The Concept of Wellness

Health is a condition of body, mind and spirit wherein infirmity and illness are absent. Over the centuries, various definitions have also been employed for that purpose. The dictionary defines health as the condition of being able to cope with life’s requirements with one’s own resources, while it likewise implies the power to endure or cope with challenges encountered in daily life.

Wellness defines the quality of your relationships with yourself, with others and with the environment at large. When you are healthy, you are emotionally well, physically fit and mentally alert. You have the capacity to adapt and overcome difficulties in life. Health and sickness have their own meaning and definition. But, health and sickness are synonymous; the former is something that every individual is born with, while the latter is something that appears or strikes suddenly – sometimes when we least expect it.

The definition of well-being has become connected, over the years, with both the physical and the mental health. While the physical health refers to your ability to sustain life despite the challenges presented by age, disease, and disability, the mental health incorporates your capacity to enjoy life despite the challenges encountered. Your ability to work productively, your sense of humor, your ability to make friends and take pleasure in life, are all indicators of a good mental state. Consequently, having a good physical health and well-being may not prevent the onset of mental illness, but the two go hand in hand. Thus, for an individual to be healthy, mentally well and physically fit, drug use must be minimized.