Unit 1 Taking Charge of Your Health and Wellness Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 8 To achieve health, people practice wellness. Wellness is an active process that involves becoming aware of and making choices toward improving aspects of health. As you practice wellness, remember to consider all aspects of your health. This includes your physical health, mental and emotional health, and social health. Physical Health Physical health is the aspect of health that refers to how your body functions. If you have a physically healthy body, your body functions well. You are able to engage in the activities of daily life. You can also cope with the stresses of disease, injury, and aging and maintain 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 a sprained ankle, fight off the flu, and have the energy to cope with daily stresses. Mental and Emotional Health Your mental and emotional health has to do with your internal life—your thoughts and feelings (Figure 1.2). When you have good mental and emotional health, you can think clearly and critically. You can express your thoughts and feelings. You can cope well with stress. You can also realize your own skills and have a positive attitude and willingness to adapt, learn, and grow. Sometimes people do not realize they are experiencing challenges with mental and emotional health. For example, ongoing feelings of sadness or worry are not healthy. These ongoing negative feelings can keep you from doing well in school or joining in your favorite activities. Ongoing negative feelings can also affect your sleep, diet, and activity level, and prevent you from forming healthy friendships. The good news is that treatment and skills for maintaining your mental and emotional health can help you feel better. 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. In healthy relationships, you talk openly and honestly with family and friends. You trust others and others trust you. These are important parts of healthy relationships. Unhealthy relationships are those that cause harm or make you feel bad about yourself. Social skills and healthy relationships give you the support you need to enjoy life and meet its challenges. Healthy relationships are among your most valuable resources. Figure 1.2 While mental health and emotional health are related, they are not exactly the same. Defining Mental and Emotional Health • Describes how you observe and interpret information. • Affects your ability to make decisions, solve problems, and examine situations. • Refers to how you express yourself and your thoughts and feelings. • Your emotions, mood, feelings about yourself, and way of viewing the world are all parts of your emotional health. Emotional Health Mental Health