What is HEALTH?
Health is not perceived the same way by all members of a community including various professional groups
giving rise to confusion about the concept of health.
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely an absence of disease
of infirmity".
Health is multidimensional i.e:
1. Physical Dimension
2. Mental Dimension
3. Social Dimensio
4. Spiritual Dimension
5. Emotional Dimension
6. Vocational Dimensional
7. Others
1. Physical Dimension
The physical dimension of health is probably the easiest to understand. The state of physical health implies
the notion of "perfect functioning" of the body.
The signs of physical health in an individual are: " a good completion, a clean skin, bright eyes, lustrous hair
with a body well clothed with firm flesh, not too fat, a sweet breath, a good appetite, sound sleep,
regular activity of Bowels and Bladder and smooth, easy, coordinated bodily movements
2. Mental Dimension
Mental health is not mere absence of mental illness. Good mental health is the ability to respond to the many
varied experiences of life with flexibility and a sense of purpose.
Pyschologists have mentioned the following charecteristics of a mentally healthy person:
a. Free from internal conflicts i.e he is not at "war" with himself.
b. Able to get along with others.
c. Searches for identity.
d. Has a strong sense of self-esteem.
e. Knows himself i.e knows his problems, goals etc.
f. Has a good self-control-balances rationality and emotionally.
g. Faces problem and tries to solve them.
3. Social Dimension
Socail wellbeing implis harmony and integration within the individual, b/w each individual and other members of society
and between individuals and the world in which they live.
Socail health is rooted in "Positive material enviornment" and "positive human enviornment" which is concerened
with the social network of the individual.
4. Spiritual Dimension
Proponents of holistic health believe that the time has come to give serious consideration to the spiritual dimension
and to the role this plays in health and disease.
Spiritual health in this context, refers to that part of the individual which reaches out and strives for meaning
and pupose in life. It include integrity, principles and ethics, the purpose in life, commitment to some higher being
and belief in concepts that are not subject to "state of the art" explanation.
5. Emotional dimension
Historically the mental and emotional dimensions have been seen as one element or as two closely related elements.
Mental health health can be seen as "knowing" or "cognition" while emotional health relates to "feeling".
Experts in Pyschobiology have been relatively successful in isolating these two seperate dimensions.
6. Vocational Dimension
The vocational aspect of life is new dimension. It is part of human existence. Te importance of this dimension is exposed
when individual suddenly lose their jobs or faced with mandatory retirement.
7. Others
A few other dimensions have also been suggested such as :
a. Philosophical Dimension
b. Cultural Dimension
c. Socio-economic Dimension
d. Enviornmental Dimension
e. Educational Dimension
f. Nutritional Dimension
g. Curative Dimension
h. Preventive Dimension
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