Understanding the Human Experience Across the Health-Illness Continuum

Answer

Understanding the Human Experience Across the Health-Illness Continuum

The health-illness continuum is a concept proposed by John Travis (1972) that suggest that wellbeing consist of psychological and emotional health and the existence or absence of illness. Schomerus et al. (2016) confirms that administered treatments such as medicines normally treat the disease, symptoms, or disabilities to a point where illness is considered invisible, but the wellness paradigm wants to bring an individual’s wellbeing towards ideal psychological and emotional states. Hence, this paper focuses on examining the health-illness continuum and deriving its significance to health and patients care. Further, the paper also outlines the available sources that may assist patients in moving towards wellness.

Health-illness Importance to Health and Patient Care

The health-illness continuum is an important health tool that promotes prevention treatment in a healthcare setting. Schomerus et al. (2016) argues that rather than improving the wellbeing of an individual with visible signs and symptoms of a disease, the illness-wellness continuum also educates the individual to be aware of the risk factors and avoid behaviors or lifestyles that may led them towards premature death. The health-illness continuum is a vital tool that assists healthcare professionals in guiding their patients to move towards the path to better health and wellbeing. Schomerus et al. (2016) confirms that the illness-wellness continuum is a tool that nurses can apply to assist their patients picture, design and accomplish their goals for wellness and healthier lifestyles.

Personal Reflection on State of Health

My overall health state results from the challenges and opportunities offered by the various arenas of life ranging from relationships, family to community. I believe in the remunerations of mindfulness that fosters a life of harmony with oneself and the world. While cultural norms remain the key destructive aspect towards achieving wellness, I have learnt to embrace the medical scientific facts about health and am aware of behaviors or lifestyles that deteriorate good health. For instance, overweight or obesity problems runs in my family’s history. The fact that this may be a genetic factor does not justify that am prone to be overweight. However, for my own wellbeing, I choose to be mindful through adopting healthier eating behaviors such as avoiding fast foods and engaging into physical activities. Further, avoiding stress and adopting effective approaches to coping with stress has helped me maintain good mental health.  Maintaining a positive outlook towards my illness has always been the key to achieving a state of high-level wellness. Janney et al. (2017) suggest wellness is as a process requires achieving lifestyle change which involves engaging a whole person being, that is, body, mind, spirit and emotions. Hence, I would evaluate my health and wellness being way far beyond the neutral point in the illness-wellness continuum. I am aware of behaviors and lifestyles that threaten my health and am avoiding them at all costs.

Resources Supporting Wellness

Achieving a high level of wellness is a conceptual approach that involves giving the best care to your physical, emotional, mental, social, environmental and spiritual health. Traditionally, building and maintain wellness required one to address the impacts each life arena posed on your physical and emotional wellbeing. For better understanding, there are a wide range of articles, books, blogs and shows that address health issues and ways of achieving wellness. The internet has made it easier for us to access these resources online. Janney et al. (2017) argue that establishing and maintaining wellness in an individual requires collaboration among the individual, the nurse or doctor and the family. Hence, building wellness and finish strong requires to create an environment whereby he or she has full support from his or her family, guidelines from the doctors and available resources to achieving it. Janney et al. (2017) suggest that poverty and economic constrain is a key factor that inhibit people from adopting healthier lifestyles.

Therefore, in order to achieve wellness as perceived in the Health-Illness Continuum, it is important to ensure that one has control over challenges and opportunities offered in each arena of life (Beauchemin, 2018). For instance, as a student, exams, projects, minimized time frames for studying and relationship pressures are some of the factors that threaten my wellness. In order to cope with such stressors, I respond by building a calendar, maintaining a schedule, eating healthy, sleeping regularly, seeking counselling or talking to people and learning more through research. Also, I ensure that I maintain good relations and support from my family which is key in ensuring that I have a stable mental and emotional health to be study effectively. Regardless, the fact that college life is full of destructions, peer influence and high prevalence of substance abuse, choosing the right friends, regular counselling and talks helps me keep of such negativity. Also, physical activities such as morning runs are effective ways for maintaining a healthier physical and mental health (Beauchemin, 2018). Through these approaches, I have been able to maintain wellness as a student. Also, through regular checkups from my personal doctor, I am able to evaluate on my wellness in relation to the Health -illness continuum.