Health is the foundational piece of existence that we seem to take for granted the most. That is, until our lack of health begins to present itself. We often don’t think about the common cold, or preventing the cold…until we have the cold. Most of us don’t live our lives trying to prevent disease…but we do absolutely everything at hand when we’re confronted with the fact that we may now have it. Proactive behavior goes such a long way…and seems to be the most effective way to live with good health.
Mental health is a large facet of overall health. It’s become more relevant and present in recent times…especially in the news and political sphere when discussing criminals….murderers and terrorists in particular. I used to think of mental illness ass ‘what some other unfortunate people have to deal with.’ I’ve come to understand though, that we’re all on a scale…but no one is actually at zero in all areas. No one is perfectly healthy. Just as within physical health, we all have small ailments here and there…sickness comes and goes…it’s similar with mental health. We all seem to have a little of this, a little of that. Some more than others. We all find ourselves with anxiety at times. Depression seems hard to define at particularly low levels, but we all feel ‘down’ at times…we all have bad days.
Health is all about balance. If we break down physical and mental health into 10 categories (5 categories in each), we can see how important that balance is. Scoring low in particular areas has an effect on the entirety of your existence. Score yourself on the following quiz, rating 0-5 for each category. 0 is not healthy at all. 5 is the healthiest you can be.
Physical health
Gastrointestinal __
Strength/Flexibility/agility __
Adaptability (your bodies ability to function in different environments __
Cardiovascular __
Immune system __
Mental Health
Anxiety __
happiness/mood __
Fulfillment/purpose/meaning __
Impulsivity __
Fear __
Total score (out of 50) ___
It should go without saying…but I’m no doctor, and just created this quiz with quick thoughts to somewhat score my own overall health. Take it with a grain of salt. Or without!
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