Health Reflection Paper

Reflection #1: My Concept of Health Health is a difficult term to define. Many health professionals and researchers have come up with numerous ways in which they believe we can define it. The World Health Organization Constitution (2006) define health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (p. 1). This definition of health is recognized by many organizations and has been a target for scrutiny. Personally, I believe that there will never be one absolute definition of health because it is a subjective experience encompassing physical, mental and social factors which vary throughout our lifetime.
Health
I believe that health is an interplay of many elements including

It includes everything from well-being to physical fitness. When I was younger, physical health used to be something I never worried about, but was the only element in which I associated health with. Food was on the table to nourish me and I could do everything I needed for daily living. Unfortunately, I grew up overweight and did not participate in sports or anything physically active. At this point in life, I still believed I was healthy. Once I was 13 years old, my poor physical health practices started to catch up with me. I was in pain constantly due to gallstones and I could not run without losing my breath. After my surgery, I knew things had to change. I started lifting weights and participating in more physical activity. Since then I have lost 86lbs due to this change. At this point in life, I have come to realize the importance of physical activity and adequate nutritional

This is where I think health gets extremely subjective. For instance, I have a liver disease called Gilberts syndrome. When not well managed, it flares up and can make me extremely sick. To others, they look at me as sick or unhealthy. Personally, I still believe I am healthy when it is well managed. I believe this is the same with people who have cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. It has become a part of me and I have learned to accept living with it and take the proper precautions so that the discomfort can be reduced. Further, as we age and get diagnosed with different illnesses and disease, I believe everyone definition evolves. They end up having a new baseline of what healthy looks like to them. We all have very subjective levels of what we see as healthy and unhealthy, therefore everyone’s definition of physical health will