Definitions of health
It is fairly difficult to define health as there are no agreements between scholars. This is why many sociologists focus their research on the different issues and problems of ill health.
Positive definition of health: positive health looks at the physical, emotional, intellectual aspects of a person’s wellbeing. This is in the way that they do not have any diseases or ailments.
An example of the positive definition of health in a health and social care is a nurse in who is working in a hospital can say to one of their patients that have recently started exercising to become more ‘healthier’ ‘you look very healthy’.
Positive health looks at what aspects of health are there and which ones make us healthy.
Negative definition of health: negative health looks at illnesses and diseases that are not in the body and the body’s absence from them.
Even though this definition is called negative, it does not mean that the person is being negative and it does not mean that the person is unhealthy or in a negative way. It just means that they are not ill, upset or tired or have any other things that could be holding them back.
An example of the negative health in a health and social care setting could be that a patient of a psychologist may now be seen as healthy because they no longer suffer with depression.
Negative looks at what isn’t there in the form of diseases and illnesses and what isn’t there makes us healthy.
Holistic definition of health: holistic health refers to the person as a whole instead of looking at their separate illnesses and problems. Holistic health connects all aspects of our existence. These include our body, emotions, mind and spirit and it enthuses for them to all be balanced and neve...
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...d Social Care, North Hertfordshire College
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Health is described as “the general condition of the body or mind, especially in terms of the presence or absence of illness or impairments.” Health can also be defined as “the overall condition of something in terms of soundness, vitality and proper functioning” (Oxford, 263). From the definitions of health given, one can either be in good health or in unhealthy.
‘Health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (World Health Organisation, 2011) This definition was first cited by the International health conference in July 1946, and the definition has remained the same. Health is a way of life which is reflected upon every individual, factors such as the condition of your body, has an impact on your health overall. Additionally, if an individual being is fit and in good shape, they are more likely to make healthy choices. Presently, in society around 10 million adults in Britain smoke, (BBC News 2007).Take the example of cigarettes, much of the known effects of smoking include heart disease, lung cancer, heart attacks and much more. Yet adults around the world are constantly engaging in this habit which ultimately deteriorates the health of a being.
Imagine you are sitting on a park bench and two different people pass you- one is an overweight young man who is smoking a cigarette and the other is a slim woman of about the same age who is jogging. Who is healthier, the man or the woman? Now imagine you actually know the woman and know that she has cystic fibrosis. Who is healthier, the man or the woman? Now imagine you know the man as well, and know that he has severe depression. Who is healthier, the man or the woman? ‘Health’ can be seen as a very vague term. Many people have different understandings of it and what it means to be ‘healthy’. This paper will examine the different ways that health can be defined and it will justify the approach which
Health as a Social Construction In my essay, I aim to find out why social construction affects the health of our society. Ill health may be defined as 'a bodily or mental state that is deemed undesirable'. This means that health is the condition of the body both physically and mentally. Social construction of health refers to the way health varies from one society to another.
Health is described as physical and mental well-being and freedom from disease, pain or defect. However, such descriptions only superficially define the actual meaning of health. There may be many occasions when individuals are not necessarily ill or in pain but may be overweight, stressed or emotionally unstable. Health is a quality of life involving dynamic interaction and interdependence among the individual’s physical state, their mental and emotional reactions, and the social context in which the individual exists. There are many factors that influence your health, but three major components contribute to general well-being: Self-awareness, a balanced diet and, regular physical activity.
In this essay I am going to investigate whether health is easily defined as the absence of disease or physical injury. According to Health psychology (2009) ‘World Health Organisation defined health as a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. In order to achieve good physical a nutrition diet is needed, healthy BMI, rest and adequate physical exercise is needed.
As Descartes argued, the mind and the body are the base of our existence, and many different cultures view different illnesses positively or negatively. Certain cultures, like the Hmong, believe that epilepsy is a good spiritual thing, but others, such as Western culture, believe that it is medically bad because it could cause death. Many illnesses can be viewed both negatively and positively, some more than others. However, one such illness that is mostly viewed negatively is depression. It is viewed negatively in a symptomatic sense – the symptoms are useless – and in a diagnostic sense – those diagnosed with depression are not actually depressed and the illness itself does not exist; it is simply an excuse to be lazy. There are many different approaches to depression and most of them consider that this illness is negative; however, depression is actually an evolutionary tactic subconsciously employed by humans that can have very positive effects.
Nordqvist , Christian. "What Is Health? What Does Good Health Mean?." Medical News Today 21 May 2009: n. pag. Web. 1 Apr 2011. .
The notion of health is contextual and an interactive, dynamic process between person and environment (Schim et al, 2007). Both wellness and illness are conceptualized by the ‘person’, existing on a continuum across the lifespan (Arnold & Boggs, 2001).
The World Health Organisation (WHO) came up with the most commonly used definition for health, which has not changed for over 60 years. They say that it is ‘’a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’’ (WHO, 1948), therefore meaning there are many more things to consider with health other than just death rates.
In 1948 the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. (World Health Organization. 1946). Illness is what
What does it mean to be healthy? Health is a state of complete physical , mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease, illness or infirmity. It is important to distinguish between disease and health. Disease is the prognosis of a particular disorder with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms. On the other hand, illness is the existence of disease
This also discusses health in relation to social institutions, for example family, employment and school. However, health can be defined in a number of ways, such as negative and positive. The negative is where health is perceived to be the absence of disease or abnormalities in the body. This is similar to the positive, where health focuses on the presence of certain attributes, rather than the absence of them. This is different from the World Health Organisation (WHO 2008) where health requires a person to be completely physically, mentally and socially well, but not just in the absence of disease and illness.
healthy is a major component in ones’ overall wellbeing, more so mentally, but being healthy
or her society and taking up conflicting, and sometimes completely opposite, values. It is important to note, however, that healthy and unhealthy should not be taken as either inherently positive or negative in this context. An environment that can be healthy for one person may be unhealthy for another. They should be thought of in reference to an individual and whether that particular environment is healthy or unhealthy for that specific