Describing Health and Well-Being

The term “health” refers to a person’s general physical and mental well-being, including the presence or absence of illnesses. Wellness is the capacity to develop and maintain good health and quality of life.

The National Wellbeing Institute states that wellness is “a process through which individuals become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful living,” despite its numerous definitions based on context. There are three tenets to this definition:

• To achieve your greatest potential, you must be in control of your health and well-being.
• Your overall well-being includes physical health, emotional well-being, and spiritual well-being.
• Wellness is a feeling of well-being and self-affirmation.

A Symbiotic Relationship

Health is a condition of being, and in turn, well-being is a state of having adopted a healthy dietary and lifestyle pattern. Well-being attempts to improve your overall wellness by referring to physical, mental, and social well-being.

To sum up, good health refers to the state of being free of disease, both physically and psychologically, whereas wellness refers to both the pursuit of health and well-being in general. Health encompasses both physical and mental well-being. There’s more to well-being than just being healthy physically and mentally. As opposed to health, wellness is conscious. In contrast to health, well-being refers to the condition of leading a healthy lifestyle. If you’re mentally and physically healthy, you can adapt to healthy practices and motivate others to take an active part in promoting their well-being and leading a healthy lifestyle.

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Reference

Greenberg, J. S. (1985). Health and wellness: A conceptual differentiation. Journal of school health, 55(10), 403-406.