Understanding Your Health and Wellness

Understanding Your Health and Wellness Aspects of Health and Wellness • What does the term health and wellness mean? • Health usually refers to the absence of physical illness and disease. There is more to health and wellness, however, than just physical health. • Wellness is a balance of all aspects of health-physical, mental and emotional, and social. To maintain wellness, you need to focus on all aspects of your health equally. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Physical Health • Physical healthis the aspect of health that refers to how well your body functions. • You are not slowed by disease. • You engage in activities of daily life. • You can cope with the stress of disease, injury, aging, and an active lifestyle. • In other words, being physically healthy enables you to do more than walk to school or lift a bag of books. • You can recover from an injury, fight off the flu, and have the energy to cope with daily stress. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Mental and Emotional Health • Your mental and emotional health has to do with your internal life-your thoughts and feelings. • When you have good mental and emotional health, you can think clearly and critically. • You can express your thoughts and feelings. • You can cope with stress. • You can realize your own skills and have a positive attitude and willingness to adapt, learn, and grow. • Sometimes we do not recognize declines in our mental and emotional health. Poor mental and emotional health can affect your sleep, diet, and activity level, and prevent you from forming friendships. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Social Health • Can you imagine your life with no human interaction? Living without contact from others is unhealthy. Humans are social animals who must interact and communicate with one another. • Social Health refers to how well you get along with other people. • Being socially healthy means having enjoyable and supportive relationships with others. You talk openly and honestly, trust others and others trust you. • Unhealthy relationships are those that cause harm or make you feel bad about yourself. • Healthy relationships are among your most valuable resources. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Overall Well-Being • Well-being is a state of health and wellness in which people generally feel good about their present conditions. • People in a state of well-being have a sense of fulfillment and engage in behaviors that promote health. • They have a positive mood, are happy, and enjoy life. • They get along well with others. • They have a sense of purpose and are productive at school, work, and home. • Well-being depends on good physical, mental and emotional, and social health. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Well-Being • Your health is interrelated, meaning all aspects interact with and affect each other. • The decline in one aspect may lead to the decline in another aspect of your health. Improvement in one aspect may cause improvement in another. • Suppose someone who is overweight eats healthier, gets more active, and becomes physically fit. Becoming more physically fit makes you feel better about yourself and helps you face challenges. You will want to be more social. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

The Healthcare and Wellness Connection • Healthcare directly relates to wellness. Healthcareinvolves the treatment and prevention of illnesses, injuries or diseases to improve wellness. • Focusing on wellness means that you do not only go to the doctor to receive treatment when you are sick. You also go to the doctor when you are well to help you stay healthy. • Preventive healthcare involves getting annual physical exams, regular checkups, and screenings for conditions like hearing or vision loss. • Healthcare comes in many forms, delivered by many professionals. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Healthcare Services • The healthcare field employs more people than any other type of business in the U.S. The field is diverse and includes many types of professionals and healthcare services. Some provide highly specialized services. • People usually see their primary care physician (regular doctor) to get routine checkups, diagnosis of conditions, and receive medical treatment. • The physician assistant works under the supervision of physicians. They usually give the same types of healthcare services as a physician. • A nurse practitioner has an advanced nursing education and can provide many of the same services as a doctor. • Primary care physicians may refer you to a specialist, someone who has extra training and experience with certain types of diseases and disorders. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Healthcare Settings • Healthcare workers work in inpatient and outpatient facilities. • Inpatient facilities are hospitals where patients stay while they receive diagnosis, treatment, surgery, and therapy. • Outpatient facilitiestreat patients who live in the community and who do not require a hospital. • Most healthcare is delivered in outpatient facilities: • Doctor’s offices and private healthcare clinics, hospital emergency rooms, urgent care or walk-in clinics, health clinics and counseling centers in high schools and colleges, and county public health clinics. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

