Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Chapter 1 Understanding Your Health and Wellness 23 W hat is the best way to control asthma, muscle cramps, or acne? What can you do to manage the stress in your life? How can you help a friend who is going through a crisis? Do you know how you would find answers to these questions—good, reliable answers? You would not want answers based on rumors or unreliable sources of information. Knowledge is power. Health knowledge gives you the power to prevent disease and promote your well-being. Consider Hannah and Aiden’s situations, as described in the previous lessons. Hannah might improve her mental and emotional health if she researched counseling resources in her area. Aiden must be careful to get the best possible information about his breathing condition. With the right skills and resources, you can apply that knowledge and successfully take charge of your own health and wellness. Making Healthy Decisions As you grow up, you begin to make more of your own choices. Therefore, it is important to understand how the choices you make can affect your health and wellness. The best way to make healthy and informed decisions is to use a decision-making process. A decision-making process is a process of making choices by identifying the decision, brainstorming options, identifying possible outcomes, making a decision, and reflecting on the decision. Figure 1.10 shows how to use the decision-making process. Your personal needs, wants, values, and priorities are factors that will influence the decisions you make. Your needs are the things you must have to live, such as air, water, sleep, food, clothing, and housing. Your wants are the things you desire or would like to have. Values are the things that are important to you in life. Examples of values include family, peers, culture, health, and happiness. The things you value the most become your priorities. How you approach making a decision is important. Sometimes you may make a decision on your own. Other times, you may collaborate, or Figure 1.10 Using the decision-making process can help you choose a healthy path for even the most difficult decisions. Step 1 Think carefully about a situation and examine your own thoughts and feelings to define the problem to be solved or decision to be made. Step 5 Evaluate your decision’s effectiveness. If the decision did not solve your problem, repeat the decision-making process and revise as necessary. Step 4 Act on your decision and commit to it for a certain amount of time. Step 3 Think about the best- and worst-case scenarios of each option. Choose the best option that aligns with your goals, values, and resources. Step 2 Make a list of all your options. Do not rule out any ideas, and reserve judgment until after you have identified all options. The Decision-Making Process Identify the decision. Brainstorm options. Identify possible outcomes. Make a decision. Reflect on the decision.