write an essay about holistic health its concept and dimensions

Essay on Holistic Health

Students are often asked to write an essay on Holistic Health in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Holistic Health

What is holistic health.

Holistic health is about caring for the whole person. This means looking after your body, mind, and emotions. It’s not just about not being sick; it’s about feeling good in every way.

Taking care of your body is important. Eating healthy foods, being active, and getting enough sleep are all part of this. When your body feels good, you can do your best at school and play.

Mind and Emotions

Your thoughts and feelings are also key. Talking to friends, writing in a journal, or doing things you enjoy can keep your mind and heart happy.

Together as One

Holistic health means all parts of you work together. When your body, mind, and emotions are in harmony, you’re truly healthy. It’s like a team where every player is important.

250 Words Essay on Holistic Health

Understanding holistic health.

First, let’s talk about the body. When we think of health, we often think of eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep. These are key parts of keeping our bodies working well. Eating fruits and vegetables, playing outside, and going to bed on time help us grow strong and stay healthy.

Next is the mind. This is about our feelings and thoughts. Being happy, worrying less, and doing well in school are signs of a healthy mind. It’s important to talk about our feelings and not keep them inside. Reading books, playing games that make us think, and spending time with friends can keep our minds sharp.

Lastly, there’s the spirit. This can mean different things to different people. It might be feeling calm, being kind, or believing in something bigger than ourselves. Some people find peace in nature, others in drawing or music, and some through faith. It’s about what makes us feel good inside.

Bringing It All Together

Holistic health means taking care of all parts of ourselves. It’s like a team, where the body, mind, and spirit work together. When all parts are cared for, we feel our best. Remember, every piece of the puzzle is important to be truly healthy.

500 Words Essay on Holistic Health

When we think about staying healthy, we often picture eating right and exercising. But there’s more to health than just that. Holistic health is about caring for the whole person. It means looking after our bodies, minds, and spirits all at the same time. Imagine you’re like a puzzle, with pieces that fit together to make you whole. Holistic health is about making sure all those pieces are in good shape.

First, let’s talk about the body. This part is about eating foods that are good for you, like fruits and vegetables, and staying active. When you run, play sports, or even walk, you help your body stay strong. It’s also about sleeping well so your body can rest and repair itself. Think of your body like a car; it needs the right fuel and regular maintenance to keep running smoothly.

Next is the mind. Just like you exercise your body, you need to keep your mind active too. This can be through reading, solving puzzles, or learning new things at school. It’s also important to talk about your feelings and not keep them bottled up inside. When you’re sad, worried, or angry, talking to friends, family, or a teacher can make a big difference. Your mind is like a garden; it needs to be looked after and given room to grow.

Then there’s the spirit. This doesn’t just mean religion, although for some people, that’s a part of it. It’s about feeling happy, loving yourself, and enjoying life. You can feed your spirit by doing things you love, like playing music, painting, or spending time in nature. Your spirit is like a bird; it needs space to soar and explore.

Connecting the Pieces

Holistic health is about connecting all these pieces. It’s like when you help a friend, you’re not just being kind; you’re also making your own spirit feel good. Or when you learn something new, you’re not just making your mind sharper; you’re also giving your spirit a boost because it feels great to learn.

Everyone Together

Holistic health isn’t something you do alone. Your family, friends, and community are all part of it. They can support you, cheer you on, and help you stay on track. It’s like being on a team where everyone wants you to win.

Small Steps

You don’t have to make big changes all at once to be more holistic. Small steps can make a big difference. Choose a fruit instead of a candy bar, take a walk instead of watching TV, or tell someone how you feel instead of keeping it to yourself. Each little choice adds up to a healthier you.

In Conclusion

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Holistic Health: A Guide to Better Health and Well-Being

Wendy Wisner is freelance journalist and international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC). She has written about all things pregnancy, maternal/child health, parenting, and general health and wellness.

• How To Find a Practitioner

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Holistic health, sometimes called integrative medicine or whole person health, is a medical approach that focuses on treating and preventing disease by addressing many aspects of a person's life, including mental, physical, spiritual, and social health.

Conventional medicine often focuses primarily on the physical symptoms of disease. Holistic health also focuses on how other aspects of a person’s life, including environment, spirituality, and culture, contribute to their health.

Features of holistic health include education, self-help, advocacy, and lifestyle and behavioral changes that promote better health, such as nutrition, movement, sleep and stress management, and relationship support.

Key Principles of Holistic Health

Holistic health views the body as a whole system. It views all aspects of a person—including their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health—as contributing to their overall health and well-being.

This health approach promotes the idea that healing requires balancing your life's physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects. It focuses on disease prevention by addressing the whole person continuously rather than only when medical symptoms or conditions arise.

Holistic health is often viewed as an alternative to conventional medicine and is sometimes grouped with natural medicine. However, holistic health practitioners often partner with more traditional medicine providers to optimize health outcomes. This is why it's called integrative medicine.

Medical and wellness care often includes traditional medicine, including drugs and surgery. It also includes addressing mental and emotional health through self-care , education, and lifestyle modifications that promote better health.

Person-Centered Care

Holistic health is person-centered. It empowers people to actively participate in their health and well-being and builds resilience—the ability to adapt to challenging experiences.

A holistic approach focuses on collaborative communication and goal setting. Healthcare providers and their patients or clients share responsibility. They partner and create a care plan together based on each person's needs, desires, and current situations.

Types of Holistic Medicine

Many different types of medicine fall under the holistic medicine umbrella and may be used as part of a holistic medicine approach. Here are some of the more well-known, evidence-based types of holistic medicine and examples of each:

• Mind-body therapies: Meditation , yoga, hypnosis, biofeedback, guided imagery, tai chi ; art, music, dance/movement, and expressive/creative therapy
• Biologically-based practices: Vitamin or dietary supplements , herbal supplements, dietary changes
• Manipulative or body-based therapies: Massage therapy, reflexology, chiropractic therapy
• Energy healing: Reiki, therapeutic touch, reflexology, sound healing, chakra healing
• Holistic medical systems: Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), naturopathic medicine, acupuncture

Holistic medicine includes complementary medicine and alternative medicine. Complementary medicine is typically used with more conventional medicine, while alternative medicine might replace more conventional medicine.

Integrative medicine is often more of a collaboration between multiple healthcare providers who use different approaches.

Functional Medicine

Functional medicine also uses a person-centered, holistic approach. It focuses on understanding and treating the root causes of symptoms and illness rather than treating symptoms themselves.

Treatment plans are personalized because each person is unique. Treatment includes identifying triggers and addressing health concerns through nutrition, lifestyle, and behavior shifts. Unlike some other forms of holistic health, functional medicine often includes significant testing (e.g., blood tests).

Benefits of Holistic Health

There's evidence that a holistic approach to medicine can profoundly affect health and well-being. For example, stress can increase your risk of chronic conditions like diabetes, depression, and heart disease. Holistic health support includes stress management that can reduce symptoms, lower disease risk, and improve overall quality of life.

Empowers and Promotes Self-Care

One concept analysis and review of holistic health found that holistic care consistently helps people advocate for their care and assume responsibility for their health. This helps them manage their health and illness more effectively and improves their well-being.

Holistic health also inspires greater self-care, which can increase self-esteem, self-regulation, personal growth, optimism, and dignity.

May Reduce Mortality

Holistic care might improve health outcomes for people with serious conditions.

One study of stroke patients in South Korea compared those who received more conventional medical care to those who received a more holistic care approach. People who received more holistic care had higher medical costs and stayed longer on average in the hospital. However, they had reduced all-risk mortality rates at three months and also 12 months after they were discharged from the hospital.

May Reduce Medical Costs

Holistic medicine may be more expensive in some instances. It often involves more than one type of care and more time with providers. In addition, some holistic providers don't accept insurance.

However, holistic medicine may reduce medical costs overall. For example, one study found that people with pain who received holistic care experienced reduced pain and a 4% reduction in hospital costs, totaling an average cost savings of $898 for every hospital admission.

Helps People Cope with Illness

Living with a serious medical condition can be mentally and emotionally taxing. Some studies show that people treated holistically can better cope with their conditions.

For instance, one study found that cancer patients receiving holistic medical care were less likely to be distressed by their condition and more likely to be involved in their own care.

May Increase Patient Satisfaction

People treated by holistic providers often experience increased satisfaction with their care. One smaller study looked at the effects of holistic medicine on patient satisfaction. The patients surveyed reported increased satisfaction with their care and improved mental and emotional health. They also reported fewer symptoms.