Health Insurance • How do people pay for healthcare? A three-day hospital cost an average of $30,000 and cost to fix a broken leg is about $7,500. • One medicine may cost more than $100 a month. • A visit to a counselor can cost more than $100 per hour. • Healthcare is expensive and most people cannot afford to pay the full cost of services. • Instead, people must buy insurance to help pay for healthcare cost. Most get insurance through their employers. Many employers split the cost of an insurance plan with their employees. • Two types of insurance plans: HMO vs PPO This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Types of Insurance • Health maintenance organization (HMO) • Must have a primary care physician (PCP) in network. • PCP referral needed to see a specialist. • Lower cost. • Will not cover nonemergency out-of-network physician or hospital cost. • Preferred provider organization (PPO) • Do not need a PCP. • Referral is not needed to see a specialist. • Higher monthly premiums. • Will cover in-network or out-of-network cost (cost may be higher for out-of-network services). This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Insurance • The U.S. government funds some types of health insurance, such as Medicare and Medicaid. • Medicare is insurance made available for people 65 years of age and older and also for younger people who are unable to work due to a disability. • Medicaidpays healthcare cost of people living in poverty who have no way to pay for insurance or medical expenses. • There are barriers to accessing healthcare such as lack of availability, high cost, and preexisting conditions. Without adequate healthcare, people cannot receive the care they need. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

Recognizing Factors That Affect Health and Wellness • Genetic Risk Factors- The term genetic relates to your genes. • Your genes are present in every cell in your body and contain the blueprint for the structure and function of your cells. They direct hoe you grow and develop, influence your personality, and affect your health. We have 20,000-25,000 genes, which are composed of a chemical often referred to DNA. • Located in a cells nucleus, genes are bundled in packages called chromosomes. Humans inherit half of their chromosomes from each parent. The unique combination of genes from your parents determines many of your body’s characteristics. For example, the shape of your nose, and hair color and texture. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

More Genetic Factors • The genesyou receive from your parents can affect your health and wellness by putting you at risk for developing certain diseases, such as heart disease. • To determine a person’s genetic risk factors for developing a disease, doctors study a person’s family history, the record of disease within a family. • Risk factors are aspects of people’s lives that increase the chances that they will develop a disease or disorder. You are stuck with the genes you receive, there are actions you can take to reduce the risk factors for developing genetically linked diseases and disorders. • The first step is to learn your family history of heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. Then learn the risk factors linked to the disease that run in your family. For example, leading an inactive lifestyle and smoking are both factors for heart disease. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Environmental Risk Factors • A person’s environment can greatly impact his or her health. Your environmentincludes the circumstances, objects or conditions that surround you in your everyday life. • The more you are exposed to risk factors within your environment, the likely those factors are to reduce your level of health and wellness. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Physical Environment • Your physical environment consists of the places where you spend your time, such as your home, school, or workplace. It also consists of the region in which you live, the air you breathe, and the water you drink. • Risk factors within your physical environment differ from region to region, home to home, and school to school. Some hazards may include weather, pollution, violence, unsafe drinking water, and other unsafe conditions. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Social Environment • The people around you make up your social environment. Your social environment may include family, friend, peers (people similar in age to you), teachers, coaches, neighbors, and coworkers. The people you interact with on social media sites are a part of your social environment, too. • Your culture- the beliefs, values, customs, and arts of a group of people. The cultural practices that may affect your social environment can include food and taste preferences, religious preferences and medical treatment. • The risk factors in your social environment depend on the behaviors of the people in your environment. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Economic Environment and Lifestyle Risk Factors • Your economic environment includes your level of education and income level. Studies have linked high education and high income to better health. • Lifestyle Risk Factors • How much sleep you get each night can have an impact on health and wellness. Engaging in risky behaviors, such as drinking, smoking, or drugs can reduce your level of health and wellness. • Some behaviors impact your health immediately. Such as not enough sleep last night, you may lack energy and have trouble focusing. • Other factors have both short-term and long-term effects. Sun exposure is one. • Many lifestyle choices you make and behaviors you develop begin in childhood. Oftentimes they continue into adulthood. • Parents and culture often influence these lifestyle choices and behaviors. • Making healthy lifestyle choices and practicing healthy behaviors promote your personal health and wellness today and in the future. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Building Skills for Health and Wellness • Making decisions and setting goals. • Decision-making skillsare tools you can use to make choices about your health and wellness. Decision-making and goal-setting skills will help you move closer to and maintain optimal health and wellness. • Making healthy decisions-You make decisions each day that affect your health and wellness. For example, stay up late playing video games, or should you get a good night’s sleep? Should you exercise on a hurt knee? • Being able to make healthy decisions involves skill. Some decisions you make will be easy, while others will be much more difficult. • Your personal needs and wants, values, and priorities are factors that will influence the decisions you make. • Needs-things you need to live, such as air, water, food, clothing, and housing • Wants-things you desire or would like to have. • Values-the things that are important to you in life. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Decisions • How you approach making a decision is important. Sometimes you may make a decision on your own. Other times you may collaborate (work together) with others to make a group decision. This may give you options that you may not have considered. • Setting and Reaching Goals • Goals are important for many aspects of life, including your health. Learning the skills you need to set and work toward goals is important. • A goal is a plan of action that will guide you in achieving something you want to reach. • Short-term goals-a goal that can be accomplished is a short amount of time. • Long term goals-requires more time-months or years-to achieve. • SMART goals-are effective goals-Specific, Measurable, Achievement, Relevant, and Timely. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

