Health and Wellness: Definition and Differentiations

What is the meaning of health?

Health is not just merely being away from diseases but it also means that we should be in a state of mental, social as well as physical well-being. And one should be physically healthy as well as mentally healthy. Moreover, health includes a stable social, economic, and physical environment as well as one’s characteristics and behaviors without the distinction of religion, caste, and any social or political belief.

Also an individual’s character without contradistinction of social and economic condition.

 NOW LET’S MOVE ON TO HAVING A GLANCE AT WHAT IS WELLNESS?

The world health organization(WHO) says that wellness is a positive way of living this also includes an individual’s and group’s optimal health state. According to madam Merriam webster, Wellness is sometimes also defined as the quality of state of well-being in good health and especially as a diligently sought goal.

Wellness is said to be a process of becoming aware of the situation and taking decisions toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is an active and dynamic process of growth and change to maximize one’s potential and it aims to enhance overall well-being and will-power. Wellness consists of eight different components which include the following:

• Emotional wellness – one can be emotionally well by noticing their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, whether negative or positive.
• Environmental wellness- analyzing how one’s decisions and actions impact the environment.
• Financial wellness – this includes the relationship with money and finding effective ways to manage the relationship with money.
• Intellectual wellness – this wellness includes participating in lifelong learning and challenging the brain or mind on an ongoing basis such as taking part in mental and creative activities like reasoning objectively and critically.
• Occupational wellness– obtaining personal fulfillment from work you do and performing with honesty, enthusiasm, and engagement regularly.
• Physical wellness – physical wellness is acknowledging the need for incorporation nourishing meals.
• Social wellness – social wellness is one’s interaction with appropriate people in the living world.
• Spiritual wellness – spiritual wellness is finding meaning in life and developing the meaning in life, it includes finding a sense of purpose and belonging.

 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEALTH AND WELLNESS

If we take a look at the definitions above, we can see that wellness has a direct influence on one’s overall health. Which is essential for living a healthy and happy life.

The primary difference between wellness and health is that health is the goal of one’s life while an individual’s wellness is the dynamic and active process of achieving the goal.

An example which can clarify the difference is –

HEALTH – one may be a health disease, diagnosis of diabetes, or a brain injury.

WELLNESS – one may choose their diet carefully, eat a balanced diet, and schedule regular visits to a doctor.

Knowing the distinction between the two matters for plenty of reasons which includes recognizing while we cannot always choose our health’s state, but we can make active choices towards wellness.