How To Implement Holistic Health Principles

Holistic health often means visiting a healthcare provider who takes a holistic approach to medicine. It also involves lifestyle modifications and activities that support all aspects of your well-being. Holistic health empowers you to take charge of your health.

How do you add holistic health principles into your life? Here are some ideas:

• Physical health: Engage in regular physical activity and healthy, joyful movement. Eat a wholesome, nutrient-dense diet. Consider dietary and vitamin supplements recommended by a credentialed healthcare provider. Prioritize sleep.
• Mental health: Practice gratitude or mindfulness meditation—even a few minutes daily can help. Consider meeting with a licensed therapist or counselor to address any mental health concerns you may be experiencing.
• Emotional health: Learn to manage your emotional health through strategies like meditation, journaling, dance/art therapy, deep breathing exercises, and therapy or counseling.
• Social health: Engage socially with others often, and consider social opportunities that also improve health and well-being, such as a yoga or tai chi class, dance lessons, or a hiking group. Practice conscious communication—communicating intentionally by staying present and using thoughtful language.
• Spiritual health: Find a spiritual outlet that aligns with your beliefs. This may include anything from practicing transcendental meditation, attending church or temple services, volunteering in your community, or spending more time in nature.

Many of these ideas fall into multiple categories. For example, prioritizing sleep can positively affect all aspects of health. The key is recognizing that caring for your health includes a variety of strategies that create sustainable (long-term) self-support.

How To Find a Holistic Health Practitioner

Many different providers consider themselves holistic health practitioners. Even more traditional medical doctors (MDs) often take a more holistic, preventative approach. Whatever provider you choose, you want to find someone credentialed and highly trained.

Questions to ask a potential provider include:

• What is your background, education, and certifications?
• How do you diagnose conditions?
• What conditions do you treat, and how?
• What research do you base your recommendations on?
• Will you collaborate with your other healthcare providers?
• How often will I see you or communicate with you?

Reading reviews of holistic health practitioners you are considering can be helpful. A recommendation from your healthcare provider or close family and friends is invaluable.

Some professionals who may lean closer to the holistic health side of things include:

• Medical Doctors (MD)—e.g., integrative physicians
• Doctors Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
• Functional Medicine Doctors (MD or DO with functional medicine training)
• Functional Medicine Practitioners (FMD)
• Doctors of Chiropractic Medicine (DC)
• Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine (ND)
• Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners
• Homeopathic doctors
• Ayurvedic practitioners
• Licensed therapists (e.g., music, dance, art, and creative therapists)
• Acupuncturists
• Massage therapists
• Meditation teachers
• Yoga instructors
• Tai Chi instructors

If you have a serious medical condition, consult a doctor before seeking care from a holistic practitioner. While holistic care certainly has its place in a more traditional medicine model, people with serious conditions must ensure complementary approaches align with their medical needs.

There are many highly trained holistic providers. However, you might meet with someone who suggests an herbal remedy or supplement that should not be used to treat your condition or that interacts with a medication you take. Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s always safe, especially if you have an underlying medical condition.

Always consult a medical provider before starting any new herbal supplement or dietary regimen.

Holistic Primary Care Providers

Some holistic practitioners are primary care providers (PCPs) even though they're not MDs. They might be able to order labs and imaging, consulting with or referring people to specialists that treat more severe conditions as needed.

Holistic Health in Healthcare

Whole person health is becoming more common in healthcare. Organizations that have holistic health programs include:

• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• U.S. Department of Defense Total Force Fitness Program
• Whole Health Institute
• North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
• Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease

A Quick Review

Holistic health means considering all aspects of a person, including physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health. This approach to health is often empowering. It can help prevent and treat various conditions and increase overall satisfaction and well-being.

Many healthcare providers use a holistic approach, often combined with more conventional medical approaches for optimal results. Holistic healthcare can be incredibly valuable. Still, it's important to follow your medical doctor's advice if you have a specific condition.

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National Institute for Complementary and Integrative Health. Whole person health: What you need to know .

Louw JM, Marcus TS, Hugo JFM. Patient- or person-centred practice in medicine? – A review of concepts .  Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med . 2017;9(1):1455. doi:10.4102/phcfm.v9i1.1455

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National Cancer Institute. Complementary and Alternative Medicine .

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Complementary, Alternative, or Integrative Health: What’s In a Name? .

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Park M, Hunter J, Kwon S. Evaluating integrative medicine acute stroke inpatient care in South Korea . Health Policy . 2018;122(4):373-379. doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.02.004

Dusek JA, Griffin KH, Finch MD, et al. Cost Savings from Reducing Pain Through the Delivery of Integrative Medicine Program to Hospitalized Patients . J Altern Complement Med . 2018;24(6):557-563. doi:10.1089/acm.2017.0203

Frenkel M, Cohen L, Peterson N, et al. Integrative medicine consultation service in a comprehensive cancer center: findings and outcomes . Integr Cancer Ther . 2010;9(3):276-283. doi:10.1177/1534735410378663

Myklebust M, Pradhan EK, Gorenflo D. An integrative medicine patient care model and evaluation of its outcomes: The University of Michigan experience . J Altern Complement Med . 2008;14(7):821-826. doi:10.1089/acm.2008.0154

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Wellness and Its Five Dimensions Essay

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Introduction

Physical wellness, emotional wellness, spiritual wellness, intellectual wellness, social wellness.

Wellness refers to an optimal state of wellbeing in the physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social dimensions (Floyd, Mimms & Yelding, 2007). These dimensions interact in varied ways to determine the quality of an individual’s life. They affect different aspects of life. Therefore, it is important to focus on improving each one of them. An optimal state of wellbeing requires a healthy balance in the development of the mind, body, and spirit (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

If anyone of them is ignored, the others are affected adversely. A healthy mind results in a healthy body and soul, while a healthy body results in a healthy mind and soul. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), wellness refers to complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing (Edlin & Golanty, 2014). It matters because of its role in influencing the quality of life, emotions, actions, and interactions with other people (Floyd et al., 2007). Wellness is a dynamic process of change and growth that helps individuals to become self-aware with regard to their choices and decisions, which enhance health, happiness, and fulfillment.

Physical wellness involves the attainment of good health through proper diet, engagement in physical exercise, and eradication of diseases (Das, 2010). This dimension allows people to execute their daily tasks without being overly fatigued and stressed. One of the most important aspects of obtaining physical wellness is the realization that behaviors, choices, and decisions affect the quality of life in various ways. Therefore, adopting healthy habits and refraining from destructive habits is important. Activities that lead to optimal physical wellness include regular physical exercise, habitual medical checkups, avoidance of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, immunization against diseases, eating a proper diet, consuming the recommended amount of water intake daily, and getting enough sleep (Das, 2010).

Qualities of physical wellness include physical strength, high confidence and self-esteem, high levels of energy, cheerfulness, determination, focus, and self-control. Destructive habits, indolence, and poor diets are the main hindrances to this dimension of wellness (Floyd et al., 2007). Optimal wellness enhances people’s lives by increasing their productivity, performance, and output at work and in family matters. In addition, it improves their attitudes towards life and other people (Edlin & Golanty, 2014).

Decisions and actions are determined by the level of wellness attained. For instance, optimal wellness results in positive beliefs, feelings, and opinions, while lacking physical wellness results in negative feelings, beliefs, and opinions. Pursuing wellness could prompt some people to ignore other important aspects of their lives, such as family and career (Floyd et al., 2007). Research suggests that people should engage in regular physical exercise, avoid sedentary lifestyles, and eat healthy foods in order to attain complete wellness (Edlin & Golanty, 2014). Physical wellness has far-reaching implications than other dimensions of wellness if not pursued persistently.

Emotional wellbeing involves the complete recognition, acceptance, and embracement of one’s emotions (Das, 2010). This dimension is very important because emotions play a key role in determining the quality of decisions, outlook on life, and behavior. It determines how well people are able to cope with life challenges. Emotional wellness allows individuals to alter their situations by recognizing that they are in control of their emotions and can change them (Floyd et al., 2007). Effective expression of feelings is an important aspect of reducing stress, developing autonomy, and improving decision-making skills. Qualities of emotional wellness include optimism, strong relationships, enthusiasm, conscientiousness, prudence, self-control, compassion, patience, joy, happiness, and calmness (Edlin & Golanty, 2014).

