Defining Health

As I become older, I have become more confused about what "healthy" really means. (A fair warning that there is some rambling in this blog.) Most textbooks would have you believe it's a perfect balance of physical, mental and social well-being, always depicted with an equilateral triangle. If one of the sides becomes disproportionately large or small, then the "triangle of life" is unbalanced and, for reasons unknown, needs correction. 

But I reject the triangle because there's a fourth side of spiritual. Spiritual captures a person's emotional well-being--feelings of self-worth, connectedness to others and their environment, etc. For the religious, it's about a connection with a higher power. Spiritual is separate from mental. Mental is the accumulation and application of knowledge--whether it's book or street smarts. A person can have a high priority for their mental health while have a very low priority on the spiritual. Anyway, please enjoy my diamond--my initial depiction of perfect health when trying to define it myself.

Perfect Health

Except now on reflection, I don't know anyone who is a perfect diamond. More or less, we are all various shapes of quadrilaterals. I looked at my own diamond model and tried to determine what sort of form I would take. Currently with school, I find myself expanding on the side of mental (LOL) and because of the type of  field I'm entering into (advance practice nursing), I find that my spiritual side is also expanding. It's interesting to me that I used the word "currently" in describing my health. I am learning that health is dynamic and in perpetual transition. Anyway, while focusing so much on the mental and spiritual, my already small social side has diminished to nil and the maintenance of my physical health has shifted. 

What health really looks like

Anyway, I want to switch gears and address that nagging "physical health" aspect. Previous to returning to school, the gym was my second home. My mantra of health was the same as the rest of Western society: "Fat Bad, Lean Good." It's a given that too skinny is bad as well.

We know that fat is bad.

We know that anorexia is bad.

But what about this?

Being far removed from going to the gym 5+ days a week, I have gained some new insights. This woman on the right is not the picture of health, either. Sure, she is in pristine physical shape (IMO), but to what cost? (And there are many that would look at this picture and they would not see health, they would see an unattractive "bulky" or "manly" figure, but I digress.)

Even going to the gym as frequently as I did and for the moment in time I "cleaned up" my diet, I was no where close to looking like this. Let's consider, then, what constitutes health--I could argue that she is not the picture of health. She is not a perfect diamond. She totally blows physical health out of the water, no doubt, but what about the other aspects?

While being bombarded with images like these at the grocery checkout line recently, I objectively considered the cost and effort to look like her. There is no way I could be like her and maintain my other priorities; my other priorities are extremely important and rewarding to me. It was an "AHA!" moment a few weeks ago when I recognized that I am not a failure because I am not ready for a magazine cover photo. In fact, spending time in the pursuit of my other priorities have created intense feelings of self-satisfaction. 

Don't misunderstand, this blog entry isn't an attempt to excuse bad health behaviors--without good physical health, the other aspects of health will also suffer. And truthfully, I don't know the exact reason I felt compelled to write about this topic. I think it's because I want to see others being more kind to themselves, to recognize that there isn't a start or end point to health. I hope that we can begin rejecting the notion that there is only one right way to exist and all others are somehow a form of failure.  We are all in motion, our health--physical, spiritual, social and mental--included.

With this explanation, here's my cornball "feel-good" suggestion: Go live your best life on your own terms.