Going beyond the destination and embracing the journey.
When we think about being “healthy,” we often imagine a life without illness. But what if health were not about the absence of something, but about the presence of something? Health is not something we simply have. It is something we weave. Health is much more than a collection of parts that happen to be working well. It is about relationships, movement, and connection. It is something we cultivate throughout our lives. Here are a few ideas to help us understand it:
Health Is Relational
Health is not only about ourselves. It is also about the connections we create. Our relationships—with friends, family, coworkers, and even with ourselves—shape a significant part of our well-being. In this sense, being healthy is not simply about being free from illness. It is also about feeling supported, connected, and in harmony with the world around us (Valenzuela, 2016).
Health, then, is not only about the body or the mind, but also about how they connect with the people and environments around us. A “perfect” body can still feel unwell in an isolated environment. A strong mind can struggle without support.
Health Is Dynamic
When we are healthy, we may not even notice it. Yet health is constantly changing. It is a process that grows, evolves, and transforms over time. It changes according to the context in which we live and the experiences we go through (Coelho, & Almeida, 2002).
Every stage of life brings different needs. What health means in our twenties is not necessarily the same as what it means in adulthood or later in life. In your twenties, being healthy might involve exploration and self-awareness. In your thirties, it might be more connected to emotional stability and personal projects. Later in life, health may involve maintaining cognitive functioning, physical strength, and independence. At every stage, health is a process that adapts to our circumstances and capacities (Bickenbach et al, 2023).
Health Is Not a Fixed State
Thinking of health as something we “weave” allows us to see its complexity. Health is not a package we put on a shelf, waiting to be used. It is a network of experiences, emotions, relationships, and habits that we are constantly creating. From this perspective, there is no such thing as absolute or permanent health. Instead, health involves our ability to adapt, adjust, and keep moving despite the obstacles we encounter.
Health, therefore, cannot be reduced to the body. It also involves our mind, our spirit, the relationships we build, and the context in which we live (Gavidia, & Talavera, 2012).
Health Goes Beyond Illness
For a long time, the biomedical model defined health primarily as the absence of disease. But health and illness are not necessarily opposites. Being healthy does not always mean being completely free of symptoms, and being ill does not necessarily mean losing all sense of well-being.
Some illnesses, as we move through them, can strengthen our immune system or help us adapt to future challenges. Of course, protecting ourselves from illness whenever possible is important. But when illness does become part of our lives, we can also understand it as part of our ongoing relationship with our environment. And even then, life can remain full and meaningful when we cultivate strong networks of support, resilience, and personal growth.
The Psychological Dimension: Becoming Aware of the Others
Our mind plays a central role because consciousness connects the different dimensions of our lives. Our experience of well-being is therefore deeply connected to the psychological dimension. Through it, we come into contact with the different aspects of our health and can make meaning of our experiences.
Our psychological experience can transform the way we live through a physical, spiritual, financial, or even behavioral experience. This is one of the reasons why so many of our experiences of health and well-being are expressed through our psychological lives (Cortés et al, 2009).
Health as Personal Development
Health is also deeply connected to personal growth. Growing, learning, making mistakes, and transforming ourselves are all fundamental parts of a healthy life.
Health, then, is not a destination we eventually reach. It is a journey of growth. Every experience, every lesson, and every mistake contribute to our well-being in its own unique way. From this perspective, taking care of ourselves also means embracing our difficulties as part of our story.
Holistic Care for Well-Being at Every Stage of Life
Staying healthy means paying attention to all the dimensions that shape our lives: our physical, emotional, spiritual, sexual, and financial well-being, as well as our leisure and hobbies.
It also means paying attention to the roles we play in the world around us:
- Being part of a family
- Being a partner
- Being a friend
- Being a worker or professional
- Being of service to others
- Being part of nature
This holistic perspective invites us to understand the relationship between the different dimensions and roles in our lives, and to develop a form of self-care that recognizes how deeply our inner and outer worlds depend on one another.
Taking care of yourself is not simply about “going to the gym” or “eating well.” It is about integrating your different needs into a whole that supports your well-being (Coelho, & Almeida, 2002).
Understanding why our difficulties emerge and what keeps them going is essential. With appropriate psychological support, we can begin to integrate what is happening across the different dimensions of our lives and find our way back toward greater well-being.
Finally:
Taking care of our health is an invitation to relate differently to ourselves, to others, and to the world. It is not a battle against illness, but a celebration of everything we can build and experience along the way. With every step, every connection, we weave the health that accompanies us through life.
The next time you think about “being healthy,” remember that health is a balance that is constantly adjusting—both within you and in relationship with your surroundings.
It is a network of experiences and relationships, a tapestry in which life, with everything it brings, can come together and find meaning.
And if you are going through a moment when something in your life no longer seems to make sense—whether physically, emotionally, relationally, professionally, or in another dimension of your life—consider reaching out to a psychologist.
Sometimes, understanding what is happening within you is the first step toward finding a new way forward.
References
- Bickenbach, J., Rubinelli, S., Baffone, C. y Stucki, G. (2023). La revolución del funcionamiento humano: implicaciones para los sistemas y las ciencias de la salud. Fronteras de la ciencia , 1, 1118512. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsci.2023.1118512
- Coelho, MTAD y Almeida Filho, N. de. (2002). Conceitos de saúde em discursos contemporáneos de referencia científica. História, Ciências, Saúde – Manguinhos , 9(2), 315-333. Río de Janeiro, Brasil: Fundación Oswaldo Cruz.
- Cortés Vázquez, EB, Ramírez Guerrero, EM, Olvera Méndez, J., & Arriaga Abad, Y. de J. (2009). El comportamiento de salud desde la salud: La salud como un proceso. Alternativas en Psicología , XIV(20), 89-94.
- Gavidia, V. y Talavera, M. (2012). La construcción del concepto de salud. Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales y Sociales , 26, 161-175. https://doi.org/10.7203/DCES.26.1935
- Valenzuela Contreras, LM (2016). La salud, desde una perspectiva integral. Revista Universitaria de la Educación Física y el Deporte , 9(9), 50-59. Montevideo, Uruguay: Universidad de la República. ISSN 1688-4949.