Definition Health and well-being
Some models and definitions used to describe different aspects of health
Wellness and disease models
1. The biomedical model (disease/prevention model), categorizes the person based on physical findings, such as symptoms and test results (usually in relation to a mean) to establish a diagnosis. Traditional Western physicians are trained and practice according to this model with the aim of curing or preventing a disease state.
2. The wellness/illness model is based on how the person functions, how they relate to the world around them and their overall quality of life. It is based on the individual's own internal experience and description of the level of well-being. This is a behavioral model used by health organizations worldwide.
WHO's definition of health:
"Health is a state of complete physical, emotional
and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and disability."
How Network Spinal looks at health and well-being.
Throughout history, biomedical science has made revolutionary discoveries that have had a major impact on human life and health. Today we live in a society where the absence of disease or symptoms is considered a right. But absence of disease or symptoms is not always the same as health and well-being.
We want to elevate the discussion of health and well-being beyond the absence of disease. Traditionally, biomedical science has seen the physical body as separate from our minds and consciousness. As a result, traditional Western medicine tends to see the human being as a "physical machine" (see the biomedical model). However, as an individual, you experience consciousness and free will (see the well-being model). The limitation of the biomedical model is made clear when doctors are forced to treat the patient as if she were a "physical machine" even though both doctor and patient actually know that this is not the whole truth.
So how do you solve this?
Mainly by finding a balance between seeing the individual as an "external" biological being and having the experience of an internal reality. The individual is not only a physical body, but also has emotional, mental, cognitive and spiritual dimensions that cannot be reduced to biophysical processes (even if body and mind interact).
Today, there is evidence that emotional factors cannot be ignored in relation to illness or symptoms. Nor can emotional factors be ignored in physical treatment. Therefore, the goal is to find ways to heal both the external (body) and the internal (mind).
The individual must therefore be seen as a multidimensional being and a multidimensional approach to health and well-being is therefore required.
New, more integrative definitions and models of disease, health and well-being are needed. So far, we have tried to explain that the absence of physical symptoms is not always sufficient to define health and well-being, but that there are internal aspects of the individual that determine how she feels. We would also like to clarify that there is a difference in definition between health and well-being.
According to the WHO definition, health is "a state of physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". The meaning of health is thus to be physically healthy, to have the ability to cope with physical, mental and social stress, but also the feeling of freedom from unmanageable stress.
We define well-being as an inner experience of vitality, a willingness to face life to the fullest and the courage to challenge oneself (wellness behaviour).
Lack of well-being is defined as an inability to participate in life, an inability to change, to be fulfilled by or trapped in one's body by external circumstances (illness behaviour). Well-being must therefore be defined in relation to the circumstances in which you find yourself. How you relate to the physical, psychological and social circumstances in which you find yourself.
Experiencing well-being means having the ability to experience a greater sense of security in relation to these circumstances. It is about an individual self-image, where the path to well-being actually involves changing how you perceive and relate to the circumstances you find yourself in health-wise, emotionally, socially, etc. Experiencing well-being is having the courage to face and challenge these circumstances, no matter what they look like.
Lack of well-being does not necessarily equate to symptoms or ill health. You can be perfectly healthy and still experience a lack of well-being. Nor does a sense of well-being necessarily equate to the absence of symptoms or impaired health.
So you can be living with an illness/symptom and still have the tools to manage this condition. Well-being is an experience of quality of life regardless of the circumstances in which you live. We also believe that well-being in turn creates more space for healing and health. A higher level of wellbeing provides greater opportunities to change the circumstances you find yourself in as a person, on the path to greater health.
Achieving a higher level of well-being means understanding, developing and integrating your approach to your body, your complex consciousness and to other people. Learning to be open to your whole spectrum of being (physical, cognitive, social, values, morals, needs, etc.). To access the tools to move from defense to safety, growth and healing.
