Empirical studies have unravelled that there is more to humanity than the physical muscles and bone. Man is made up of a mind and an inner being. Thus the wellness of human beings is not merely the absence of illness, but also one's emotional and mental state (Svalastog, 2017). The health-illness continuum is a construct of John Travis. It is a graphic representation of one’s wellbeing. It surfaced from what Travis concludes. Travis affirms that it is a wrong assumption to believe that just because the medicines eliminated the symptomatology of a disease, then the person is wholesomely cured.
The continuum is made of two arrows pointing in two different directions and joined together at a neutral point. From one end is premature death, disability, symptoms, signs and finally the neutral junction. The neutral junction encompasses awareness, education, growth, and high-level wellness. The treatment paradigm is an arrow from premature death to the neutral junction whereas the wellness paradigm begins from premature death to high-level wellness. The movement to the right from the left edge of the continuum, which is premature death headed to the other end of high-level wellness indicates improvements in health. A movement to the left indicates a decrease in health, which is stepwise from signs to symptoms, and finally disabilities that end up in premature death. The movement to wellbeing is characterized by awareness, education, and growth that culminate in high-level wellness.
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From the continuum, the direction of progression is more important than the actual state as it is able to indicate where one is headed health-wise. For a practitioner or care provider, an understanding of this continuum is critical. A patient’s expectations, as well as experiences through the entire continuum, are highly dependent on the location. A patient under the symptoms of pain cares less about their workplace, and the primary focus of the caregiver should be to eliminate the pain (Dulaney, 2017). The position of the patient on the continuum also helps in determining the urgency to be applied in handling a particular matter. This helps prioritization by the caregiver, especially when handling multiple patients. Follow up ought not to stop at the absence of disease, but a caregiver should insist on seeing the full wellbeing attained by the patient.
Personal Reflection
As a person, I consider myself to be at the neutral point. Whereas biologically I have no signs or symptoms I cannot declare to be wholesomely in perfect health. The multiple assignments and responsibilities are consistently weighing me down. Severally, I have felt overwhelmed by the numerous duties I am expected to deliver on. I seem not to have any energy left to undertake other aspects that would grant me a higher degree of wellness. Nonetheless, a proper investment on methods of stress management and planning will probably yield fruit in tilting my position on the continuum to the right.
Options and Resources
In a bid to get to a place of wellness, key resources available; reading materials, counseling sessions, and mental exercises that relieve the stress should be used. Texts and sessions on emotional intelligence that train on handling stress and planning are critical in ensuring I am positioned to manage stress (Manwell, 2015). The services of a counselor would be instrumental in allowing one to paint an accurate picture of oneself, thinking through the various tasks and prioritizing them appropriately to avoid the immense stress and rush that is usually associated with the mannerisms that I handle my assignments. The human company, a situation where one spends considerable time with like-minded people, is also helpful. Positive sharing of ideas and reflections and challenging each other to do better is cardinal in making one better. In certain situations, medicines and pills that enhance cognitive functions have been deemed to be helpful in the attainment of total well-being, since they enhance wellness.
References
Dulaney, C. (2017). Defining health Across the Cancer Continuum. Cureus; Publishing Beyond Open Access .
Manwell, L. A. (2015). What Is Mental Health? Evidence towards a new definition from a mixed methods multidisciplinary international Survey. BMJ Open .
Svalastog, A. L. (2017). Concepts and Definitions of health-related values in Knowledge landsape of the Digital Society. Croatian Medical Journal , 431-435.
