Your overall well-being depends on an array of different types of health. And so you can not achieve optimal health by ignoring any of them.
However, when we think of wellness, all we consider is physical health. But there is so much more to what brings a healthy and happy life.
For example, struggling financially can affect your mental, emotional, social, and physical health.
Likewise, having poor mental health can bring your life to a standstill.
Therefore, take time to learn the main aspects of health. Focus on each area of wellness to find the right balance for you.
But what are the main types of health? That’s what you will learn here. I have discussed the essential 12 aspects of health that you must improve for overall well-being.
Are you ready to discover the pillars of wellness? So, let us dive into the realms of holistic well-being!
What Is Health?
According to World Health Organization (WHO):
Health is your physical, mental, and social wellness, along with the absence of illness.
Most of us have been on health journeys at some point. Sometimes for weight loss, other times for recovering from illness.
But it seems overall well-being is a mirage that is forever out of reach.
Want to know why it seems that way?
Because health is more than just a balanced diet and regular exercise. To achieve overall well-being, you must care for all the primary aspects of health.
Overall wellness comprises 12 types of health. Therefore, you must work on each area dedicatedly to achieve optimal health.
You must understand that health is more than how you look or what you eat. It’s a reflection of how you live your life.
So let’s discover the 12 pillars of wellness and their impact on your health!
12 Types of Health for a Healthy Life
Optimal health includes 12 aspects that you must work on. You can not achieve overall well-being by improving some and ignoring others.
These twelve aspects of wellness allow us to lead healthy and happy life.
Let’s discover the types of health essential for a holistic life:
- Physical Health
- Mental Health
- Social Health
- Spiritual Health
- Purposeful Health
- Environmental Health
- Occupational Health
- Nutritional Health
- Fiscal Health
- Intellectual Health
- Sexual Health
- Emotional Health
Now, let’s get to know these pillars of health and how they impact your overall well-being.
Physical Health
Physical well-being! The aspect of health all of us are most familiar with. And the type of health that received the most attention.
Physical health is the state of your body and how well it is functioning. Your physical wellness is influenced by activity levels, nutrition, rest, environment, and more. Additionally, your genetics can also have an impact on your physical fitness.
The absence of disease and optimal physical strength is good physical health.
Even though it is the most known type of health, 93% of Americans suffer from poor physical health.
So, you see how important it is to work on your physical well-being. Without a sound physical body, you can not focus on improving the other aspects of health.
Build healthy habits, eat a balanced diet, increase regular bodily movements, and rest properly to improve your physical fitness.
Learn more on how to improve your physical well-being – Physical Health.
Mental Health
Mental illnesses are more deadly than physical diseases. Why?
Because their effects are often not apparent to the eyes, and yet they make people suffer immensely.
Mental health is the state of your mind. It involves how we think, feel, and cope with the stressors of everyday life.
You can also refer to mental wellness as psychological well-being and the absence of mental illness.
However, good mental health is more than that.
It includes everything from having a purpose, efficiently tackling social situations & setbacks, forming positive relationships, and controlling your thoughts and emotions.
Mental health is gaining more attention nowadays. But still, there needs to be more knowledge and talk about improving your mental well-being.
So, learn to identify signs of mental disorders in yourself or someone close to you.
Also, discover ways to improve your mental wellness here – Mental Health.
Social Health
Social health is a measure of how you get along with the people around you.
So, it’s your ability to form and maintain positive interpersonal relationships with people.
Additionally, social well-being measures how you adapt and act in different social situations.
You feel a sense of connection when you have positive and healthy relationships with people in your community.
Humans are social beings. No one can live in isolation and be happy.
What’s more, research shows that poor social health can increase one’s risk of physical and mental illnesses.
For example, loneliness leads to depression, insomnia, personality disorders, and severe mental disorders.
That’s not all, high blood pressure, heart disease, inflammation, and many chronic diseases are linked to declining social health.
So, it’s time you focus on your social well-being.
Find out tips for assessing your social health and improving your social well-being – Social Health.
Spiritual Health
Spirituality is your sense of inner well-being and connection to something greater than yourself.
Spiritual health encompasses all the aspects of overall well-being. A spiritually healthy person leads a life of purpose, peace, and clarity.
However, it’s essential to remember spiritual health can look different for everyone. The values and standards you develop throughout your life form your unique spirituality.
Spirit can not be defined as part of our mind or body. However, the mind, body, and spirit all impact on one another.
As a result, to obtain optimal health, you must prioritize your spiritual well-being.
Learn more about your spirituality and tips for spiritual wellness – Spiritual Health.
Purposeful Health
Life without purpose is filled with stress, anxiety, and frustration.
And purpose brings the realization that optimal well-being needs the intentional integration of all types of health.
However, purposeful health is a new concept and can be confusing.
Purposeful health is the intentional pursuit of well-being with a clear sense of purpose about your health goals.
It can involve setting clear health goals and aligning your actions and behaviors to those objectives.
Having purposeful health means living a life of clear goals, values, and purpose.
For example, if you don’t have clear goals about where you want to be in five years, your present will feel aimless and uncertain.
But everything falls into place when you have a clear purpose in your career, family, or health.
Discover how to find your purpose – Purposeful Health.
Environmental Health
Environmental well-being is the field of public health that studies how the environment influences our health.
But what is the environment?
Well, in this context environment is everything that surrounds us, from the air we breathe in, the water we drink, and everything in between.
Environmental wellness focuses on the relationships between individuals and their environment.
Moreover, it tries to understand how environmental factors impact our health and well-being.
Ensuring environmental health is critical to our survival as a species. Our living environment has a significant influence on our health and happiness.
As a result, to live a healthy life, we humans require a safe and healthy environment.
Poor environmental health can lead to a higher risk of respiratory diseases, waterborne illnesses, global warming, increased natural disasters, and more catastrophic events.
Learn more about the impact of environmental health on your life – Environmental Health.
Occupational Health
Occupational health focuses on providing employee safety and well-being in the workplace.
According to WHO –
Occupational health is the public health field that promotes workers’ physical, mental, and social well-being in all occupations.
So, this aspect of health involves everything related to employees’ safety and health in the workplace.
You may think, “Why do I need to worry about occupational health? My workplace has no safety issues!”
But this field of help includes more than the risk of workplace injuries and diseases.
Occupational health ensures you enjoy your employee rights, like proper working hours, leaves, salaries, and other workplace benefits.
Moreover, this health sector also works to care for employees’ mental and psychological health.
Did you know all the employers in the USA are obligated to follow the OSHA guidelines?
So, ensure your employer follows the occupational health and safety guidelines.
Occupational safety not only protects employees from risk and hazards, but it also saves employers from losing billions to insurance companies.
Want to know more about your occupational wellness? Check out – Occupational Health.
Nutritional Health
Nutrition is the basis of your overall well-being. Without proper nutrition, you can not improve any aspect of your health.
Be it physical, mental, intellectual, or sexual well-being; you must first ensure proper nutritional health to improve all these types of health.
Good nutritional health is a state of nutrient equilibrium in your body. This equilibrium, or nutritional well-being, is achieved when your body’s nutrient needs are adequately met.
Nutritional health is your overall wellness influenced by your dietary practices and nutritional intake.
A well-balanced and nutritious diet is crucial for optimal nutritional health. Additionally, your lifestyle plays a significant role in this aspect of health.
Nutritional well-being impacts your longevity, productivity, immune system, and risk of contracting non-communicable diseases.
Need a detailed guide for improving your nutritional well-being? Check out – Nutritional Health.
Fiscal Health
Fiscal health focuses on mindful budgeting, spending, and savings.
This aspect of wellness teaches us to use our financial resources with wisdom and integrity.
As a result, you get to reach your long-term economic sustainability.
To improve your financial health, you must budget carefully, follow your budget, and save for the future.
So, fiscal health is the financial soundness of an individual, organization, or government.
Signs of good fiscal health include consistent income, manageable debt, proper savings, and a suitable budget.
What’s more, the state of your financial wellness indicates whether or not you are on the correct route financially.
That’s not all, learning about fiscal health is critical so that you do not put yourself in unnecessary financial danger.
In essence, being financially healthy implies being financially secure. So, assess your current financial health and start working on improving it!
Need help to improve your financial health? Check out this in-depth article on – Fiscal Health.
Intellectual Health
Intellectual well-being refers to your cognitive and brain condition. Improving intellectual health is a lifelong process. You have to constantly work on improving your cognitive functions.
Being intellectually healthy means being open to new ideas and experiences.
In addition, intellectual wellness includes your capacity to think and understand the world around you. Moreover, it promotes activities to improve your mental stimulation and creativity.
That’s not all, intellectual well-being is necessary to cope with life challenges gracefully.
Someone with good intellectual health would have excellent critical thinking, time management, and study skills.
Wondering how to improve your intellectual well-being? Read this in-depth article on – Intellectual Health.
Sexual Health
Sexual health fosters a positive approach toward sexuality. In addition, it teaches you to embrace and enjoy sexuality safely.
According to WHO – Sexual health is your physical, mental, emotional, and social wellness relating to sexuality.
Moreover, it’s important to remember that sexual wellness is more than just disease prevention.
Good sexual health refers to having safe and satisfying sexual experiences. Furthermore, sexual relations must be free of coercion and violence.
What’s more, being educated about sexual health helps you take charge of your body and sexuality.
On the other hand, the lack of sexual well-being can lead to many adverse consequences like STIs, unwanted pregnancy, negative body images, sexual violence, and more.
Learn how to improve your sexual health from this detailed article on – Sexual Health.
Emotional Health
Emotional health refers to your emotional awareness, regulation, and coping skills.
So, when you are emotionally healthy you can navigate and control the negative feelings better.
In essence, emotional wellness is how you think, feel, and react to life events.
Furthermore, this aspect of wellness measures your ability to recognize your own emotions as well as those of others.
This enables you to deal with both positive and negative emotions in a healthy way.
Inadequate emotional health affects your physical, mental, social, and occupational health.
Because if you don’t know how to react to certain emotions appropriately, you’ll end up creating chaos in all areas of life.
Learn tips on improving your emotional well-being here – Emotional Health.
Conclusion
Now you know the 12 primary types of health. At first glance, it can seem overwhelming to excel in all twelve aspects.
But remember, it’s not about perfection. No one is perfect. Somedays your health will be better, while you’ll feel low on other days.
The key is striking a balance that works for you. Moreover, being aware of the different pillars of health will help you in more ways than one!
With the knowledge you gained here, you’ll be able to identify which area of your health is suffering and how that impacting your life.
So, learn more about the different health types and find ways to improve your own.
Wishing you luck on the journey towards overall well-being!
Learn more about health and well-being here – Health!
