Don’t feel like you’re thriving? Maybe it’s a Philosophical Imbalance.

We’re pretty familiar with the idea of physical health. Mental health? Getting there.  

But, there’s a deeper layer to well-being that often goes unnoticed, something that ties it all together. It’s what I call health of the self.

Existential or Philosophical health, is about living with inner coherence. It’s about aligning your beliefs, values, and actions, so you’re not just surviving, but living in a way that feels whole, grounded, and true to you.

Think about it. In a world full of noise, speed, and uncertainty, many of us are asking: “What’s the point of all this?”, “Why do I feel empty even when things look fine from the outside?”, “How do I make choices that truly reflect who I am?”

These aren’t psychological concerns. They’re philosophical ones. And when we ignore them, they often show up as anxiety, burnout, or a vague but persistent sense that something’s off.

So how do we care for our philosophical self? Let’s explore.

But first, what is Philosophical Health?

It is the capacity to live reflectively, rather than reactively. It’s the integration of lived experience with examined belief. It’s not the absence of struggle, but the presence of orientation, an inner compass that helps us walk through complexity with a sense of meaning, even if not always certainty.

To be philosophically healthy is not to have all the answers, but to live in dialogue with the questions. It means asking:

• What does it mean to live a good life?
• What do I believe about suffering, freedom, death, and love?
• What values shape my decisions, even unconsciously?

Many people report feeling “off” without knowing why. They may not be unwell in the medical sense, but there’s a dissonance, a fragmentation. Philosophical health aims to address that deeper layer of being.

Six dimensions of Existential Health

Luis De Miranda’s SMILE_PH model identifies six existential senses. According to him these senses make up the fabric of philosophical health. They are less like rigid categories and more like tuning forks, when one is off-key, the whole symphony feels strained.

Let’s explore them!

1. Bodily Sense

This is the foundation, the recognition that you are a body, not just someone who has one. Philosophical traditions have emphasized embodiment, not just as a physical state, but a form of consciousness. Reflect:

• How often do you live as if your body is merely a tool to be pushed or improved?
• When did you last feel fully present in your body, without judgment?

The body is where all thinking begins. To neglect it is to lose the most immediate site of experience and meaning.

2. Sense of Self

This is the narrative you live by. It includes memory, aspiration, identity, and the often unconscious beliefs that bind them. Reflect:

• Who are you, beyond your roles and responsibilities?
• Are you living a story you chose, or one that was handed to you?

Philosophical health asks you to see your “self” as a living question. Not fixed, but evolving. Not a label, but a landscape.

3. Sense of Belonging

We are not isolated minds floating in space. We are embedded, in culture, in history, in nature, in community. Our identities are relational. Reflect:

• Where do you feel most at home, in a place, in a relationship, in a cause?
• Do you carry any grief around disconnection, from people, land, or tradition?

To belong is not merely to be accepted, it is to feel woven into the greater fabric of life. Without this, philosophical disorientation sets in.

4. Sense of Possibility

A crisis of possibility is one of the deepest forms of suffering. When we feel trapped, not because the situation is impossible, but because we’ve lost the imagination to see beyond it. Reflect:

• Do you feel like you have choice in your life?
• Where have you begun to live as if “this is just the way it is”?

Philosophical health requires that we remain capable of envisioning. Of imagining. Of creating meaning, even in constraint. Possibility is a philosophical act.

5. Sense of Purpose

What guides you when no one is watching? What principle do you return to when life gets chaotic? Purpose is not about a grand destiny. It’s about orientation. The ability to move in a direction that feels true, even if uncertain. Reflect:

• What values do you come back to, again and again?
• When have you felt most aligned with yourself?

Without purpose, freedom becomes weightless. It’s not that we lack options, it’s that none of them feel real. Purpose grounds our choices in something deeper than preference.

6. Philosophical Sense

This is the meta-layer, the reflective space where you hold your beliefs up to the light. It’s where you ask not just what you believe, but why, and whether it still fits. Reflect:

• What is your worldview? Is it inherited, chosen, or a mix of both?
• What do you believe about death? About justice? About being?

Many people live by philosophies they’ve never consciously examined. Philosophical health invites you to live awake, to think your own thoughts, and to revise them when they no longer serve life.

Cultivating Inner Coherence

It isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about staying engaged, asking questions, reflecting, and showing up with honesty and curiosity. It’s a lifelong practice, not a finish line.

Here are five takeaways you can start with today:

1. Your worldview matters– It quietly shapes how you live, love, and lead.
2. Journaling and dialogue build clarity– Don’t just think, write, speak, reflect.
3. Seek alignment, not perfection– You don’t have to get it “right”, you just have to make it real.
4. Mindfulness helps– Start with your breath, your body, your now.
5. Live the questions– Some answers take time, and some grow as you grow.

Final Thought

Philosophical health is the glue that holds our inner life together. When we tend to it, we don’t just reduce stress or boost productivity, we reconnect with what it means to be fully, humanly alive.

So if you’ve been feeling off lately, not sick, not burned out, but somehow… misaligned, maybe it’s not just a mental or physical issue.

Maybe it’s a philosophical imbalance.

Start small. Ask a question. Take a breath. And begin.