The World Health Organization define wellness as “ …  a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

I love that!  Just the word complete makes it all sound, well, so complete doesn’t it?  It’s such a bandied about term these days but I am still fairly unsure as to whether or not people really understand what it truly is and how it really measures a person’s life satisfaction.  Let’s face it, without it, there is no satisfaction – I think it is fair to agree on that.  And I think all elements that the WHO has highlighted on its description are inter-aligned.  For instance, it is very difficult to have mental wellness without physical wellness and vice versa.  Similarly, without social wellbeing, you won’t feel too great mentally will you?

Wellness and wealth I think are equally inextricably linked and equally misunderstood.  Ask most people what they define as wealth and they will say how much money they have (or don’t have as the case may be).  Ask the same question with relation to wellness and most people will answer not being sick.  Interesting isn’t it?  I’m a huge fan of assessing someone’s health as a whole – not merely in treating symptoms.  Often enough we can find the real reasons behind why someone isn’t feeling physically well with what is going on in their minds.  Being a Weight Loss Coach for many years, I have seen this over and over and over again.  I find that most overweight people looking to lose the weight are battling some other demons internally.  Once the onion layers can be peeled back and the real reason revealed, weight loss becomes so much simpler.  Simple loss of self esteem is purely the symptom and obviously the weight, but if you are going to treat the problem, you have to find it.  So I’m not a huge fan of trotting off to see a Medical Doctor every time I don’t feel well – I prefer to reflect on what is going on in my mind and find a solution there either myself or engaging another health care professional.

The more I read articles, watch tv shows or hear about people who are struggling with such things such as cancer, heart problems or in fact any major health issue and I see this common denominator come up over and over again.  Can it be a coincidence?  I’ve seen people die from cancer – from pure bitterness over a divorce gone bad.  We’ve seen husbands or wives in old age who pass away relatively quickly after their spouse dies as if almost dying from a broken heart.  It happens – I’ve seen it over and over again.  I have a friend who is estranged from her large family and every single time I see her, she is always sick.  And the interesting thing is, it’s always something different.  As I type this, she is in hospital with diverculitis.  But she has a myriad of other health problems.  Now I can safely say without hesitation that I know that she is not mentally nor socially well and therefore her physical wellness is suffering.

I think if more and more people really got this, our medical systems wouldn’t be so overburdened.  Now I am not saying here that everyone is a hyperchondriac – quite the opposite.  I myself have endured a lifetime of chronic illnesses myself.  And I’ve taken myself off to every quack, kook, crazy Doctor there is and tried just about every single therapy there is.  But when I really looked inside myself and realized what was truly going on deep down, I’ve managed to almost completely eliminate the chronic conditions that had hospitalized me throughout most of my childhood.  And neither here am I trying to be some kind of weird Witch Doctor prophesying over you.  All I’m saying is to have true and enduring wellness in all areas of your life, you have to have wellness in all areas of your life – the physical, mental and social elements all have to be in balance.

So next time you are suffering with some affliction physically, take the time to take an objective step back and discover what is going on with you at a cellular level.  Are you unhappy?  Discontented?  Angry?  Jealous?  Having trouble forgiving someone?  Identify any emotion that you can recognize as being destructive and find a way to deal with that.  If you can do that yourself using whatever strategies and tools you currently have available to you, I applaud you.  You can do something that I would argue less than 5% of the population can do.  If not, seek someone out that can assist you in dealing with these negative emotions.  There is nothing wrong with seeking a therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist or in fact any health care professional to assist you in nexting those destructive and harmful thoughts and feelings.  And if you are cynical about what I am saying, do a test.  Next time you have a simple headache, sit and focus on how bad it is and how awful you feel and see what happens.  Or go and get a massage, listen to some uplifting music, meditate and see what happens.  The key is to get into the feeling place and believe in the positive effects.  It is possible.  I used to get chronic migraines and these days I don’t even need a simple codeine tablet for it – I just shift my focus.

Give it a go and I challenge you to find  the true and enduring wellness that we all deserve – “ …  the state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity …”

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