HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Health & Wellness, what is it? Health is defined as the overall mental and physical state of a person; the absence of disease.

This isn’t entirely the same thing as wellness. Wellness refers to the state of being in optimal mental and physical health.

But wellness is more than that. It’s about living a life full of personal responsibility and therefore taking proactive steps for one’s entire well-being.

Health and Wellness  means that a person living life very well controls risk factors that can harm them. Risk factors are different types of actions or conditions that increase a person’s chances for illness or injury.

Let’s take a look at just some risk factors. Smoking is a risk factor. It is a risk factor for developing lung cancer among many other terrible problems. Mountain climbing is a risk factor. It is a risk factor for everything from broken bones to a swollen brain.

Alcohol is a risk factor. It is a risk factor for developing liver damage. Unprotected sex is a risk factor as well. We all know that you can get some very nasty sexually transmitted diseases with unprotected sex, including HIV.

Types of Wellness

• One dimension of wellness is physical. This means we exercise, eat well, practice safe sex, don’t do any dangerous activities like jumping off of buildings, and so on. Physical fitness increases physical wellness. By being physically fit and well, you are better able to take care of yourself and others, especially in a time of need. You are also better able to prevent illness and disease.
• Another dimension is intellectual: Critical thinking, being curious, and always learning new things. Developing intellectual wellness is critical not only to help a person grow in school and do better at work, but it actually prevents the onset of disease. It’s been shown that people who regularly learn new things and challenge their mind can stave off many mental health problems.
• A further dimension is emotional: Being confident, having a solid self-esteem, building trust, and being able to understand another’s feelings. A person who is emotionally well is aware of their feelings and is able to properly cope with them. Emotional wellness also implies a person can deal well with stressful situations.
• Furthermore, there is an interpersonal dimension of wellness: Having good communication skills, the ability to establish good and healthy long-term relationships, and having good relationships with family and friends. Interpersonal relationships are very important in order to maintain a good emotional and physical state of being. We are, of course, ‘pack animals,’ so to speak, that depend on one another to survive and live well.
• There is also a spiritual dimension of wellness: Developing compassion, forgiveness, being caring, having a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Spiritual wellness doesn’t automatically imply the need for religion in a person’s life. These same things can just as easily be developed and found through things like nature, meditation, volunteer work, and family.

Source: Study.com