Ever wondered if Health and Wellness are two words with the same meaning (synonym). A Lot of people often use these words without actually knowing the difference, but trust me they are two different terms that compliment each other. While one of the terms means “good health or full bloom, the other is the process in which you can attain the first”. We shall be talking about all the components or aspects of individuals that are related to their health.
In order for us to understand thoroughly what these terms (Health and Wellness) are; we have to know the meaning. To enable us to forge ahead, Let’s first and foremost get a brief definition of these terms (Health and Wellness).
So we’ll be considering the definition of the World Health Organisation (WHO), and according to (WHO):
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of sickness and diseases. While
Wellness is a positive approach to living. An active and dynamic process of change and growth to reach one’s full potential.
Having gotten the meaning of health or Wellness, I am sure we can tell the difference between the words now. I would like to cite a scenario to differentiate Health and Wellness.
Health: A case of early age diagnosis of type 1 diabetes or a predisposition of heart disease
Wellness: Deliberate decision/choice to schedule regular doctor’s visits, eat a balanced diet, and exercise more.
Now let’s talk about the complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being of individuals. We are going to be discussing them one after the other, staying positive approaches to reach one’s goal is related to Health and Wellness.
Physical Health refers to the state of your physical body and how well it is functioning, physical health is one aspect of the total well-being of an individual, and physical health impacts or affects the other aspects of Health. In order for this dimension of health which is our physical body to operate well, you must choose to:
- Eat a healthy diet and drink lots of water.
- Practise proper hygiene by keeping your body clean and free disease by brushing your teeth, bathing twice daily and doing your laundry (washing dirty clothes).
- Exercise daily by intentionally strengthening your physical body through workouts.
- Sleep at least eight (8) hours every night.
Social Health is an individual’s overall well being which determines the ability of an individual to form and maintain interpersonal relationships. Ways to improve on social health includes intentionally:
- Meet people everyday.
- Try out new things and visit new places .
- Be approachable, open and easily accessed for questions and discussion.
- Nurture your already existing relationships.
- Stop judging and blaming others.
Mental Health comprises our emotional, psychological and social well-being, it affects the way we feel, act and think. Mental health helps determine how we make choices related to one another and how we handle stress as individuals. It affects one’s behavior, mood, and thinking, some factors that contribute to mental health include:
- Life experiences such as abuse
- Family history of mental health
- Biological factors like genes
Some signs of mental illness are as follows:
- Social withdrawal
- Long lasting sadness
- Extreme changes in mood
- Excessive anxiety or worry
- Dramatic change in eating and sleeping habit
Approaches to improve one’s mental health:
- Love and value yourself, treat yourself with kindness and avoid self criticism
- Surround yourself with good people
- Get help when needed
- Stay clear of alcohol and drugs
- Set goals for yourself, what you want to achieve academically, personally and professionally
- Take care of yourself by eating healthy and drinking lots of water
- Learn how to deal with stress.
So here we have been able to differentiate between health and wellness, and talked about the three dimensions of health such as physical, mental, and social health and the various positive approaches or processes in which one can take to reach its full potential.