The Decision Making Process • Step 1 Identify the decision. • Step 2 Explore alternatives. • Step 3 Select the best alternative. • Step 4 Act on your decision. • Step 5 Evaluate your decision. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Using Refusal Skills • Refusal skills are strategies you can use to stand up to pressure and influences that want you to engage in unhealthy behaviors. These skills can help you respond to peer influences and conflicting messages without compromising your own goals, values, and health. • Using refusal skills helps you take responsibility for your health behaviors. You can ensure no one is responsible for your health but you. • Refusal skills help you make independent, informed decisions despite messages you may receive form peers, society, and the media. • Watch your body language. • Say how you feel. • Be honest do not make excuses. • Suggest something else to do. • Stick up for yourself. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Resolving Conflicts • As people interact with one another, conflicts (disagreements) are bound to arise. Conflicts occur when people have different opinions or priorities. They are a normal part of life. They can be healthy or they can be unhealthy. • Conflict resolution skillsare strategies that can help you deal with arguments in a positive, respectful way to promote healthy relationships. • Identify the issues • Identify possible solutions • Begin the negotiation process, which involves calmly discussing an issue to reach an agreement. • Carry out the decision. • Mediationis a strategy for resolving difficult conflicts involving a neutral third party, or a mediator. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Accessing and Evaluation Health Information and Services • As you learn about health-related terms, concepts and facts, you will develop the ability to locate, interpret, and apply information as it relates to your health, this is called health literacy. • Researchers are constantly finding out new information about the human body and its health. This means you will need to keep learning about health and wellness throughout your entire life. • Health literacy means you can evaluate health-related services and analyze advertisements for products. • Technology can influence your health literacy. By using the Internet you can find lots of health-related information. IS this information always true? NO This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Locating Reliable Information • Your health and wellness depend on your use of reliable information. You need to be able to tell information grounded in science from health claims based on rumors, opinions, and theories. • Science is a body of knowledge regarding the natural world, based on observation and experimentation. This includes the human body, human health, and diseases. • How do you decide which Internet sources to trust? Safe or reliable URL stems generally include .gov, .edu, and .org. • Websitesof business that earn profits from the healthcare industry are often not trustworthy. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Evaluating Health Claims • “Get six-pack abs in two weeks!” • “You will catch a cold if you go outside with wet hair.” • “The bumps on your skull reveal your character.” • “Cell phones cause brain cancer.” • These are just a few examples of the messages you find in magazines, on websites, and in advertisements. These claims are not supported by science. • You can use the following tips to help evaluate health websites: • The information is in a news story, not in an opinion piece or editorial. • The story refers to research published by medical scientists. • The story gives the names of the researchers and the journal where it is published. • You can other stories with the same results. • The advertisement is not by a company that sells medicine or medical services. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Advocating for Personal Health • Taking charge of your health and wellness involves playing an active role in your healthcare and advocating for your personal health. • To advocate is to support or recommend something publicly. • Supporting your own health includes seeing your doctor regularly for checkups, which can help identify potential health concerns. • Make a list of potential questions when seeing your doctor. Know what you are going to say ahead of time. WHY? • Be honest with your doctors. WHY? This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Advocating for Family Health • In addition to advocating for your own health, you can also advocate for the health of your family members. Just as family members can influence your health, you can influence the health of your family members. HOW? • Advocating for family health may also include spreading health information to those who cannot use technology. The Internet can be a helpful source of health information. Some older individuals, however, may not know how to access the information. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Advocating for Community Health • Your environment influences your health. Advocating for your personal health may mean advocating for the health of your community. Setting up a fitness club at school would be a good example. • Spreading awareness of health issues can also advocate the health of your community. Making posters of unhealthy behaviors and how they affect your health. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Asking for Assistance • Everyone needs help sometimes. Health issues can be complicated, and you may need to ask for help to handle them. You can ask your healthcare provider for help with these issues. • Sometimes advocating for personal, family, or community health requires a group effort. You might ask your siblings to help you talk with a parent about his or her smoking habit. • Collaborating with others increases your personal ability to advocate for health. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Understanding Your Health and Wellness