Issues that hinder the attainment of this dimension include stress, negative mental attitudes, denial of feelings, lack of mindfulness, failure to accept and learn from mistakes, and imbalances in other dimensions (Edlin & Golanty, 2014). Strategies for improvement include the development of autonomy, management of emotions, acceptance of personal feelings, and stress management through therapy and counseling (Das, 2010). It is important to seek help from other people in order to address emotions that could build up to dangerous levels. Emotional wellbeing results in positive opinions, beliefs, and feelings that have positive outcomes (Fair, 2009).

In contrast, lack of emotional wellness results in destructive beliefs and opinions that are detrimental to the quality of life. Positive implications of emotional wellness include a better understanding of self, reduced risk of attracting conditions such as depression, and stronger relationships and interactions with other people (Floyd et al., 2007).

Pursuing emotional wellness can lead to self-abnegation in search of acceptance from society. This has a negative influence on individuality and self-reliance. According to research, individuals should practice relaxation techniques, participate in therapy and counseling, focus on self-care, observe mindfulness, and learn effective ways of expressing their emotions because these approaches improve emotional wellbeing (Floyd et al., 2007). In addition, research suggests that individuals should take their emotional wellness seriously because emotions play a very critical role in influencing decisions and behaviors. Ignoring this dimension can have far-reaching implications on the quality of life.

The spiritual dimension of wellness involves a vigorous search for the purpose and meaning of life as well as the embracement of nature and its forces (Floyd et al., 2007). Enhancing spirituality does not involve a belief in God, even though belief in a higher power makes life more meaningful. Spirituality is individualized and attained in different ways. Many people ignore the importance and impact of spiritual wellness in their lives. This dimension is inevitable because, in order to attain personal fulfillment, it is vital to find the meaning of human existence. Examples of qualities that demonstrate spiritual wellness include a great appreciation of nature, development of a life purpose, ability to forgive, calm navigation of life’s challenges, compassion, happiness, purpose-driven living, value-based decisions, and deep appreciation of meditation and mindfulness (Floyd et al., 2007).

In addition, highly spiritual people are able to distinguish between right and wrong and practice their beliefs and values without fear of contradiction or reprimand. This dimension allows individuals to find the meaning and purpose of their existence. In addition, it enables them to appreciate the various life experiences they encounter as important aspects of their human existence. It establishes a balance between the inner self and the outside world in a way that brings peace and harmony. The human spirit is indestructible and possesses powers that the mind and body lack. It empowers individuals to go through the toughest situations in their lives without losing hope or giving up. Issues that may hinder spiritual wellness include fear, self-indulgence, resistance to change, unwillingness to make certain sacrifices, and hopelessness (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

Strategies for improvement include meditation, mindfulness, reflection, embracement of personal values, and making decisions that are consistent with one’s values and principles (Floyd et al., 2007). Spiritual wellness makes life meaningful and gives individuals a sense of worth. It is easy to give up hope and resign to fate due to a lack of meaning and purpose in life. Many people confuse religion and spirituality. Even though both concepts are different, religion can be used as a way of improving one’s spirituality. According to research, developing personal beliefs, values, and principles is important in the attainment of states such as compassion, love, altruism, purpose, and happiness (Floyd et al., 2007).

In addition, actions and decisions are affected by individual beliefs, values, and convictions significantly. Life becomes meaningful when each experience and event in life improves the quality of life in any dimension of wellness. The positive implications of spiritual wellness include acceptance of other people’s beliefs, compassion, enhanced morality, meaningful lives, and improved societal harmonization. Negative implications of spirituality arise whenever religion is part of the wellness path. Certain religious beliefs impart feelings of guilt, fear, and low self-esteem. In addition, believing that such situations in life are a result of weak spirituality could cause negative outcomes. Finally, highly spiritual people sometimes substitute medical intervention with their spirituality by believing that their faith can eradicate diseases (Edlin & Golanty, 2014).

Research has shown that spiritual wellness has a positive impact on health outcomes because of the beliefs, attitudes, and practices that spiritual people embrace. Spirituality eradicates stressful feelings and promotes healthy behaviors. Spiritual people deal better with conditions such as anxiety, depression, blood pressure, and chronic illnesses than non-spiritual people (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

Intellectual wellness is the attainment of optimal mental abilities through engagement in creative and stimulating activities that furnish specific skills and knowledge (Fair, 2009). This dimension also involves the realization of human potential through participation in activities that develop talents and aptitudes for the betterment of humanity. Learning is an important part of life that emancipates people from ignorance and poor lifestyles (Floyd et al., 2007).

This dimension is important because it stimulates individual and societal growth. Individual growth is attained through the use of available information to improve other dimensions of wellness. On the other hand, societal growth is attained through the generation of knowledge that is shared with other people in order to improve the quality of their lives. Examples of qualities that demonstrate intellectual wellness include exploration of new ideas, innovation, participation in academic activities, reading, curiosity, and embracement of mental stimulation (Edlin & Golanty, 2014).

Curiosity is the main reason why people explore new things, develop new ideas and concepts, and find solutions to problems that persist in society. Solving societal problems is an example of how important intellectual wellness is to human existence. Mental stimulation is sought in activities such as debates, discussions, reading, and research (Fair, 2009). Improving intellectual wellness allows people to solve problems, improve creativity, and increase their knowledge in various fields of study. This dimension is very important because it augments the other dimensions in various ways. For instance, learning is an important aspect of improving any dimension of wellness because it enables individuals to evaluate and analyze available literature regarding the improvement of those dimensions. People who are passionate about their intellectual wellness learn new skills in order to grow, search for activities that stimulate their minds, and embrace opportunities that prompt them to use their creativity (Floyd et al., 2007).

The positive implications of this dimension include improved creativity, attainment of knowledge and skills, exploration of one’s potential, and access to numerous opportunities. Negative implications include pride, reactivity, and unwillingness to pursue other dimensions such as spirituality (Fair, 2009). This dimension can be improved by reading voraciously, participating in creative endeavors, learning new things and taking intellectual challenges, and using knowledge to solve problems. Other useful strategies include cultural involvement, exploration of hobbies, and participation in community programs (Floyd et al., 2007).

People who are intellectually well-pursuing endeavors that increase their knowledge and skills. Open-mindedness is a requisite for intellectual wellness because people always encounter new ideas, cultures, beliefs, values, and environments that require change. Open-mindedness facilitates creative and critical thinking, open discussions on critical matters, acceptance of other people’s values, and embracement of new ideologies (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

The quality of beliefs and opinions is primarily affected by an individual’s level of wellness. Lack of knowledge on certain matters results in poor opinions and beliefs. For instance, if an individual possesses little knowledge on a certain issue, they are likely to harbor poor opinions that express their lack of knowledge on that issue. According to research, exploring hobbies, constant learning, and embracing challenges are effective ways of improving intellectual wellness (Floyd et al., 2007). People with optimal wellness think critically, develop their own ideas, challenge conventional ways of doing things, and use their time effectively in the pursuance of meaningful endeavors that contribute to personal growth.

This dimension of wellness involves the creation of symbiotic relationships, effective interactions with people who exhibit different characters and personalities, and mastery of communication skills (Fair, 2009). It also involves developing respect for oneself and others because human relations are inevitable in the attainment of health and happiness. Social wellness is characterized by the existence of support systems that include family members, relatives, and friends who offer emotional, spiritual, economic, and social support to each other (Floyd et al., 2007).

This dimension is important because the development of strong relationships is an essential part of achieving fulfillment in life. In addition, it empowers individuals to develop skills such as assertiveness, confidence, compassion, and self-esteem (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

These skills affect other dimensions of wellness positively. Social wellness encourages communication, which is a component of conflict management and human interaction. Qualities that demonstrate wellness in this dimension include sociability, strong relationships, participation in social activities, strong friendships, and excellent communication skills. People who exhibit optimal social wellness express themselves assertively, engage in community activities, create strong social networks, like fun, possess excellent communication skills, and are respectful. Issues that may hinder improvement include introversion, antisocial behaviors, poor communication skills, and conditions such as depression and anxiety. Poor communication skills deny individuals the opportunity to express themselves clearly, present ideas, and convey their feelings. Social wellness can be improved by creating more friendships, seeking and providing support from family and friends, taking part in social activities, seeking fun activities, and embracing diversity (Floyd et al., 2007).

