in all areas, as our needs, goals, and desires continue to change over time.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day that you stop focusing on where you want to put your energy and instead just go through the motions with no real plan or goal in mind. It’s that day-to-day rut when at some point you stop to question, Am I really moving forward with what’s important to me? Oftentimes, I encounter clients who do not have a clear destination in mind when asked what they want to create for themselves. Without a goal in mind, it is all but impossible to hit the target. You too may feel stuck and be unsure about what you need to do to change your situation. As a result, you may be devoting time and energy to routines, problems, or tasks that do not bring you any closer to your destination. Together, we will renew our commitment to ourselves and to those who are most important in our lives. You will take charge of your life, feel energized, and become intentional in your day-to-day interactions.

Throughout this workbook, you will find a menu of items that can be used to improve your overall wellness. Your job is to pick and choose those items that are right for you. As I stated before, this is not a fix it and forget it type of workbook. Hopefully, you will use it year after year to reflect on where you are and where you want to be. As our lives change and we grow, so do our priorities, our hopes, and our dreams. As we reach one destination, we