Peoples ideas about health and well-being change over periods of time and can vary between different cultures and societies.
Peoples ideas of health an also change due to age, gender and ethnicity, I have used the information from the book ‘Health & Social Care for GCSE, by Mark Walsh, published by Collins’ to categorise the below into, positive, negative and holistic definitions of health.
Age six – male: “Being healthy is being good at football.” This is a positive definition of health.
Age eleven – female: “Being healthy is being skinny.” This is a negative definition of health.
Age twelve – female: “Being happy is being healthy.” This is a holistic definition of health.
Age thirteen – female: “Being healthy is keeping everything healthy, not just you but other people, animals and the world around you.” This is a holistic definition of health.
Age sixteen – female: “Being healthy improves your self-esteem and confidence in yourself.” This is a holistic definition of health.
Age eighteen – female: “Being healthy increases your security around your peers.” This is a holistic definition of health.
Age eighteen – female: “Health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This is a holistic definition of health.
Age forty-seven – male: “Being physically fit is being physically healthy; the fact that you are physically it also helps your state of mind.” This is a positive definition of health.
Age forty-nine – female: “Health is a person’s state of mind, state of body, state of fitness and state of hygiene.” This is a positive definition of health.
Age sixty-five – female:
“To be healthy you must eat the correct balanced diet, pray to the Lord and have a lot of sleep.” This is a positive definition of health.
Definitions of health from the web:
- healthy - having or indicating good health in body or mind; free from infirmity or disease; "a rosy healthy baby"; "staying fit and healthy"
- healthy - financially secure and functioning well; "a healthy economy"
- healthy - promoting health; healthful; "a healthy diet"; "clean healthy air"; "plenty of healthy sleep"; "healthy and normal outlets for youthful energy"; "the salubrious mountain air and water"- C B Davis;
- healthy - exercising or showing good judgment;
- healthy - goodly: large in amount or extent or degree; "it cost a considerable amount"; "a goodly amount"; "received a hefty bonus"; "a respectable sum"; "a tidy sum of money"; "a sizable fortune"
- A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity; wellness.
- The state of being free of physical or psychological disease, illness, or malfunction.
- Physical condition.
- Emotional condition.
- The overall level of function of an organism from the cellular (micro) level to the social (macro) level.
- A toast to prosperity.
The ‘World Health Organisation’s’ (WHO) definition of health is:
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This is a holistic definition and one of the ten people I asked answered in a very similar way.
So what is Well-Being?
Well-being is a feeling of total contentment in all areas of life. This means that we are getting all our needs met. Mark Walsh says in his book ‘Health & Social Care for GCSE, published by Collins’ that ‘wellbeing is used in Western societiesto refer to the way people feel about themselves. If people feel positive about themselves and are happy with life, they will have a high level of wellbeing. As individuals, we are the best judges of our personal sense of wellbeing.’ This is why Abraham Harold Maslow who was an American psychologist born April 1, 1908 and died June 8, 1970 created a hierarchy to explain these needs and how they fit together. ()
Here is a flow diagram to show ‘Maslow’s’ Pyramid:
Self actualisation – “to be the best”; this is to achieve the
highest in all you do, and to always work hard to reach your goals in an honest manner.
Ego needs – a person needs to feel goof about themselves, they
should feel respected and important within society.
Social needs – the need that a person has for society and
the company of others. A person needs to feel loved and a sense of belonging. A person also needs physical contact with others.
Safety needs the feeling that tomorrow will always be okay.
A person needs to have the feeling of security, this could come
from having a stable family to care and support you, knowing that you have sufficient income, and to live in a safe area where there is little crime.
Physiological needs – the basic needs in which a person needs to
stay alive. These can be; food, water, medicines and vaccinations, exercise and a healthy, balanced diet.