The positive implications of this dimension include strong family and friendship ties, rewarding interactions, and acceptance of diversity in society. Social wellness affects people’s feelings, beliefs, and opinions significantly. For instance, teenagers are victims of peer pressure that shapes most of their decisions, opinions, and behaviors. According to research, social wellness has a great impact on physical health (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015). Social connectedness has direct implications on the functioning of the immune system, motor skill retention, and overall wellness. Research has also linked isolation to health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases. People who have strong networks of friends are happier and healthier compared to people who prefer to spend time alone. Social interactions facilitate the expulsion of stress and emotions. Therefore, they have positive influences on physical and mental wellbeing.

Success, fulfillment, and happiness are attained by actively pursuing physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and intellectual wellness throughout life. These dimensions of wellness play different roles in people’s lives. In addition, they interact in various ways to affect the quality of life. Each of these dimensions is developed differently and affects the feelings, opinions, decisions, and actions of individuals significantly. Therefore, it is important to pursue wellness persistently and with dedication. Physical wellness involves the maintenance of good health through activities such as physical exercise, proper diet, and sleep.

Emotional wellness involves the acceptance and expression of emotions that affect people’s actions, behaviors, and decisions. Life takes meaning when people embrace spirituality through reflection, mindfulness, and meditation. Spirituality is developed in many ways that vary from culture to culture. However, its impact on people’s lives is similar. Intellectual wellness involves the active pursuance of activities that instill knowledge and skills and, at the same time, developmental faculties. Innovation is one of the positive implications of intellectual wellness. Research studies have shown that each of these dimensions is important in the attainment of fulfillment in life. In addition, they have shown that these dimensions interact in different ways to determine the quality of life. Ignorance is one of them results in poor outcomes that affect different aspects of human life.

Das, B. (2010). New Textbook, Health and Wellness for Life Outlines the Six dimensions of Wellness . Web.

Edlin, G., & Golanty, E. (2014). Health and Wellness . New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Web.

Fair, S. (2009). Wellness and Physical Therapy . New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Web.

Floyd, P., Mimms, S., & Yelding, C. (2007). Personal Health: Perspectives and Lifestyles . New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Web.

Hoeger, W., & Hoeger, S. (2015). Principles and Labs for Fitness and Wellness . New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Web.

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One Health: A holistic approach to health and well-being

WHO has taken a pivotal role in advocating for and advancing the One Health agenda. Many departments and regional offices of WHO have been working extensively on One Health topics for decades. The One Health Initiative (OHI) was established in 2021 to facilitate coordination and ensure a unified One Health position. With its broad expertise and global reach, WHO is committed to delivering tangible impacts at country level. Its role involves supporting Member States in developing and implementing national strategies and action plans, strengthening capacity and competence, promoting training and awareness, fostering partnerships, and monitoring and evaluating progress and the impact of One Health and also promoting global, regional and national coordination.  

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Holistic wellness: learn the 5 dimensions of health and wellbeing

What are the 5 dimensions of health? 

Factors that affect the 5 dimensions of health and wellbeing , how to achieve health and wellbeing in all 5 dimensions , taking care of you .

• According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), health is not only the absence of disease; it’s a state of complete wellbeing. 
• The 5 dimensions of health and wellbeing are physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social. 
• Achieving wellbeing doesn’t require perfect balance in all dimensions. 

In a world filled with buzzwords and fads surrounding health and wellbeing, it may be hard to understand what ‘health’ really means. Health doesn’t come with  a one-size-fits-all definition, but according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

And while the concept of ‘wellbeing’ may be subjective, there is a general agreement around the factors that contribute to someone’s overall health and wellbeing. Generally speaking, wellbeing is a blend of various aspects of a person’s health, including physical, mental, emotional, and social wellbeing. It’s closely tied to feelings of happiness and contentment. In simple terms, wellbeing reflects how you perceive yourself and your life.

In this article, we’re looking at the five dimensions of health and wellbeing. These five mutually interdependent dimensions are physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social. Collectively, they paint a complete picture of your overall health, with any change in one dimension potentially impacting the others. 

Let’s take a closer look at each dimension, explore what affects them, and learn how to achieve them in your daily life. 

When it comes to wellness, some people may focus solely on physical health – factors like nutrition and exercise. But every aspect of your life has an effect on your state of wellbeing. Let’s take a closer look at the five dimensions:

• Physical health : The first dimension refers to your body’s overall physical condition and includes fitness, nutrition, and physical vitality . The focus here is on taking care of your body for today and the future to ensure overall health and wellbeing.
• Spiritual health : Your spiritual health is all about discovering purpose, value, and meaning in your life. This could be through religious or personal practice and includes engaging in activities that align with your core values and spiritual beliefs.
• Intellectual health : Your intellectual health relates to your mental acuity, curiosity, and commitment to lifelong learning. It’s about keeping your mind engaged and active. It involves expanding knowledge and skills while also finding ways to share your expertise with others.
• Social health : Social health involves your interactions with others, fostering meaningful relationships, and maintaining a support network that contributes to your overall wellbeing. It also involves actively contributing to your community and fostering a sense of belonging.
• Emotional health : Emotional health is all about understanding and respecting your own feelings, values, and attitudes while also appreciating the emotions of others. It’s about constructively managing your emotions, fostering a positive outlook on life, and being emotionally connected to your surroundings.

Harmonious relationships play an important role in our overall health and wellbeing

There are a number of factors that may influence your overall wellbeing, including”

• Fulfilling relationships, especially with a partner
• A strong network of close friends
• Satisfaction with your work
• Financial stability
• Regular physical activity
• A balanced and nutritious diet
• Sufficient and quality sleep

Regular exercise and quality time with good friends is important for health and wellness

It’s worth noting that you don’t need to find the perfect balance between all five dimensions at any given time. Every person may have unique priorities, methods, ambitions, and their own definition of living life to the fullest. Rather than striving for a perfect balance, you could try focusing on finding a ‘personal harmony’ that feels most authentic to you.

Let’s take a look at some practical examples of how you may achieve health and wellbeing in all five dimensions: 

• Work on maintaining close relationships with family and friends.
• Spend quality time with people who matter to you.
• Choose work that you enjoy and find fulfilling, not only what pays the most.
• Eat nutritious foods.
• Stay active with regular exercise.
• Pursue activities that genuinely interest you.
• Consider joining local groups or clubs.
• Set achievable goals and work towards them step by step.
• Stay positive and savour the little things in each day.

Staying positive and appreciating the little things helps in achieving health and wellbeing

If you’re concerned about any area of your health, consult with your healthcare professional. Or, for convenience, book a telehealth call .  

• What are the best vitamins for tiredness and lack of energy?
• Australian men’s health facts: how healthy are Aussie men – really?
• Mindfulness Mondays: get your week off to a great start

Reviewed by Healthylife Health Experts October 2023

Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Nursing — Good Health And Wellness

Good Health and Wellness

• Categories: Nursing

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Published: Mar 13, 2024

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Table of contents

The importance of good health and wellness, the impact of good health and wellness, achieving and maintaining good health and wellness, the broader implications of good health and wellness.

• In addition to physical health , mental and emotional well-being are equally important. Practices such as mindfulness, meditation, and therapy can help manage stress and improve overall mental health.
• Building a strong support network and nurturing meaningful relationships also contribute to emotional wellness.
• Furthermore, it is essential to prioritize self-care and relaxation. Taking time for oneself, engaging in hobbies, and setting boundaries are crucial for maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
• Lastly, regular check-ups with healthcare professionals and staying informed about one's health are vital for early detection and prevention of illness.

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What Is Holistic Health and Why Is It so Important?

Last Updated: June 8th, 2021

Holistic health has become a popular topic lately. Many medical practitioners and self help gurus are adopting the holistic approach, but it is more than just an ephemeral trend. Holistic healthcare is an integrative approach to health and wellbeing, which sees the person as a whole, not just a symptom to treat.

• What Is Holistic Health?
• Why Does Holistic Health Matter?
• What Is Holistic Medicine?
• The Holistic Approach to Work Life Balance During the COVID 19 Pandemic
• How to Build Our Own Pillars of Holistic Health and Wellness While COVID-19 We Are Stuck at Home

1 . What Is Holistic Health?

