The topic of health and wellness has been changing over the past many years with various scholars introducing different views and perspectives for the two terms. Even though many models exist concerning health, illness, and wellness, each of these models holds a different perspective. While some scientists have defined health as an absence of illness, World Health Organization have taken a broader view by defining health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease ( Singian, 2015 ). The health-illness continuum is a graphical illustration of the well-being of an individual by focusing on the idea wellbeing is more than just the absence of illness. Developed by John Travis in1972, wellbeing is defined as a concept that also incorporates the individual’s emotional and mental health and not merely the absence of illness. According to Travis, the standard approach that assumes that a person’s wellness is based on lack of illness was inadequate and thus the need to include other perspectives into the model ( Van Erp, 2018 ). The Travis continuum model involves two arrows pointing towards the opposite direction with the meeting pint being the neutral point where the wellness of the patients are maximized.
People can be motivated to choose the direction of moving towards a healthy, strong and active life by making the right decision. Nurses have the responsibilities and a role to play in helping the patients find their inspiration and the driving force that can motivate them towards the path of better health. The importance of the health-illness continuum it is a model that nurses can use to guide the patients as well as themselves to move towards the right direction of health ( Bomba, 2015 ). By drawing the connection between the treatment and wellness paradigm, the model plays a crucial role in helping the patients choose the right direction concerning their health. As the nurses treat the patients, they also educate them on how the prevention and their lifestyle choices can help them move towards better health and wellness. The health-illness model covers the whole continuum as it provides the direction that the patients must follow to realize the highest levels of wellness ( Bomba, 2015 ). This is unlike the treatment paradigm that only focuses on leading the patients towards the state of lack of illnesses.
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The goal of the nurses through this continuum is to move the patients far beyond the optimal levels of their health. The nurses can achieve this through education, awareness and promoting personal growth amongst the patients. The continuum has been used to promote preventive treatment by improving the wellbeing of the patients before the signs and symptoms emerge ( Derkatch , 2018). The move toward the neutral point helps promotes the wellbeing of the patients. Other than just lack of illness, the health-illness continuum helps promote wellness by promoting physical, emotional, mental, social, environmental and physical health. The patients can achieve these components by choosing a positive and healthy lifestyle which aims at promoting their wellness and overall health.
My current overall state of health is good. I observe my diet by taking vitamins and omeprazole daily and doing some physical exercise to keep me fit and flexible. Every morning before I report for my work, I go for the gyms at least four times a week to keep a check on my weight and fitness. I currently do not have any chronic illness or injuries, and I am very keen to ensure that I only take healthy diet. The wellness check that I attend after every six months has always shown that my overall state of health is good. I have always tried to live a healthy lifestyle that drives me towards the direction of optimal health and wellness. Other than just lack of illness, I try to engage in other activities that will promote emotional, physical. Social and mental health and wellbeing. These behaviors have always supported my health and wellbeing and have driven me towards my current good health.
However, stress plays a key role in distracting me from maintaining good health and wellness. As a registered nurse, I take care of the 86 year old mother and babysitting five children. This work can sometimes come with several challenges which can cause stress and affect the emotional and mental health which will, in turn, distract the achievement of optimal health and wellbeing. As I am required to handle these patients daily, I face challenges especially dealing with the 86 year old patient and the grandchildren. I leave work exhausted and stressed, a trend which has continuously affected my mental and emotional health.
However, some resources are available that can help me in moving forward towards wellness and improving my overall health. One of the resources available is the employees’ wellness checks and stress management that aims at helping the employees manage their stress and overall wellness. These programs include guidance and counseling to help the employees dealing with work-related stress to recover. The other programs provided to help improve the wellness of the employees is diabetes and heart disease screening which aims at checking for any of the employees who could be affected so that they start early treatment. My semi-annual wellness checkups have also helped me keep track of my state of health and made me remain healthy and well despite the stress and challenges that I receive at my workplace.
References
Singian, K. R. P. (2015). A Critical Analysis of UBC Thrives as a Mental Health Promotion. Health Professional Student Journal , 1 (1).
Van Erp Taalman Kip, R. M., & Hutschemaekers, G. J. (2018). Health, well ‐ being, and psychopathology in a clinical population: Structure and discriminant validity of Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC ‐ SF). Journal of clinical psychology , 74 (10), 1719-1729.
Bomba, P. A., & Orem, K. (2015). Lessons learned from New York’s community approach to advance care planning and MOLST. Annals of palliative medicine , 4 (1), 10-21.
Derkatch, C. (2018). The self-generating language of wellness and natural health. The rhetoric of Health & Medicine , 1 (1), 132-160.
