What is the Definition of Health?
Created on 10/6/2009
What is health?
There should be a logical answer to this question. Come on, everyone knows what health is - we may not be able to readily put it into words, but we know when we're healthy - everything feels, well, in balance. When we're not healthy things feel out of balance. This idea of "health as balance" is borrowed directly from the principles of Chinese medicine.
A key concept, however, is that health is dynamic.. Change occurs inside and outside our bodies all the time, so maintaining balance is a constant, well, balancing act! Rather than health being a steady state, it is more a sign that a person is resilient and adaptable to an ever-changing world. These changes can be of a physical nature, of course, but also affect our environment, our emotions, our family, our community, and our spirits.
From a medical perspective, when one part of us falls out of balance, be that part physical or otherwise, it ALWAYS affects other parts of us, too.
Consider the person who loves playing golf but who has developed back pain that prevents them from getting out on the golf couorse - it's very common for such a person to develop mild anxiety, even depression, until they can get back out and do what they love to do. On the flip side, someone who is under a great deal of stress might experience stomach upset or difficulty sleeping, as well as other signs of "imbalance."
Conventional medicine often focuses on the primary symptoms at hand (let's say back pain) to the exclusion of other signs of imbalance (in this example, anxiety related to the back pain). To help a person heal completely and rapidly, attention needs to be paid to the whole person (their emotions, their spirit, AND the physical symptoms of back pain). Indeed, if the anxiety is not dealt with appropriately, it can actually make the physical back pain worse.
People shouldn't be divided into separate parts like some machine or automobile. We are indivisible units, complete and complex systems. Thus, when there is imbalance in one area, it always affects other aspects of our health and wellbeing. Thus, health = balance.
At a time when the "debate" over Healthcare Reform is raging, it's interesting to note that to this day there is no well-agreed upon definition of health. Perhaps that's a sign of one of the fundamental issues at hand - we really don't have a HEALTHcare system - we have a DISEASE care system.
With that in mind, it's even more important to stay in balance (healthy).
Be well.
Dr. Russ
** Information on this web site is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. You should not use the information on this web site for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication or other treatment. **
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