Holistic health is an approach to wellness that views the human being as a whole. To achieve holistic health, a certain harmonious interaction is needed between the body, the mind, the soul, the emotions, the environment, and all the other factors that influence living. Holistic health doesn’t believe in curing one symptom, instead it aims to elevate the whole living system, which is traditionally made of 8 key components. They are known as the 8 pillars of holistic health :

Physical health : It involves taking care of the physical body, by making sure to get enough sleep, to move and to exercise regularly.

Nutritional health : You are what you eat. Nutrition influences physical, emotional and intellectual health. It’s important to consume a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, and low in processed products. Pure and clean drinking water is also a must.

Intellectual health : Making sure to challenge the brain daily is essential, either by completing puzzles, or by constantly learning something new.

Emotional health : It means developing emotional awareness and intelligence. Allowing emotions to be expressed, recognized and honored. But also being aware of one’s emotional tank, what fills it up and what drains it.

Spiritual health : This pillar may mean different things to different people, but we all have that feeling of longing for more in common. Tending to our spiritual side gives us a sentiment of belonging and of purpose.

Environmental health : It means being ecologically conscious, honoring the blue planet and its resources while being aware that we are only visitors of this earth.

Social health : Humans are naturally social creatures. Tending to our social side makes us feel a part of a pack and a community. Having a trustworthy support system and a fulfilling social life are important aspects of social health.

Financial health : Money is an important resource for security and goal-attainment. Financial health means cultivating a positive relationship with money, and mindfully managing financial resources.

2 . Why Does Holistic Health Matter?

According to the World Health Organization, health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.  

Conventional medicine only cares about disease and infirmity and doesn’t guarantee the full spectrum of health as defined above. In order to achieve this state of complete wellbeing, a holistic approach is mandatory, hence the importance of holistic health.

No one can contest with how much life has improved thanks to conventional medicine. But at the same time, we cannot deny the feelings of dissatisfaction, void, and loneliness that conventional medicine alone isn’t able to fix. Holistic health matters because conventional models of care are no longer enough.

3 . What Is Holistic Medicine?

Holistic medicine is an approach to healthcare that uses both conventional western medicine and alternative medicine as tools to ensure optimal health and wellbeing. Alternative treatments include nutrition and lifestyle interventions, therapies derived from traditional Chinese or Indian medicine, hypnosis, phototherapy, aromatherapy, meditation, and various self-development techniques.

Furthermore, in holistic medicine, the goal isn’t to cure a symptom, but rather to elevate the whole system. As a result, not only is the person healthy, but they are also the best version of themselves.

4 . The Holistic Approach to Work Life Balance During the COVID 19 Pandemic

Having a healthy work life balance is an essential part of healthy living . This has become even more important during our current situation.  During the pandemic, many of us will continue to work from home, taking on multiple roles at the same time. Consider these tips to stay healthy and productive.

The COVID 19 pandemic has changed so many things in our lives. It has pushed us out of our comfort zones, and it made us face our doubts and deepest fears. Furthermore, since most people are either working or studying from home, it has made the line that separates life and work blurrier than before, hence the need now more than ever, to set healthy boundaries for work life balance.

Most people have already heard the mainstream advice about keeping a healthy work life balance, but the holistic approach would be to examine each health pillar individually. By adopting the holistic approach to work life balance, the goal isn’t simply to avoid burnout or disease, but it’s rather to become the most healthy, vibrant, and ideal version of yourself.

5 . How to Build Our Own Pillars of Holistic Health and Wellness While COVID-19 We Are Stuck at Home

We are living in unprecedented times. The current lockdown means that we are forced to live differently and work differently. Coronavirus can stir up all sorts of feelings, like fear, anxiety or stress. In this scenario, destress technique becomes crucial. This is the best time to find simple destress technique and build your own pillars of holistic health. Here are 11 tips to get holistic health . Keep reading to find out what they are.

Instead of viewing this time of quarantine and working from home as a period of boredom and loneliness, we can view it as a chance to learn and start practicing holistic wellness.

Whether you work or study from home, there are some common pillars for holistic wellness. First you need to take care of your physical body, by taking breaks during the day, going for walks, working out and keeping a healthy sleep schedule. Being stuck at home is also a great opportunity to cook healthy meals made from fresh in season ingredients. It’s helpful to be mindful of the environment you spend most of your day in, and to ensure it is clean and tidy. Keeping in contact with friends and family is important, since spending all day at home can make us long for human warmth. Emotionally, it’s essential to be aware of how you’re feeling, and to take the necessary steps to prevent burnout and mental health issues. Keeping a steady spiritual practice can immensely help with the doubt and uncertainty that plague us all. And last but not least, it’s important to be financially aware, and to avoid overspending (or overeating for that matter) to fill any emotional void you may carry.

If you work from home:

Prioritize self care! Tend to your needs before you take care of your job, because what good is a salary at the end of the month if you feel bad about yourself?

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are working from home than ever before. Whether you are new to working remotely or just want to upgrade, these tips from remote working professionals can help you stay productive and keep your balance.

If you study from home:

We have all seen the news and are currently understanding the world situation, so we need to find effective ways to study or work at home. Take this time to reflect on your future and the things you want to become. Remember that studying is just one way to make your dreams come true. Also take this time to learn other skills that will help you in your career.

Studying at home does not have to be boring or unnecessarily complicated. Here are 5 study tips and you can combine with your own tips and tricks and set a schedule to make the most productive entrepreneurs jealous.

Remember to take regular breaks and use your free time to do things that will make you smile and feel good. There are many things you can do during the quarantine period, including cooking, playing video games, completing online courses, etc. So this is an excellent time to develop on all levels.

6 . Conclusion

Holistic wellness is an approach to healthcare that sees the person as a whole and not just a symptom. The goal of holistic wellness is to ensure optimal wellbeing and not just being free of disease. Being stuck at home because of the COVID 19 pandemic is a great opportunity to become more aware of our health, and to learn and incorporate more holistic wellness into our daily life.

Use the Wellness Wheel Worksheet to help you to identify what areas of your life are fulfilled and healthy and what areas need improvement and attention

Let Start to Practice Holistic Health

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Health as Complete Well-Being: The WHO Definition and Beyond

Thomas schramme.

Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool, Gillian Howie House, Mulberry Street, Liverpool, L69 7SH, UK

The paper defends the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of health against widespread criticism. The common objections are due to a possible misinterpretation of the word complete in the descriptor of health as ‘complete physical, mental and social well-being’. Complete here does not necessarily refer to perfect well-being but can alternatively mean exhaustive well-being, that is, containing all its constitutive features. In line with the alternative reading, I argue that the WHO definition puts forward a holistic account, not a notion of perfect health. I use historical and analytical evidence to defend this interpretation. In the second part of the paper, I further investigate the two different notions of health (holistic health and perfect health). I argue that both ideas are relevant but that the holistic interpretation is more adept for political aims.

Introduction

‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ ( World Health Organisation [WHO], 1948 : 100). In this paper, I argue that this famous WHO definition of health is fully adequate. Criticism that has been levied against it is based on a specific interpretation that is not the only alternative. In addition to defending the WHO definition, I will discuss two different meanings of the concept of health, which can lead to confusion if not properly kept apart. This is important, for historical and analytical reasons, because the WHO definition can indeed be interpreted in different ways and because we need to get to grips with the differences between types of definitions of health. My second aim in this paper is hence to explain and to properly keep apart two different conceptualisations of health. 1

As regards the WHO definition, I will claim that critics have read the word complete in the phrase ‘complete physical, mental and social well-being’ in a way that goes against the likely intentions of the draftees of the definition. The common objections, for instance, accusing the WHO definition of utopianism and overreach, are based on an implicit assumption, according to which complete is a quantitative term. In other words, critics assume that the phrase means that health is a state of well-being to the largest degree. I will call this interpretation perfect health . So, the critics claim that the WHO identifies health with the largest degree of well-being, that is, with perfect well-being or—in less technical terms—with happiness.

However, the term complete can also have a qualitative meaning. 2 When we say that something is a complete specimen of its kind, then we mean that it has all the features that are constitutive of it. For instance, a complete dinner is one that contains a starter, a main dish and a dessert. Accordingly, complete well-being might be understood as a state that is exhaustive of all constitutive features of well-being. These are, according to the WHO, physical, mental and social aspects. I will call this holistic health . 3 In brief, I will claim that the WHO endorses a holistic account of health, not a perfectionist account. 4

In the second section, I briefly introduce the most important objections to the WHO definition. They have mainly to do with an alleged confusion of health with happiness, which then purportedly leads to a form of medicalisation of human life. In the third section, I discuss the likely intentions behind the WHO definition. I do this by referring to the two readings mentioned before, perfect health and holistic health. There are systematic and historical reasons as to why the WHO plausibly intended a holistic interpretation of health. In the fourth section, I discuss the two interpretations of health in their own right. I introduce their purposes and some objections to either notion. As is the case with many concepts we use, there is no single right or wrong conceptualisation of health. However, I argue that a holistic concept of health is better suited for the purposes of the WHO and more generally for political and economic agendas.

