PART 2: Relating your reflective narrative to core themes and topics in HSS 1

Medicine is on a constant state of change. Every year there is a new invention. Something like the nanophotonic electron accelerator (NEA) could be developed and used to kill certain cancers in the next few years. [1] Medicine keeps evolving and thus makes it challenging to find a definition that fits everyone and everything when it come to the definition of health. This essay will speak about the definition of health and attempt to provide a universal definition for the current period of time. The current world wide agreed upon definition is the WHO definition. “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It is a fundamental human right” (WHO, 1946). [2] This is a good definition to work from but has some flaws. The word “complete” should be removed. “Complete” in context is biased. Someone who has lost a leg can still be considered healthy. If you look at a youtuber who goes by name of Alex1Leg. [3] He is in good shape. He weighted dipped 82 Kg’s in one of his videos.[4] If you know anything about gymming, you know that it’s impressive even for a “complete” healthy person. Alex lost his leg due to cancer but now he is healthier than the average human. There were comments about the addition of spiritual and religious well-being to the definition. I wouldn’t consider that a main component of health. I consider these as symptoms that dictate health. If you aren’t spiritually or religiously content that will have an impact on all 3 (physical, mental, social well-being). Another definition I have come across from Huber et al. (2011 ) goes like this: “health as the ability to adapt and self-manage in the face of social, physical, and emotional challenges.” [5] Alex is the perfect example of this definition of health. The definition needs to incorporate both the WHO definition and Huber et al definitions. Regardless of any definition we come up with it needs to be revisited every year. It is impossible to have a universal definition for every generation. That being said I propose my definition. Health is a state of physical, mental, and social well-being . It is the ability to manage and adapt in order to be content with one’s state of physical, mental, and social well-being. It is not the absence of diseases nor infirmity but how the individual is with the disease or infirmity. Medicine keeps evolving. The WHO definition is a good base but is incomplete. The definition proposed in this essay is not one size fits all generations definition but for now it is the most inclusive definition.