What Is Health and Wellness?

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Most people think that the terms health and wellness are the same, and use them interchangeably. A person may acquire optimum health and wellness or just one and not the other. Health and wellness have two different concepts. They should not be mistaken as one and the same, and there’s a need to differentiate one from the other.

The Definition of Health and Wellness

Health and Wellness (1) are two terms that have different meanings and origins. In the 1940s, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” However, this definition received criticisms for being unattainable and overly inclusive mainly because it broadens the definition of health, which is more than just the absence of illness.

The WHO further explained that the main determinants of health include physical, economic, and social environments, along with the behaviors and characteristics of a person. The way to improve and maintain good health, depends on people’s lifestyle choices, awareness and continuous of conscious efforts to stay healthy. In other words, it relies on wellness.

According to the WHO, wellness is the most favorable state of health for groups and individuals (2). It is also conveyed as a positive approach to managing day-to-day life. It entails doing healthy habits every day to achieve better mental and physical health (3) – instead of merely trying to make it through the day, you are thriving. Think of it as the dynamic pursuit of activities, lifestyles, and preferences that can help a person achieve the state of holistic optimal health (4).

Living a healthy lifestyle entails getting enough rest and sleep, having regular exercise, avoiding stressful things, having balanced life, eating a healthy diet, and visiting a doctor for a regular check up. It also helps a lot to refrain from smoking and excessive drinking. Your daily healthy choices can help pave the way toward acquiring optimal wellness.

Happiness, wellbeing, and health are the most common terms that are often interchanged with wellness. Each term indeed shares some common elements, but wellness does not refer to a static state of being unlike the other mentioned terms. It is closely associated with the active process of being self-aware and aware of the environment, and creating conscious decisions that can lead to optimum wellbeing.

The following are the points to consider regarding wellness:

It is considered evolving, self-directed, and conscious process of attaining full potential.
It is holistic and multidimensional – it includes the environment, spiritual and mental wellbeing, and lifestyle.
It is affirming, proactive, and always positive.

To help you to understand better the difference between health and wellness here is one example:

Health: Having liver problems.

Wellness: Choose a balanced diet, avoid alcohol, exercise more often, take prescribed medications, and have regular medical check-ups.

Good or optimal health is the goal, and wellness is the active process and conscious steps we take to achieve it. Wellness is not absence of illness, and it is more than being free from illness. Taking steps towards an optimal level of wellness is absolutely crucial to living a higher quality life.

Why Are Health and Wellness so Important?

We are holistic, multidimensional beings, and mental, physical, or emotional health are closely linked, and problems in one area can impact the other. Having all dimensions of our life interconnected, improving one area can affect all others.

Achieving higher quality of life is not just enough to be free of illness, but working towards higher states of health and well-being that would enrich life in all areas of your life.

We are in continuous emerging global changes and each person has different stress triggers. According to surveys, work stress is on the top of the list. Around 40% of workers in the U.S. experience office stress (5), and a quarter of workers declare work as their greatest source of stress.

Some causes of work stress include working for long hours, enduring poor management, working under precarious conditions, experiencing discrimination, being unhappy in place of work, and unemployment. Life stresses, chronic illness, COVID-19, uncertainty, financial security, death in the family, emotional problems, or divorce can put significant pressure.

Caring for our life and the wellbeing of ourselves and others should be our priority. Taking steps towards better health and wellbeing will enrich our lives and give more fulfillment and satisfaction in an ever-changing world.

Wellness vs. Healthcare

To know the primary differences between wellness and healthcare, take a look at the table below:

Health	Wellness
Refers to physical, social, and mental wellbeing	Engages the holistic well-being
Aims to make you feel better from your current ailment	Supports growth and thriving
Diagnosis and treatment of your injury, illness, or disease	Active process of providing, improving, and maintaining a good healthy and achieving optimum well-being
Provides necessary treatment	Prevents the occurrence of a disease
Gives attention to isolated issue	Analyze and provides holistic treatment
It is a clinician’s responsibility	It is an individual’s responsibility
Separate from daily life	Integrated into daily life

Dimensions of Wellness

Wellness is more than just a physically fit body – it is usually seen as having six dimensions. These are physical, emotional, mental, social, occupational, and spiritual.

