What Does It Mean To Be Healthy? A Holistic Approach

Health means different things to different people, and the category of health can be complicated and confusing because of this. 

Health can entail many different things, including feeling good inside and out, maintaining good mental health, maintaining good physical health, and generally taking care of your body and mind. 

Identifying what exactly health means for you as an individual can make it easier for you to stay on track with your goals for your body and mind, but understanding what health might mean within a larger context can also be a building block for your personal wellness journey. 

What is Good Health?

Generally speaking, health refers to a state of complete physical and emotional wellbeing, meaning that you are in good condition both physically and mentally or emotionally. 

The idea of good health is the central focus of practices like managing stress and working towards a long and active life. In order for this to become clearer, it is necessary to break down the different kinds of health and how they factor into your wellbeing on a larger scale. 

Types of Health

Though mental health and physical health are the two most talked-about types of health and wellbeing, there are actually several others that are just as important. Let’s review. 

  • Physical health: Your physical health has to do with your bodily functions and processes, and if you are in good health physically, it means your body is working the way it should be. Maintaining physical health can be done in a variety of ways, including reducing the risk of injuries, illnesses, and other health issues. 

  • Mental health: Mental health entails your emotional, social, and psychological well being, and it can be difficult to define because it largely depends on each individual’s perception of reality and the world around them. It depends on your ability to enjoy life, feel safe and capable, and feel like you have the ability to work towards your highest potential, to name a few factors. 

  • Spiritual health: Spiritual health can manifest differently depending on one’s beliefs and values, but it has to do with religion or otherwise spiritual aspects of one’s life, and how well each person remains in touch with that part of themselves. 

  • Financial health: Some people also take financial health into consideration, and this has to do with one’s ability to support themselves or their family financially, and whether or not there is financial support available to them if need be. 

This list is not exhaustive, because quite frankly, many people may consider other aspects of life to be forms of health as well. Supporting all of these types of health contributes to “good health” overall, but understanding some more specifics about the meaning of good health can be beneficial. 

What Contributes to Good Health?

Good health depends on a variety of factors, and there are many things that may contribute to a healthier lifestyle. Genetic and environmental factors, for example, are important to consider when it comes to health because they may make a person prone to certain illnesses or physical and mental impairments. 

Generally, though, a person can support their health, or achieve better health by:

  • Incorporating regular exercise into their routine
  • Maintaining a well-balanced diet
  • Getting adequate rest
  • Practicing good hygiene
  • Avoiding the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs
  • Taking time to do things you enjoy
  • Spending time with loved ones
  • Getting fresh air and sunlight regularly
  • Taking vitamins and supplements to fill nutritional gaps

A major theme when it comes to good health is the concept of self-care, which means simply taking care of yourself in every way. 

What Does It Mean to Take a Holistic Approach?

Taking a holistic approach to health means you are considering yourself as a whole person, rather than just accounting for physical health and mental health alone, or by looking only at one piece of your health like just your weight or just your diet. 

In other words, a holistic approach is one that considers the entire mind, body, emotions, and spirit, and how these things function altogether as well as individually. Holistic approaches focus on improving the balance in one's life as a means of achieving optimal health. 

Each person’s life experience is different, meaning that everyone may have imbalances in different aspects of their life. This means that no two people will have the exact same path to a balanced, healthy life, and identifying your own imbalances or areas that need improvement can help you craft your own personal goals. 

Preserving Your Health

To preserve your health is to maintain your wellbeing through a healthful and balanced lifestyle rather than waiting for an ailment to come along and then treating it subsequently. You can preserve your health in a variety of ways, many of which overlap with the factors that contribute to good health in the first place. 

Incorporating vitamins and supplements into your life can also help you support your health and wellbeing as well as promote a more balanced lifestyle. 

The GoBiotix Probiotic Multivitamin, for example, can support your health by improving brain function, restoring good bacteria, regulating and improving your immune system, and regulating your digestion, all of which contribute to a healthier you. 

Additionally, our Focus 8 Mushroom Supplement Complex is formulated to help improve mental clarity, uplift your mood, enhance energy and endurance, and boost your immune system. 

These products take into account the fact that health is more than just your physical wellbeing, and you need to be supported in more ways than just physically. 

The concept of health is somewhat of an umbrella term that encompasses many different topics and ideas, and your definition of health might vary greatly from that of someone else. 

That said, you can support your health by working towards a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle that takes care of your mind, body, emotions, and spirit. It is never too late to work towards a healthier version of yourself, whether it be your mental, physical, or another form of health that needs to be improved. 

Summary

Health is a term that may be defined differently by each person because it comes in many shapes and sizes. 

There are several different types of health, including physical, mental, emotional, social, financial, and spiritual health. Each type of health may be valued differently by different people, but taking care of yourself in each of these ways will contribute to better health overall. Things like regular exercise, a well-balanced and nutritious diet, good hygiene, adequate rest, and time spent on hobbies or pleasurable activities can all contribute to the promotion of good health because these factors address all of the different kinds of wellbeing. 

A holistic approach to health and wellbeing focuses on the individual as a whole, accounting for mind, body, emotions, and spirit in order to improve the balance in that person’s life. Certain vitamins and supplements may help you achieve a more balanced lifestyle, preserving your health and helping you maintain that “healthy” balance!

Sources

https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/what-is-holistic-medicine#1

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/psychosocial/principles/Pages/holistic.aspx#:~:text=A%20holistic%20approach%20means%20to,emotional%2C%20social%20and%20spiritual%20wellbeing.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150999#preserving-health