Criticism of the WHO Definition

The health definition of the WHO has often been dismissed by philosophers of medicine and medical scientists (for an overview, see Leonardi, 2018 ). One of the main reasons has been the alleged confusion of health and happiness, that is, a state of complete well-being. 5 If health is understood as happiness, it has been argued, there are many highly problematic consequences, most importantly the medicalisation of people’s lives. After all, health is also interpreted as a basic human right in the same document: ‘The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition’ ( WHO, 1948 : 100). If people fall short of the ideal of perfection, that is, if they are not in a state of complete well-being, their health ought to be enhanced. With health care being an important instrument to reach health, the lives of people seem to fall under the remit of health-related institutions, especially medicine, in all their aspects. For instance, if someone is sad, they lack health in the sense of complete well-being. Accordingly, following the WHO constitution, they apparently have a justified claim to be made healthy, that is, happy, potentially by using mood-enhancing drugs or other medical means.

A prominent and influential critique of the WHO definition stems from Daniel Callahan: ‘[T]he most specific complaint about the WHO definition is that its very generality, and particularly its association of health and general well-being as a positive ideal, has given rise to a variety of evils. Among them are the cultural tendency to define all social problems, from war to crime in the streets, as “health” problems’ ( Callahan, 1973 : 78; see also Kass, 1975 : 14, for a very similar critique). This is an example of the critique of overreach (cf. Bickenbach, 2017 : 962), that is, of applying a medical concept to areas that pose other types of problems than healthcare problems.

Another problem that has repeatedly been pointed out is the utopianism of the definition. It seems that ‘[t]he requirement for complete health “would leave most of us unhealthy most of the time”’ ( Huber et al ., 2011 : 235; quoting Smith, 2008 ; see also Saracci, 1997 : 1409, 1409; Card, 2017 ). This can specifically be deemed problematic in relation to people with disabilities, chronic diseases and people of advanced age. They would by definition permanently be missing out on health and accordingly on well-being. However, such a view seems to conflict with the perspectives of relevant groups of people themselves ( Fallon and Karlawish, 2019 : 1104).

Despite the widespread criticism from many different disciplinary backgrounds, the WHO never amended their definition of health. It seems that they did not see a need to change their point of view. In the following section, I will argue that the critique is indeed based on a misunderstanding of the WHO’s perspective.

Interpreting the WHO Definition of Health

As explained, I will argue that the WHO defines health as holistic health, not as perfect health. To bolster this claim about the intentions of the institution, I need to consider the history of its constitution. In this section, I will therefore rely on historical documents, which are in the public domain. In addition, I have benefitted from an enormously helpful recent publication by Lars Thorup Larsen (2022) , who gives a detailed account specifically of the genealogy of the WHO definition, based on archival research.

An important fact that supports my reading of the WHO’s intentions is that the word complete was only inserted into the definition at the very final stages of its conception. It is fairly obvious that it was as a form of editorial amendment, not a substantial change, because otherwise it would have required extensive debate. If the word complete would have fixed the intended definition of health to a perfectionist account, this would have either stirred up a debate or would have had to be uncontroversial. However, there is no evidence in the relevant documents that the draftees of the WHO constitution definitely understood health as perfection. The term complete , according to my reading, was rather intended to clarify the phrase ‘physical, mental and social well-being’, the latter of which had been part of the definition since the drafting period. 6 The word complete summarises and jointly describes the three aspects of well-being. It also adds a rhetorical contrast to the second part of the sentence that denies the sufficiency of the absence of disease or infirmity for health. A perhaps better way to express the notion would have been to state that: health is a state of complete well-being, that is, a state that comprises physical, mental and social elements. But this locution would not have worked straightforwardly in a one-sentence definition, which was apparently aimed at by the WHO.

The late arrival of the term complete of course does not present conclusive evidence that the WHO did not intend to push an account of perfect health. The historical records are not sufficient in this respect. The final draft of the constitution, which had been penned by the Technical Preparatory Committee, was discussed at a meeting in New York City in 1946. 7 The relevant draft definition reads: ‘Health is not only the absence of disease, but also a state of physical and mental well-being and fitness resulting from positive factors, such as adequate feeding, housing and training’ ( WHO, 1947 : 58). The final version, which was eventually adopted, had been prepared by the so-called Committee I, which ‘had given careful consideration to amendments submitted by the delegations of South Africa, Mexico, Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, Chile, United Kingdom, Iran, China, Philippines, Poland, Venezuela, United States of America and Canada’ ( WHO, 1948 : 44). Unfortunately, there are no published minutes or other forms of evidence in relation to this decisive period—decisive, as far as the introduction of the term complete is concerned. We simply do not know who added the word. This would have been important, though, to get a better grasp of the intentions behind the addition. 8

Importantly, many members of the Technical Preparatory Committee, who had been involved to different degrees in the drafting of the WHO constitution, came from a public health background ( Farley, 2008 : 12ff.; Cueto et al ., 2019 : 39ff.). Renowned proponents of so-called social medicine, such as Andrija Štampar, René Sand, Karl Evang and Thomas Parran, were leading members of the drafting group. This is significant because public health usually has a different understanding of the concept of health than clinical medicine. Whereas for the latter, health can be defined as absence of disease ( Smith, 2008 ), that is, in absolute terms, health in public health is a multifarious and scalar notion ( Schramme, 2017 ; Valles, 2018 : 31ff.).

In clinical medicine, health is often understood as absence of disease. This makes sense because the focus is on individual patients. These either have a disease or not. Patients might suffer from a more or less severe disease, but that does not mean that they are more or less diseased than others. Similarly, health over and above the absence of disease is not usually the focus of clinical medicine. If there is no disease, then that is sufficient to establish health. There is no need to refer to health in a positive way, that is, to define it in its own terms.

In contrast, public health scientists usually refer to populations. In their parlance, chosen populations can be more or less healthy than comparison groups. For instance, it might be declared that mine workers are less healthy than millionaires. This does not mean that all mine workers acutely suffer from a disease; rather, it means that they are more likely to fall ill, due to their circumstances of life. Public health has traditionally studied the causes of disease and has made big strides in the prevention of disease. Accordingly, its focus is upstream, as it is sometimes put ( Marmot, 2010 : 41; Venkatapuram, 2011 : 189), towards the conditions that make disease more likely. Health becomes a dispositional term that allows for different grades.

From a public health perspective, it is fairly obvious that health is ‘more than the absence of disease’. It is more in the sense of additionally requiring dispositional elements, not because it is a quantitatively better condition than medical normality (i.e. the absence of disease). People who live in destitute circumstances might not suffer from a disease, but they are often lacking in terms of a sufficient disposition to maintain minimal health.

The public health perspective, therefore, is a gradual perspective on health, allowing parlance of more and less health, or being healthier than others. Although such a perspective does not necessarily lead to an account of perfect health, it is nevertheless compatible with the latter. People with a perfect health disposition—marked by a very low probability to fall ill—might accordingly be deemed in a state of perfect health. Importantly, falling below the ideal point of perfection on a scale does not imply having a disease. In other words, not being perfectly healthy would not constitute a condition of being un healthy; it would merely mean being less healthy than others ( Schramme 2019 : 29ff.). This shows that some of the criticism levied against the WHO definition, even if understood as a perfectionist account, is implausible. More specifically, it does not necessarily follow that, for instance, people with disabilities would be constantly deemed unhealthy because they lack perfect health. As explained, health is not a binary term according to the relevant perspective.

