What Does Health Mean to Me?

My original post for today involved a trip to the store…but that is getting axed - because Gainesville is apparently in the midst of a monsoon (disguising itself as one of our normal daily reoccurring afternoon summer showers).  Anyone else ready for a little rainy day relief by way of autumn (ahh..college football and temps below 90 - those were the days).

So instead, I decided to take a cue from an awesome site called Healthy Living Blogs (Side Note: This site is an awesome resource if you are looking for new and interesting healthy lifestyle blogs) and write about the topic currently being discussed there – What Does Health Mean to Me?

For those who don’t know, in addition to my job (doing Vocational Evaluations for persons with disabilities), I’m also pursuing a Master of Public Health degree. A huge portion of my time is designated to learning about disease prevention, healthy lifestyles, and epidemiology.   

So...What does health mean to me? You’d think it would be easy enough to lay it all out there…but to me, true health and well-being includes a lot. There are so many facets that go beyond proper nutrition and exercise.

I think of health as being divided into two main categories (and about a million subcategories): mental and physical health.  These two categories work together to contribute to my overall health; and when aspects of any of these categories go by the wayside, I feel my overall health is affected negatively. 

To me, Health means:

Embracing Family Time

             Having dates, family nights, and quiet (or noisy) moments together




Holding fast to my spiritual and religious beliefs

             Always




The ability to help others

             At work, at home, on the street




Constantly learning and maintaining outlets for creativity     

            Whether cake decorating, scrapbooking, or interior design




Keeping excitement, spontaneity, and happiness in my marriage 


A weekend away, just us two? Yes please!

Recognizing when I can’t do something alone and asking for help when I need it       

            Physically and Spiritually




Consuming nutritious foods while always saving room for splurges

             What is Life Without Your just deserts? 




Staying active    
          Physically and Socially

Reading voraciously
            For education, leisure, and spirituality

Noting beautiful surroundings

             At home, in others’ homes, on the radio, outdoors, all around




Knowing and respecting my limits

             …and living within my means

Being happy at work  
          You wouldn’t believe the importance of this

Smiling every time I see a dog
            Without fail

Constantly working on physical strength, endurance, and ability

            Working to always - Run, and not be weary; and walk, and not faint

How do you define health? Do you include sweets, good times, and puppy dogs in your definition? 

If any of our readers would like to guest post on what health means to them – let us know!

Links to Health:

Why are we still smoking in movies?

Newsweek Looks at Changes in How We View Beauty

Can Hand Sanitizers Really Boost Productivity at Work?

Healthy Vices

Newer Isn’t Always Better When it Comes to Birth Control Pills: