What Is Health?

If you answered "absence of disease (primarily physical)", you are not alone. By and large our society tends to think of health in this way, but there are problems with this definition:

Many "healthy" people are chronically tired, stressed and worried.

Many others with chronic health problems (e.g. heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure) would be precluded from ever being considered "healthy".

A New Definition of Health
We need a definition of health that potentially includes all of us, regardless of our situation. Hitchcock et al define health as "a state of well-being that is dependent on the nature of relationships within the (body-mind-spirit and environment) system". Jesus simply called it "abundant life".

Working Toward Health
Since we can't eliminate the problems, stress, worries and health challenges of our lives, how can we achieve a state of "health"? The key is learning how to manage our individual situations so that they don't overwhelm us. Parish nursing is about helping individuals, families and groups deal with life circumstances in ways that promote health.