Condition Spotlight
Wellness is a modern word with ancient roots. The key tenets of wellness as both preventive and holistic can be traced back to ancient civilizations from the East (India, China) to the West (Greece, Rome). In 19th-century Europe and the United States, a variety of intellectual, religious and medical movements developed in parallel with conventional medicine. With their focus on holistic and natural approaches, self-healing and preventive care, these movements have provided a firm foundation for wellness today.
Every year, medical technology provides more and more opportunities to increase life expectancy and improve its quality. Modern therapies allow physicians to fight diseases that were previously considered incurable. One of the novel methods that Read More
A typical day for many adults goes like this: drink coffee, sit in a car or take public transit to get to work, work at a desk bent over a computer all day, take quick Read More
During the warm weather months, there’s often a great deal of shuffling and movement, including common allergy triggers like trees, pollen, mold spores, dust and dander along with pesky sinus pressure. While more commonly associated Read More
Many people don’t realize that it’s impossible to put all eating disorders into one nutshell. There are several types of eating disorders out there that your loved one might be suffering from. Your loved one’s Read More
Around the world, there are thousands of scientists working hard to come up with medicines and treatments to try and cure some of the many illnesses and conditions that people are living with. Some of Read More
Can listening to classical music help students do better on test scores? College students who listened to classical music by Beethoven and Chopin during a computer-interactive lecture on microeconomics — and heard the music played Read More
Many of us feel a strong need to make changes that will bring more happiness into our lives. But how do we make changes that will last? Gratitude makes it easier to reprogram your brain Read More
“All through my life, any time I needed to heal myself, my father would encourage me to create an energy ball between my hands,” says Diana. “He directed me to work on it for some Read More
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are terms that are becoming frequently used in the medical health care field, as it is becoming recognized as a valid field of treatment for patients. Alternative medicine seems to Read More
Constipation can be caused or worsened by a sedentary lifestyle and a diet low in fiber and high in fat. Exercise improves muscle tone throughout the body, including the digestive tract. Additionally, not responding to Read More
Wellness is the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes, so that instead of just surviving, you’re thriving!
To understand it’s significance, it is important to understand how it’s linked to health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is defined as being “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
There are two important aspects to this definition. First, wellness is not a passive or static state but rather an “active pursuit” that is associated with intentions, choices and actions as we work toward an optimal state of health and wellbeing. Second, it is linked to holistic health—that is, it extends beyond physical health and incorporates many different dimensions that should work in harmony.
Wellness is an individual pursuit—we have self-responsibility for our own choices, behaviors and lifestyles—but it is also significantly influenced by the physical, social and cultural environments in which we live.
Wellness is often confused with terms such as health, wellbeing and happiness. While there are common elements among them, wellness is distinguished by not referring to a static state of being (i.e., being happy, in good health, or a state of wellbeing). Rather, wellness is associated with an active process of being aware and making choices that lead toward an outcome of optimal holistic health and wellbeing.
