What is health? Am I healthy?

The standard definition of health is one who is free from injury or illness. But oftentimes that is glancing over the picture as a whole. To me, at least health is defined as being able to do the physical activities you want with minimal pain involved. It is interesting to see how many of us got through life believing that everyone on the planet is a healthy individual. There is always the thought that ''This won't happen to me'' until it does. Then we find ourselves thrust into an unknown world of pain that many are already living in. It seems strange to say that health is a privilege and one that not all of us share equally. Waking up in the morning with some kind of pain is, in my opinion, part of the human experience.

There are also many different ways to look at health. Most define it as being fit and active and eating a balanced diet. While that is certainly a key component, it is not all of it. The reality is that most of us may not have access to healthy food or options for exercise. We always see how people live a fit lifestyle and try to strive for it too. There is nothing wrong with that but there is an illusion of how easy and attainable it is for everyone. We are all different and I do not believe in the concept of one size fits all because it is simply not true. The sad truth is that we oftentimes do not have the time or energy to put into ourselves especially in this day and age.

While we have all these new gadgets, technology, and the endless advice of the web I think it has actually hindered us more than we realize. We are constantly bombarded by images of fit and healthy people and their lives. Not only that but there are so many conflicting things to be read on the web about health. So much advice and things for us to follow it can make your head spin. So what does it actually mean to be healthy? How do we know that we are healthy individuals? To answer that question I think we first need to look at ourselves as a whole. Ask yourself questions ''How do I feel today? Am I in any pain or discomfort? If I could do one physical thing today what would it be?'' By taking the time to assess our bodies we become more familiar with how we feel.

It is important for us to recognize the pain we experience and how we ourselves can ease it. There are times when we go to every doctor imaginable and it feels like nothing helps. I have a very dear loved one who is in this situation. I watched for years as they went to every doctor imaginable and tried everything they could think of even leeches to ease the pain. But nothing seemed to really work or relieve any of the pain. This is still an ongoing struggle and while some days are better than others, they do their best to remain in good spirits. This is just one story of many of my close loved ones. Their experiences with pain have been constant and nobody seems to be able to help them.

This is either a common story among others or you are lucky enough to never have had to experience anything like this. It is painful, to say the least when there is nothing you can do to help yourself or others. This is why I think there is always a big push for fitness and healthy eating. While nothing is wrong with that I think the process is oversimplified. It takes time and conscious effort to be healthy and fit and the vast majority of us sometimes just lack motivation. So what is health? And are you healthy? Well, this is a difficult question that does not have a straight or understandable answer as we have already seen and discussed.

It is my belief that health is when someone is comfortable in their bodies, perhaps they still live with pain every day but they have found a way to deal with it and manage it. Being healthy is being able to eat without feeling sick. I don't mean eating sweets and not feeling sick, I mean being able to eat things that are healthy and good for us without feeling sick from them. I would like to reiterate that this is my opinion of health from the things I have seen and experienced. I would consider myself to be healthy. I do my best to make healthy food choices and while I do live with hip pain I have found ways to manage and deal with it. Though I may not be athletically fit and ready for competitions, I am functional in my everyday life.

My body is amazing and capable of intense workouts even when I don't do them all the time every day. Though I used to in the past it still remembers. Now I take to more focused workouts that I actually enjoy, That is an important point as well, to find an exercise you enjoy! It's not about looking like a bodybuilder or having rippling muscles. Those take a lot of time and dedication to build. It is about moving your body and being able to get your blood flowing and your heart pumping. At the end of the day we all try to do our best and that's all we could ever ask of ourselves. I hope you found this helpful and informative. Thank you for reading.