Aren’t health and wellness the same thing? Actually, no. Health and wellness are not the same, but they do complement one another. It is similar to how your body and mind are linked. How you treat your body affects your mental health and how you think affects what happens to your body. Health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Health is more than not being sick. Wellness, on the other hand, is defined by The Global Wellness Institute as the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health. Health and wellness together, create a whole person.
We have more control over our wellness than we do our health. Genetics, ethnicity, gender, environmental factors and other social determinants affect our health. Wellness is a pursuit and reaches into various dimensions of our lives. Physical health is only one aspect of wellness. If you can think of yourself as a bicycle wheel, the dimensions of wellness are the spokes. When we are “rolling” at our optimum level, the tire is full of air, there are no goat heads puncturing the tubes and all the spokes are strong and in place. The different spoke of wellness include emotional, physical, financial, spiritual, social and environmental. If you were to write each of these wellness goals on a tire spoke, then measure how you are doing in this area of your life, how smoothly would your tire roll?
Everyone has aspects of wellness where they excel, some that require diligent upkeep and a few that are downright neglected. This is normal and to be expected. Take one spoke at a time and work on that area of wellness or make one small goal in each area. Sometimes our tires need a flat fixed, or filled with air, or even replaced. Maintenance is a natural part of health and wellness. We are on a spectrum heading towards optimum health and high quality of life. Keep in touch with your doctor about your health and your wellness. You are already awesome. As your health and wellness improve, you will just keep getting better.
For an appointment with a Lovelace provider, call Lovelace Care Concierge at 505.727.2727.