Health Unit Final thoughts

Throughout this unit I've thought about what it means to be "healthy" in a variety of areas and how that effects your life.  The obvious conclusion is that if you're healthy you'll live a better life, you'll be able to do more, feel better etc. but what does being healthy actually mean? and how can we become healthy?

To be physically healthy means that you exercise and eat right, specifically eating what works for you, if you're over weight eat less, if under eat more etc. there is no universal diet.  Just as there is no universal diet there is no universal exercise plan, everything is based on the person and what makes them feel better.  Being physically healthy will increase your lifespan, make you happier and able to the things you love, an obvious requirement to a good life.

My own definition of mental health, ignoring the "averages" system that ask people to fit a certain criteria, is reacting correctly to a situation, most people say that if you're depressed all the time "you have problems" but if there is something in you're life to make you depressed then why not be depressed, it's an appropriate reaction to the situation.  Being happy all the time like we try to be isn't healthy either unless you live a pampered life where people go out of their ways to make you happy.  The only way to be emotionally unhealthy by my definition is to have a condition or disorder that prevents you from reacting correctly to situations, or not expressing those reactions appropriately, hiding sadness or anger is unhealthy since you aren't reacting to the situation, you're feeling an emotion and hiding it, reaction involves expression of an emotion.

Moral health can be trickier since not everyone has the same moral code.  My criteria for moral health is to have a moral code, and understanding it.  While someone can easily say things like I'll never lie, I'll never cheat, I'll never steal, they might have to do those things to survive, and thats the problem.  What if you had to choose between death and disobeying your moral code? I can't answer this question for anyone other than myself, this is a question for the individual, but knowing the answer to this question and knowing your moral code leads to moral health.  Being morally unhealthy is not being able to justify your actions and not having a moral code, having a code means you will be able to justify anything you do because you chose that action.  Not knowing what you're willing to do is unhealthy because you can't live your life if you don't know how you're going to live it.

The idea of life to attain the highest levels of all of these kinds of health.  Knowing who you are, in your mind, body and morals will help you learn about yourself.  Self understanding will help you know how to improve yourself and how to become a better person and each culture places these health standards on its people to shape them into better people.  My own personal belief is that a good life is one you enjoy, and a meaningful life is one that leaves behind a legacy and one where you live as the best person you can be.