The Seven Dimensions of Health

The Seven Dimensions of Health

Health is obviously a significant part of life. Therefore, most people want to lead a happy life. In order to do so, one must really understand the meaning of health. The textbook, An Invitation to Health describes health as follows, “being sound in body, mind, and spirit” [1]. While this is the simplest definition for health, most people have a completely different idea of the term. When they think of health, they may have a picture of organic foods and exercise equipment. Contrary to this picture, there is actually way more to health than first meets the eye. The book addresses the seven dimensions of health. Those dimensions are physical, psychological, spiritual, social, intellectual, environmental, and occupational. Even including these seven dimensions, the surface of health is just being scratched. The first of the seven dimensions, physical health, is described by the University of California Riverside, as “the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows us to get through our daily activities without undue fatigue or physical stress” [2]. One of the key terms in this description is physical stress. While the statement is true, it is important to differentiate between types of physical stress. Not all physical stress is bad. For example, lifting weights can cause stress on one’s body. However, when done in a correct way, it has the potential to be very beneficial. An example of bad physical stress, may be consistently eating too much or too little, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, smoking, or using drugs. These types of physical stresses have harmful consequences both on the exterior and interior body. Therefore, they are threats to physical health. While it is important to know what could potentially be a threat, it is even more crucial to know how to maintain one’s physical health. The textbook suggests a few actions to ensure optimal physical health. These steps include giving our bodies proper nutrition, proper exercise, not participating in harmful behaviors/using harmful substances, recognizing early sicknesses, and protecting one’s self from physical harm. When one makes conscious decisions to follow such suggestions, physical health becomes easier and more natural to maintain.

The second of the seven dimensions is psychological health. According to the textbook, psychological health refers to “our emotional and mental states”[1]. In other words, psychological health has to do with thoughts as well as feelings. One’s emotional and mental states, or psychological health, includes awareness and acceptance of feelings, the ability to express emotions, function independently, and coping. Some circumstances that could potentially be a threat to one’s psychological health are psychological disorders. For example, sociopaths don’t have the same awareness of their emotions as an individual without