Within those are also relations, financial,

1. Physical

The physical dimension recognizes a personal responsibility and care towards health and minor illness as well as seeking medical attention and treatments when is needed. It highlights a need for a regular physical daily activities, nutritional education and conscious eating and adequate rest. Having good health has psychological benefits of increase confidence, self-esteem, self-reliance, determination, sense of direction and the life purpose.

2. Emotional

The emotional dimension recognizes awareness, acceptance, self-regulation and healthy expression of one’s feelings. An emotionally healthy person is more emotionally resilient and optimistic, empathetic and hopeful. They don’t encounter trouble with expressing and feeling anger, sadness, fears, love, joy, compassion and happiness. A person can love and receive the same and achieve a sense of being complete. Taking charge of our own emotions is critical to success in our life.

3. Mental or Intellectual

Similar to the physical body exercise, the human mind needs to have a steady source of inspiration to help keep fit and healthy. The mental or intellectual dimension of wellness recognizes a need for creative, stimulating mental activities.

A mentally fit individual takes advantage of the available resources to enhance his skills and broaden his knowledge. Keeping active and engaging in activities that stimulate the mind promote enhanced creativity, problem solving, innovation, learning, and can promote increased confidence and connections.

It is acceptable to start attending a workshop for something that you find interesting, learn a new language, take time reading, appreciate art, or converse with people that challenge your intellect.

4. Social and Environmental

The social dimension encompasses a person’s ability to interact well with the family, community, and environment. Social connections and care is in the core of human nature.

This dimension entails creating a support network consisting of family members and friends, reaching out to the broader community, making stronger connections and providing help and support.

It also means being aware of the wider environment and nature, creating stronger connections and providing care. It is easy to build a sense of belonging when there are worthwhile contributions to the community and the world.

To take an active part in improving the world, we all should start by respecting everyone, encouraging healthier living and initiating better support and communication with those around us.

5. Occupational

The occupational dimension involves personal satisfaction and growth in one’s life through work and hobbies. It entitles our attitude and planning about how we use our talents, skills, and gifts, as well as time and utilizing them effectively and efficiently. Doing so can help to enrich our life, gain happiness, and discover true life purpose.

6. Spiritual

Spiritual wellness is all about exploring deeper connections to our hearts and everything around us, including nature, people and the universe. It supports appreciation and importance of life itself and all living beings.

Spiritual wellness goes deep and wide, bringing different qualities that lead us naturally and selflessly to forgiving, caring, and cultivating compassion. It leads to a balanced life and finding inner resources and resilience, meaning and life’s purpose. It also supports accountability and responsibility for our actions.

Living in challenging times, many people who experience feelings of stress, doubt, fear, depression, disappointment, or struggle to find their solid ground benefit from activities that enhance their spiritual wellness and fitness.

Call us today to discover what steps you can take towards your spiritual well-being and live a more fulfilled life.

Health and Wellness Trends

Health and Wellness had a significant shift since the beginning of the global coronavirus pandemic. Our routines have been disrupted, our lives have been impacted on all levels, and we are all slowly finding new ways in life.

Looking back, we saw how valuable life is and how important good health is connection to everyone, and emotional and mental resilience. That leads to better self-care, community, and the environment.

It became more apparent that moving forward, new values or priorities in life will emerge and, with that, new needs and habits. To make a stronger presence in the ever-changing world, it appears that the following characters will be necessary:

Mental and emotional resilience, and self-regulation
Physical health and fitness
Ability to heal and recover fast
Increased energy and vigour
Healthy immune system
Optimum satisfaction and a balanced life

To prepare ourselves for a new life and to be able to move forward, we all need to decide that changes and adjustments are inevitable.

In the end, our life, health and wellbeing are the most important asset we all have.

Summary

Having optimum health and wellness is on the frontline of everyone, and future growth is definite. Following pandemic experience in the last few years, the importance of wellness and how people experience it became clearer. There is an increased need for self-care, resilience, mental wellbeing, healing, connection to ourselves, family, community, nature and the spiritual self. A healthy lifestyle and prevention will be a big part of the daily routines. Further science studies and the merging trend between medical and complementary therapies will offer better support in our daily lives and support paths towards optimum well-being and better quality of life.

If you are uncertain where to start, or have any questions, feel free to consult Wellness Coaching and Healing for proper guidance to help you make your life better. If you are uncertain about your health conditions, we always advise seeking advice from a medical professional.

At Wellness Coaching and Healing, we offer structured coaching services and holistic healing to support your life and wellbeing.