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What Does Health Mean?

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We usually generalize the term ‘health.’ However, it is the most crucial part of our life and lifestyle. In today’s article, we will explore what health means and the various aspects of our health. What does it mean to be a healthy person, and what are the practices we can do regularly to keep ourselves healthy.

Introduction – What Does Health Mean?

Health means the physical and mental state. It is a state of having a complete absence of any diseases and general inabilities. Health is a crucial factor because it is a medium to explore life. If a person is not healthy, they might not be able to live the moment compared to that of the healthy person.

Source : Let’s Learn Public Health

According to The Health Policy Partnership, “Perhaps infirmity and disease can coexist with health. This would mean that there is not a binary ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ state, but rather a spectrum. In our lifetimes, we all experience periods of good and bad health. And we may even experience the two states at the same time.”

WHO’s Definition of Health and Wellbeing?

In 1948, the World Health Organization formulated its definition of health as:

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Importance of Health

As we have already seen, health is our channel through which we explore life, so it is essential to maintain good health. Good health not only helps us to stay away from diseases but also increases our life span. When a person is healthy, he is well equipped to deal with the challenges that he has to face in his life.

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Even if we have all the things in life except good health, we won’t be able to enjoy those things because health is a medium through which we can touch, feel, understand everything. Hence, we should always try to improve our health and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

To achieve the goals in our life, we need to stay focused on our resources, efforts, and abilities. Health is a prime resource for us to execute our plans. Therefore, as mentioned by Steve Jobs in his iconic Commencement speech at Stanford, he said that the ‘time is limited.’ Hence, we should identify the importance of health and not waste our time dealing with the consequences of not maintaining good health.

What is Physical Health?

There are multiple dimensions of health, and physical health is one of the essential aspects of it. Physical health means the overall functioning of our body and all the biological processes. Physical health mainly consists of our strength, endurance, and over flexibility. There are multiple ways where we can maintain our physical health in good condition.

For example, if a person can do his routine activities naturally and is free from diseases, we can say that the person is healthy.

The Factors Determining Physical Health

Some of the factors which determine our Physical health are are mentioned below.

1) Exercise

A person who regularly does exercise has more chances of having and maintaining good health. It gives more flexibility to the body and helps the person to stay away from diseases. In some cases, exercise also helps to cure the existing diseases.

2) Diet

You might have heard the famous phrase, “You become what you eat.”. A diet doesn’t mean maintaining a zero figure; it means having a balanced approach while eating our food. Our body needs various types of nutrition and vitamins to function correctly. Therefore, the proper diet is an essential factor in maintaining good physical health.

3) Rest

We all are biologically human beings and not machines. Along with healthy food and exercise, we also need to take proper rest from time to time. If we are not giving adequate rest to our body and mind, we will soon face a situation like burnout, which can cause a threat to our health.

These are some of the prime factors which are responsible for maintaining our good health and well-being. Now let’s talk about mental health, which is also equally important.

What Does Mental Health Mean?

Mental health is directly associated with our inner selves as it determines how we feel, think, understand and act in any particular situation. Mental health consists of our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It is responsible for our behavior. If we are mentally fit, we will be able to make better decisions that shape our lives.

What Does Health Mean
Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash

Multiple factors are responsible for the condition of our mental health. The factors affecting mental health are as follows.

1) Past Life

Past life is one of the main factors that can affect our mental health. If a person had any good or bad experiences in his past life, they might have to face its consequences in the later stage of life. Sometimes we often take this burden of past life, and that affects our mental health.

 2) Physical Environment

The environment around the person is also responsible for affecting a person’s mental health. It can happen in positive or negative ways. It is the reason why some people prefer to go on a vacation to get relief. Sometimes changing the environment can bring positive changes in the mental health of a person.

3) Social Life

As we know that man is a social animal, We are independent on an individual level and interdependent in a society. Our perception, experiences, and behavior in social life affect our mental health. 

These are some of the factors which are associated when it comes to impact our mental health. There are some practices like meditation, music therapy that can bring significant improvement in mental health.

