The 10 types of health and their characteristics
When we talk about health, it is usual for many people to think about physical health, as a person suffers or does not suffer from an illness. But nevertheless, The concept of health is much broader and covers other areas of our lives .
There are different definitions of this concept, but one of the most successful is that of WHO, which was made public in the Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization, which was adopted at the International Sanitary Conference, held in New York in the year 1946. This definition, which has not been modified since then, affirms that health is "a state of complete well-being, physical, mental and social".
- Related article: "Health Psychology: history, definition and areas of application"
The types of health, explained
We'll see now what characteristics each type of health presents .
1. Physical health
Physical health refers to the general physical condition of people at any given time. It is the well-being of the body, and the optimal functioning of it. It is the absence of diseases and the good physiological functioning of the organism . Viral attacks or injuries have a negative effect on our physical health, which is also altered by other factors. Therefore it is necessary:
- Rest and sleep properly, as well as how to rest when necessary.
- Eat well and ingest nutrients properly.
- Do sport and maintain a good physical condition.
- Caring for personal hygiene to avoid infections and diseases.
- Visit the doctor on a regular basis to detect diseases.
- Have an emotional harmony, since emotional health affects physical health. For example, When a person suffers stress, their immune system weakens .
2. Mental health
Mental health, which is also often called emotional health, is a complex concept, not only refers to whether a person has a psychological disorder or not . It is characterized by having a high level of self-esteem, feeling good about oneself, being motivated with life and having vital goals that help you to live the days with optimism and hope, to the capacity of resilience and to face the problems and to enjoy an emotional balance, autonomy and a life free of stress and excessive worries.
To improve emotional health, it is possible to follow some tips like these:
- Conduct an Emotional Intelligence workshop to improve the ability to manage emotions.
- Do sport , because it not only improves the appearance and physical condition, but facilitates the release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin or endorphins, which cause a sensation of pleasure and happiness.
- Do activities that make us enjoy and that give meaning to our life.
- Have vital goals , be realistic and fight for them.
- Enhance positive interpersonal relationships.
- Live the present and practice acceptance .
You can go deeper into these tips in the article "Emotional health: 7 tips to improve it".
3. Social health
Human beings are social beings, and Much of our well-being is determined by the conditions that surround us , that is, our environment. In fact, even our own identity is built and developed in interaction with others.
However, social health is not simply the fact of having friends or not, but has to do with our living conditions, such as having a stable job, economic stability, access to health care, access to recreational activities and leisure, etc.
Other types of health
In addition to the types of health mentioned in the previous lines, which are part of the WHO definition, there are also other health classifications, as we shall see below.
1. Sexual health
Sexual health is a state of physical, mental and social health that is related to sexuality, that is, to enjoy our own body and have healthy sexual relationships. Sexual health problems can be varied. To learn more, you can read our article: "The 8 most frequent sexual problems and how to treat them"
2. Food health
Eating healthy is an important part of our body. Food health is related to the nutrients we eat and with the quantities that we eat, as well as in the schedules in which we do it.
3. Environmental health
Environmental health is one that is linked to the environment in which a person lives . That is, what are the external factors that affect a person. For example, the work environment can cause stress which, in turn, can cause psychological problems such as anxiety, insomnia and depression, but also physical problems, such as diarrhea or constipation.
The noise pollution of a place also refers to environmental health, because exposure to a harmful noise can cause physical health consequences to a person.
4. Public health
It is the collective health and the influence of political decisions when it comes to ensuring the health of a given population . It is related to the protection managed by governments.
5. Economic health
A type of health based on enjoying good economic stability and in which the balance between income and expenses, whether from a person or from a financial project, is not negative.
6. Family health
The family is important in the development of a person and their health, but there are families that are considered toxic because of their harmful influence because of their relational patterns . The good health of the family positively affects its members.
7. Occupational health
Occupational health has to do with the application of measures that allow maintaining a positive working environment and that favor the welfare of employees . In our article "12 signs that indicate that you are in a toxic work environment" we delve into this topic.