So far, I have argued that the WHO definition is supposed to allow for grades of health. For that purpose, it takes its cue from public health perspectives, though I do not want to claim that it is identical to it. After all, the WHO definition still incorporates the traditional medical perspective on health as absence of disease. There are, nevertheless, important qualms to do with the notion of perfect health. The WHO refers to health as a state of well-being and this might itself be deemed problematic. To be sure, the conceptual connection between health and the good life for human beings has long been established ( Temkin, 1973 ). 9 The connection also makes sense from an experiential point of view. Health has indeed to do with how we fare. Still, if we read the definition as a perfectionist account of health, it would define health as perfect well-being. If that were the case, this would apparently lead to the alleged dangerous confusion of health and happiness mentioned earlier. After all, sufficient health but not happiness seems to be the business of welfare state institutions. It is true, of course, that health care from a public health perspective includes vastly more than just medical care, especially aspects to do with work, education and the environment. Yet, we normally see good reasons to restrict the remit of state institutions to a form of needs provision, basic security and enablement of self-determination (cf. Goodin, 1988 : 363ff.). So, if perfect health were the focus of the state, it would probably end up becoming unjustifiably expansive.

I do not believe that the WHO is guilty of this charge. To be sure, there are reasons for thinking that a public health perspective occasionally tends towards an expansive view of health politics (cf. Preda and Voigt, 2015 ). Yet, it is hardly imaginable that a nascent institution—still precarious in its status at the time of drafting its constitution including the health definition—would intend to basically take over the whole established welfare state agenda and indeed even to expand it by making perfect health a political aim. This is even less credible, as one of the global health institutions predating the WHO, the League of Nations Health Organization , had come under fire for its alleged political overreach during these times of increasing national isolationism ( Cueto et al ., 2019 : 20ff.). There were, accordingly, strong political reasons not to endorse a perfectionist health definition, or at least to keep such ambitions hidden from plain view, especially in 1946, with very fresh memories of the dangers of totalitarianism being abundant. 10

A more science-oriented reason as to why the WHO is unlikely to have opted for an account of perfect health is that such an ideal is not measurable. After all, it refers to an abstract point of reference. To quantify the health statuses of populations, scientists need metrics and they need to determine thresholds. In other words, they need to plot health along a scale. If health were only a hypothetical point on a limitless scale, it would hardly be a useful metric for scientific purposes. Again, this is not a decisive reason to reject the perfectionist interpretation of the WHO definition. But there are numerous publications by health scientists who use the WHO definition without running into the mentioned problems ( Breslow, 1972 ; Greenfield and Nelson, 1992 ). So, it seems that many scientists do not assume the perfectionist health interpretation (see also Ware et al ., 1981 : 621). 11

In contrast, the holistic health interpretation leads to the following point of view: Health is seen as a state of well-being with numerous aspects—physical, mental and social. 12 Given these dimensions of well-being, health statuses can be assessed in a combined approach, taking the full range of health-related factors into account. Importantly, health is not a fictional point at the end of the scale, but any point along a scale. Some people might have a comparatively bad health status, some might be in good health; all will be positioned along a spectrum. From the health definition itself, nothing follows as to when health is good enough or so bad that state institutions need to interfere. In other words, important political decisions regarding thresholds of sufficient health are not prejudged if we follow a holistic health definition. Such a perspective is much more amenable to the political remit of the WHO, which ended up with fairly limited interventionist power (cf. Packard, 2016 : 99ff.; Larsen, 2022 : 123ff.).

The overarching focus of the holistic health interpretation is maintenance of health. It is thereby acknowledged that to counter the various threats to health not only medical means are required, but a dynamic level of physical, mental and social assets. This has been an insight of early public health practitioners. For instance, Henry Sigerist, who evidently had a significant indirect influence on the WHO definition via Raymond Gautier’s draft ( Larsen, 2022 : 119), had already been concerned with the aim of health maintenance. 13 This provides a dynamic element in the conceptualisation of health, which is also implicit in the WHO definition, despite its reference to a state , which seemingly suggests a static view. When Sigerist writes that ‘health is more than the absence of disease’ ( Sigerist, 1932 : 293), this is meant as a conclusion to an argument acknowledging the environmental and social determinants of health. His point becomes quite clear in a later quote:

A healthy individual is a man [ sic! ] who is well balanced bodily and mentally, and well adjusted to his physical and social environment. He is in full control of his physical and mental faculties, can adapt to environmental changes, so long as they do not exceed normal limits; and contributes to the welfare of society according to his ability. Health is, therefore, not simply the absence of disease: it is something positive, a joyful attitude toward life, and a cheerful acceptance of the responsibilities that life puts upon the individual ( Sigerist, 1941 : 100). 14

Sigerist’s terminology, referring to being well balanced, adjusted and in full control, is not aiming towards an ideal of perfection. Rather, he is stating several elements of a good human life within the limits of reality. He believes that health enables an affirmative view of individuals towards their life, not unlimited happiness.

In this section, I have discussed the WHO definition partly from an analytical point of view, in that I distinguished two possible interpretations, a perfectionist and a holistic account of health. I have added historical information regarding the drafting period. Both analytical and historical reasons speak in favour of my thesis that the WHO definition should be read as defining health in a holistic way. Health as complete well-being refers to the full range of factors determining a specific disposition of people to prevent ill health (cf. Ware et al ., 1981 ). This ties in nicely with a more recent official statement by the WHO, the Ottawa Charter, which I will cite as final support of my thesis: ‘[H]ealth is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities’ ( WHO, 1986 ). Health is not the best possible state of well-being but a multifarious instrument, including external as well as internal resources, to pursue a good life.

Why We Need to Distinguish Between Holistic Health and Perfect Health

I have not argued that a conceptualisation of perfect health is wrong-headed or even harmful. Rather, I claimed that perfect health is not the notion that the WHO has been after. It is of import to distinguish between the two notions of health introduced earlier, because confusing them will lead to cross-purposes, not merely in respect to the WHO definition. In this section I will take a closer look at the two health conceptions and discuss the purposes which they can serve. I will also hint at problems with both interpretations that might eventually call for terminological reform.

Holistic health allows to pursue multiple political and economic purposes. For instance, it enables comparisons between groups of people and is especially adept to highlight social inequalities that have an impact on population health. This makes it more pertinent for political purposes than a negative conceptualisation of health as the absence of disease. The latter is absolute or non-comparative and hence does not allow for any interesting information about health-related inequalities between persons.

Importantly, in contrast to perfect health, the scope of holistic health can be contoured by thresholds. As explained, complete well-being can be understood as having all elements that are constitutive of it. What exactly that means in relation to health is of course contested, and I have already insinuated that the WHO did not set a threshold, perhaps intentionally. Still, the required level of holistic health could be determined via political decision-making processes. This makes holistic health open for different substantial interpretations and hence political ambitions.

Despite these advantages, the conceptualisation of health as holistic health has serious drawbacks. 15 Most significantly, the distinction between health conditions and determinants of health becomes blurry ( Bickenbach, 2017 : 968, 968; van Druten et al ., 2022 : 2). 16 Environmental and social determinants of health come with certain probabilities, sometimes unknown, to fall ill or to stay healthy, but they are not constituents of medical conditions themselves; rather, they are their presumed causes ( Whitbeck, 1981 : 617). As we have seen in the previous example of miners’ health, a poor health disposition is not the same as being unhealthy, that is, suffering from disease or illness. 17

The potential confusion between poor health dispositions and disease or illness leads to normative confusion as well, especially when we are assessing claims of justice. Disease has a different normative status than a relatively bad health disposition. Arguably, disease has an immediate urgency in relation to human needs, in terms of threatening or involving harm. A comparatively high propensity to fall ill or membership in a vulnerable population as such does not obviously have such normative urgency. Important normative discussions about health justice are short-circuited if we transfer direct urgency to alleviating relatively poor holistic health statuses without thinking about the impact on the lives of real people and merely consider relative positions.

One way forward would be to acknowledge the basic insights of a holistic conceptualisation of health but to nevertheless distinguish between health as a condition of an individual and health-related traits and circumstances that have an impact on the maintenance of individual and population health. We would accordingly need a more adequate term than health for combining both of these aspects—an organismic condition, that is, health in the more narrowly medical sense, and a set of health-related resources. Such a revisionary conceptual perspective can only be alluded to here (see Davies and Schramme, 2022 ).

Accounts of perfect health have a different purpose than accounts of holistic health. The former set an ideal; an ambitious target for individual or social aspiration. According to this perspective, a person can always be potentially healthier, because there is no fixed point on a scale which suffices for health. It seems to me that such an interpretation of health is fully adequate for specific purposes, for instance, introducing a utopian goal and to stop people from becoming complacent about an important element of a good human life. Perfect health shares features with traditional accounts of the virtues, although it is not itself supposed to be a virtue. Virtues are similar to perfect health in that they describe human excellences. Virtues are excellences of character, or perfect dispositions to act fully adequately; health is excellence in relation to well-being, or a perfect organismic disposition to keep harmful and disadvantageous conditions at bay. Becoming virtuous can be an aspiration for human beings and so can becoming perfectly healthy.