What Does Social Health Mean?

As we have already seen that man is a social animal, he has to interact with other people in a society. Social health means the ability to interact with other people and build relationships with other people. It is not just applicable to any particular environment of people, but this is applicable in general.

Source : TEDx Talks

We can practice it by building and maintaining a healthy relationship with friends and helping colleagues or even strangers, maintaining good vibes in the social environment, ensuring good interpersonal connections with peers at the workplace. Social health mainly includes skills of public interaction by maintaining personal, ethical & social values.

Now, let’s see the factors affecting our social health.

1) Skills

Skill is one of the main factors which is associated with our social health. If a person has good communication skills, He has a better chance of building meaningful conversations with other people, leading to more interaction with the people around him.

2) Self Confidence

Self-confidence is something that is directly associated with our minds. It is our perception of ourselves and our abilities. If a person lacks self-confidence, he has a chance of losing some opportunities to build meaningful connections with other people in social life.

3) Lifestyle

A lifestyle of a person also affects the social health of a person. Further, the financial, educational, and social situation of a person is a significant factor in shaping a person’s social health.

READ : Can Anxiety Or Stress Cause Diarrhea?

Is health the most important thing in life? 

Health is an essential thing in life because it is a medium through which we explore everything in our life. If we are not healthy enough to think, feel, understand correctly, it will affect our behavior, habits, and overall quality of life. Bad health not only affects our current lifestyle but also impacts our future. Here are five benefits of good health.

Source : WHO

What are the Benefits of Good Health?

The benefits of a good health are as follows.

1) More Time

A healthy person has more time than a healthy person because he is not required to deal with diseases or illnesses. It helps him gain more time and focus on essential things in his life, such as his goals and plans.

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2) Self Esteem

According to some experts, help is associated with self-esteem, and if a person is healthy, then the level of self-esteem is observed higher. Directly or indirectly, it gives a boost to self-confidence.

3) Longer Life Span

People who regularly ensure a good and healthy lifestyle have a longer lifespan. As per the research of Harvard Health Publishing, “Being fit was associated with living longer. This held true at any age.”

4) Lower Medical Expenses

If a person is healthy, then the medical expenses are also lower. Even the medical insurance companies charge a lower premium to those who don’t have any illness or diseases

5) Total Capacity

A healthy person can work full capacity because they don’t have to worry about illnesses or diseases. Of course, the covid-19 pandemic has taught us to take precautions, and we have to follow that even after the pandemic is over. It’s because we can work on our plans and make efforts if we are healthy enough to work on them.

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Conclusion

Health means physical and mental state. It is a crucial part of our lifestyle because it is a medium we explore our lives. If a person is healthy, then he can live the moment with his 100% natural capacities. Good health helps us to stay away from diseases and illnesses. It increases our lifespan and hence allows us to achieve the goals in our life.

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Physical health means the functioning of our biological process. It means the working of our body parts and internal organs. Proper exercise, diet, and rest can help us to maintain good health.

What Does Health Mean?
via Oksana Kurmaz Art & Animation on GIPHY

Mental health means emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Factors such as past life, physical environment, and social life can affect a person’s mental health.

Social health means the ability to interact with other people in a society. It means how well we can communicate with other people and have meaningful connections with them. Factors such as skills, self-confidence, and lifestyle can affect the social health of a person.

Considering all the benefits of health, it is the most critical thing in life. Good health has the benefits such as a longer lifespan, more time, more self-esteem, lower medical expenses, and total working capacity.

Some practices improve physical, mental, and social health that can help us live a meaningful life. What is your idea of a healthy life?

Especially after the pandemic, we all have understood how important it is to ensure good health. What do you think we can do to improve our health? Feel free to share your opinion in the comment box below.

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Yashodhan Walimbe
WRITTEN BY

Yashodhan Walimbe

Yashodhan Walimbe is a founder of Nearmonk and loves to write on topics such as spirituality, self-help, etc. When he is not writing, he works as a freelance digital marketer.

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