What is Health?

32 Comments

1. Fred, I think you have really hit the nail on the head with this. Health is not just about your physical and mental being. It is about your whole package – social, spiritual, everything that makes you who you are. Thanks for the reminder to focus on not just one aspect.
   Regards,
   Megan

   • Thanks Megan for the comment, a lot of times we don’t think about all the aspects of what it takes to being healthy and we push it to the side and later in life we see where we went wrong. Because of youth sometimes our health pays the price.

2. Hello Fred,
   Health is something we all wish for, but as you say at a young age we don’t realize that the body get harmed by eating too much sugar, lack of sleep and lack of exercise. If we were aware of this already in our twenties, people would not as easy get the chronical diseases at higher ages.
   I like what you say “If you do something wrong, forget it and go on.” That’s a good advice. In my life I have been brooding about mistakes and things which went wrong so much, that I missed the present and didn’t see the opportunities in front of me. The last couple of years I have learned to not brooding about mistakes in the past and I’m so happy and feels so much more relaxed.

   Enjoyed reading your blog.

   Pernilla

   • Thanks Pernilla for the comment, I think putting things behind us is what we have to do to step ahead and move forward. To many to people let their past control their future. We have to keep going forward not backwards.

3. Brilliant article Fred! I like the 4 aspects of wellness!

   • Thanks for the comment Andy, wellness and true happiness go hand in hand. As you know if we are sad all the time and depressed it’s going to effect the way we do things and ruin are health. Most of this things should come natural to us if we keep our heads straight and use common sense.

4. Hi Fred, health is indeed a big area to cover, and there is just so much to learn and to know it could take a lifetime.
   I always think that for most people moderation is key to good health. You still should have room for the treats that you enjoy as this aids your emotional well-being, which of course is a major part of long term health.
   I try to live by the 90/10 rule when it comes to food, which means 90{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} healthy and 10{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} for treats and this works just fine. Of course, you MUST factor regular exercise into the equation for any of this to work.
   Great article, and keep up the good work!

   • Thanks Stefanie for the comment, we mostly know how to take care of ourselves but doing it is the problem. Writing these post makes people more aware and gives them something to think about when they are not eating right. What gets taken for granted is our mental health and well-being.

5. This is so true….our mindset totally affects our health! I work in a very high stress job….I can relate to the toll this stress has on my well being! Thank you Fred great read!

   • Thanks, Dennis for the comment I appreciate it, I have many posts on this site feel free to check them out. I do have one on stress-related problems “Staying Healthy when stressed out”. If you know anyone that this site will help, let them know. Thanks again and get back to me if you need anything else by dropping a line below.

6. I really love this post Fred. You do a great job of breaking down the definition of health and I have to agree. We look at health as “Oh I better eat better or exercises more” but it goes beyond that. Health is physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, and even social. How we care for ourselves as well as others plays a part in our health cycle. But there is so much to learn and we should do everything in our power to learn all we can every day. Thanks again for another great post!

   • Thanks, Melissa for the comment I appreciate it and would like to say the health is a special thing that God has given us needless to say, but that means we better take care of it. Anytime a person starts forgetting about it just come back to this post and read for a reminder. Thanks again.

7. I could not agree more with your definition of health. I deal with physical issues but I do not think they define my overall health. They can impact it. Especially on days that are physically challenging. My spiritual, and mental health I think are the reasons I cope so much better than many of my peers facing the same illness. I love your perspectives.

   • Thanks, Christina I hope and pray you don’t have too many physical issues that keep you from getting out and enjoying life. I do believe in keeping our spiritual and mental health very well cared for. To me, it starts there. I appreciate your comment.

8. This article is a really good overview of health issues. It is a balancing act, isn’t it? Sometimes the health issues are just overwhelming. It is good to pull back and get an overall perspective.

   • Thanks, for the comment Dianne. Yes, it is a balancing act trying to keep up with all the things that we shouldn’t miss out on. But the thing is that’s why most people do miss out trying to balance it all and don’t have the time. We just got to get our priorities straight for our benefit.

9. Hi Fred,
   I appreciate your focus on the whole being, body, mind and spirit, when advocating for and defining health. Thank you.
   Annie

   • Yes, Annie, I believe that most of the time people leave not only one of this steps out, but far to often neglect all of them. Which brings us to the state people are in today ‘unhealthy’. Now what we are doing today bringing awareness to this crisis that the world is in today.