However, there is a danger of imposing such an ideal on everyone. If we always have to strive for more health, then we might lose sight of other values, such as pursuing friendships, taking risks or enjoying unhealthy choices. This is a real risk in many modern societies, where health has been turned into a kind of religion and individual mission ( Katz, 1997 ). Socially, similar developments can be studied in relation to so-called ‘healthism’ and generally the moralisation of health ( Conrad, 1992 ). 18 The problems intensify if health dispositions and risk factors are not clearly distinguished from health conditions. Every single action a person pursues might have an impact on their health, according to the perfectionist health account. Hence, if combined with a prescriptive reading of the ideal—as something to be sought—then health can turn into a totalitarian imperative. This would clearly undermine the initial purpose of setting an ideal.

Whether perfect health will fail to meet its purposes will be established by experience and through history. It is not a necessary feature of the account. As mentioned, there are warning signs. However, more importantly, there is a need to clearly distinguish between holistic health and perfect health because perfect health, in contrast to holistic health, should never be the remit of state institutions.

Conclusions

‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ ( WHO, 1948 : 100). This definition allows for two different interpretations. A perfectionist account, where health describes a hypothetical, perfect state of well-being, or a holistic account, where health is a state of exhaustive well-being, including all relevant dimensions of its constitutive elements. I have argued that the WHO intended to support a holistic account. I provided analytical and historical reasons for this point of view.

To distinguish between the two interpretations of health is important for systematic reasons as well, not merely in relation to the proper interpretation of the WHO’s definition of health. The two different accounts serve different purposes and run into different types of problems, as I have highlighted in this paper. Still, both are perfectly valid notions of health.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Lars Thorup Larsen and one of the two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments.

1 There can, of course, be even more than just these two conceptualisations of health. For instance, many would probably define health simply in terms of the absence of disease or illness. Indeed, one of the reasons why the WHO definition has raised concerns is probably due to its explicit diversion from the widespread conceptualisation in negative terms, that is, as absence of something.

2 The Oxford Dictionary of English (2015) entry on the adjective forms of complete states: ‘1. having all the necessary or appropriate parts: a complete list of courses offered by the university | no woman’s wardrobe is complete without this pretty top ( … ) 2. [attributive] (often used for emphasis) to the greatest extent or degree; total: a complete ban on smoking | their marriage came as a complete surprise to me ’.

3 The term holistic has been used in relation to health by Lennart Nordenfelt (see Nordenfelt, 1995 : 12ff., 35ff.). By using this term, I do not want to claim that Nordenfelt endorses the WHO definition.

4 A slightly different distinction between two meanings of the concept of complete— complete in an ‘all-or-nothing sense’ and in a sense that ‘admits of degrees’—has been drawn by Sissela Bok in relation to the WHO definition ( Bok, 2008 : 592). In passing, I also want to note that the label perfectionist is of course not supposed to refer to perfectionism in value theory, where it denotes an objective theory of the good.

5 Possibly the first philosopher of medicine to take note of this feature and the likely consequences was Owsei Temkin: ‘I do not think that I read too much into this formula [the WHO definition] if I believe that it tends to include moral values and to identify health with happiness. ( … ) But is the pursuit of happiness itself wholly a medical matter? Our life has many values and ( … ) happiness can sometimes be achieved at the sacrifice of health. ( … ) [I]f health is defined so broadly as to include morality, then the danger exists that the physician will also be burdened with all the duties of the medieval priest’ ( Temkin, 1949 : 20).

6 This needs to be qualified, because the term social was introduced fairly late in the drafting process. However, the point I am making here is to do with the fact that elements of well-being had been listed for some time during the drafting period and that the word complete was added to characterise these elements jointly.

7 The Technical Preparatory Committee itself relied on earlier drafts of senior members of related institutional bodies, especially the League of Nations Health Organization ( Larsen, 2022 ). Larsen gives a detailed account of the origins of the WHO definition, tracing it back to Henry Sigerist’s influential publications in the history, sociology and philosophy of medicine, dating mainly from the 1930ies. Sigerist’s ideas were not revisionary or highly original, though, at least not in its focus on positive health. The idea that health includes elements that cannot be captured by the phrase ‘absence of disease’ goes back to antiquity. Especially the notion of health as a form of equilibrium and—in modern terms—resilience has been known for centuries ( Edelstein, 1967 : 303ff.). So, even if Sigerist’s work probably had a role in finding the relevant formulations, the underlying ideas had been prevalent.

8 One of the members of the Technical Preparatory Committee, Szeming Sze, recalled 40 years later that James H.S. Gear ‘improved the wording’ ( WHO, 1988 : 33). However, there is no identifiable evidence to corroborate Sze’s recollection.

9 The notion of well-being here is a state of a person including their circumstances. It should not be interpreted as a mental state only, that is, as a kind of feeling.

10 It should also not be forgotten that the early focus of public health institutions, including the precursors of the WHO, was on the prevention of diseases, specifically communicable diseases. This speaks against assuming a focus on health enhancement.

11 Indeed, numerous researchers claim that although the WHO definition sets a political ambition, its main purpose is to set a framework that makes health measurable ( Salomon et al ., 2003 ; Rubinelli et al ., 2018 ; cf. Chatterji et al ., 2002 ).

12 In line with this reading, in more recent years, there was also a discussion in the WHO whether to add spiritual well-being to the definition ( WHO, 1997 : 2; cf. Larson, 1996 ; Nordenfelt, 2016 : 214). The discussion around a fourth aspect of well-being did not lead to official changes, though.

13 Bok also mentions that Sigerist was a close friend of Štampar’s, who was—as mentioned earlier—a member of the drafting group ( Bok, 2008 : 594).

14 Georges Canguilhem similarly declared that ‘[h]ealth is a set of securities and assurances ( … ), securities in the present, assurances for the future’ ( Canguilhem, 1966 : 198).

15 Surely not everyone would see the political negotiability of adequate health thresholds as an advantage. However, I am here concerned with a relative advantage over the perfectionist account of health.

16 Once the determinants of health are confused with health itself, there is an additional danger of conceptualising immorality and incivility as forms of health disruptions (cf. Farley 2008 : 56). WHO officials were not immune to this problem. For instance, in a memorandum called International Health of the Future (1943), Gautier wrote: ‘For health is more than the absence of illness; the word health implies something positive, namely physical, mental, and moral fitness. This is the goal to be reached’ ( Larsen, 2022 : 117; see also Chisholm, 1946 : 16; cf. Cueto et al ., 2019 : 33).

17 The otherwise philosophically important distinction between disease and illness does not matter for the purposes of my essay. I use the terms interchangeably for ease of reading.

18 An important and still highly recommendable early critique of the utopian standard of health is Rene Dubos’s Mirage of Health ( Dubos, 1959) .

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Holism in Health Care: Patient as Person

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This chapter explores the place of holism within the philosophy of medicine. It is organized into three sections which explore three related aspects of holism in the context of medicine and health care. The chapter begins with an introduction which places the holism debate within the wider history of ideas and the evolution of medicine as a scientifically grounded practice. An early consideration in section one is whether holism can be positively defined or whether it can be discussed only in terms of its relationship with reductionism – the holism/reductionism dyad. A key question is whether medicine’s reliance upon the natural sciences requires the adoption of a form of reductionism that is incompatible with holism. Developing the analysis of reductionism the question of the compatibility of reductionism with holism is explored further. Section two deals with the question of whether holism is actually antireductionist. Here several strands are explored in order to show that the holism/reductionism dyad is not merely a scientific, philosophical debate but in addition has important normative implications for understanding the very raison d’être of medicine. Section three continues the analysis of the normative issues by exploring the holism/reductionism dyad in the context of medical ethics.

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Woods, S. (2015). Holism in Health Care: Patient as Person. In: Schramme, T., Edwards, S. (eds) Handbook of the Philosophy of Medicine. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8706-2_21-1

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8706-2_21-1

Received : 09 August 2015

Accepted : 01 September 2015

Published : 07 October 2015

Publisher Name : Springer, Dordrecht

Online ISBN : 978-94-017-8706-2

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