10. What is Health? That is a great question Fred. When I say that headline, I just had to click on your content and find out. You are right, if we don’t start taking care of our bodies, then we run the risk of finding out too late to reverse the damage and we will have to live with a worse condition of life. If only we knew right????
    Spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health all play an important role. Thanks for sharing.

    • Thanks for the comment Glenys. You know I don’t want to risk it myself, do you? Doing the little things today for longer life is well worth it. We can damage our bodies and not even realize it when we are younger. My hope is that making these posts will bring them more awareness on their health.

11. Hi Fred,

    this article is very unique and interesting. We all are so used to using the words “health” and “healthy”. We wish each other great health. But… Do we always think about health in a whole as you address it in this post? Do we even know what it is? I bet that each one of us on every occasion of using the word means only part of the overall meaning of “health”. My personal favorite word is “balance”, and I like your thinking of a healthy life as a balanced physical and mental health. And you break down “mental” into even narrower peaces: emotional and spiritual. A balanced lifestyle would allow a person to not focus on health issues, because balanced lifestyle naturally includes healthy eating, exercising, mental work and relaxation, adequate sleep, and all of what you listed above.

    Thank you for a great overview and a reminder that our health is a complex combination of many aspects.

    All the best,

    ~ Julia

    • Thanks, Julia for the comment. I always wanted to be healthy even when I was young, but you know I still did things to take away from it. For the most part, I always exercised and worked physical labor. That kept my muscles strong but neglected what I eat. That is where balance comes in doing all things for optimal great health.

12. Health to me, personally, is sleep, diet and exercise. I was one of those teenagers that would eat whatever I wanted, never exercise and didn’t care AT ALL about how I looked. Nowadays (9 years later) I watch what I eat, exercise regularly and always get a good nights sleep – around 7-8 hours. Plus drinking water on a daily basis gives your body that extra health benefit no one talks about. Cheers for the eye-opener once again 🙂

    • Thanks for the comment, Brandon. I think many of us were that way, but the main thing now is that we figured it out in time to make a difference in the future. This has to be expressed to the younger generation now. Plenty of water daily benefits our bodies greatly since we are made up of mostly water.

13. Everyone defines health differently. Some people think that it is simply not having a cold or chronic illness, but health is being able to do whatever we feel like doing comfortably. I know some people who feel they are healthy despite having a number of chronic illnesses. Health is something of a mindset.

    • Thanks for the comment. Health is different for different people we all need other ways to stay healthy some more than others. Doing things to keep yourself healthy down the road is what has to be done. Keeping on minds on it daily.

14. It’s a good thing, that more and more people getting aware of the health topic. Though, some people stress theirselves to get more healthy. These days it’s so easy to pop another supplement pill and make yourself feel healthy, when all we really had to do is just eat “normal” food and relax from time to time. Mental health disorders are way more common than physical health problems.

    • Thanks for the comment. Yes you right people have come to expect to be healthy just by taking a pill and think physical activity is just doing daily activities. Where we lack on one we need to concentrate on that more. On the mental health, I need to stress that more in my articles.

15. Hi Fred,
    I think more and more people are looking into mindfulness as a way of obtaining emotional and physical health. I know this is true with people who are trying to manage their chronic pain or lower their level of stress.
    Mindfulness is waking up and being fully alive and present in each moment of our lives. More deeply, this practice involves being open-hearted and living moment to moment with a nonjudgmental awareness. According to one of it’s great practitioner Jon Kabat-Zinn, “its only requirement is that you be motivated to realize who you actually are and to live your life as if it actually mattered.”

    Practicing mindfulness can allow you to discover your deepest inner resources in order to better handle daily stressors, and connect more fully with yourself, your friends, family and colleagues.

    Here is the thing.While there are volumes of books and information on mindfulness, the easiest way to begin is to focus on your breath.
    Yap, simple but effective.
    Sit, lie down, or take a walk and focus on your inhale and exhale. Take a few minutes each day to calm your body and mind. Then, remember to act on this when you feel your level of stress going up. I enjoyed reading your post.

    • Thanks, Thabo for the comment. I think you’ve got the right idea about what I talk about. My number one thing I like to stress is to know in your mind and believe before any healing can be complete. Focusing on being well will help the body heal itself.

16. Your article was very good. It can be very helpful for all.

    • Thanks for the comment, YAGVENDAR, yes this can be very helpful for people who read it and take action upon it. Our main cause is to spread this information to all people and all the help we can get by sharing is welcome.

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