The 10 types of health and their characteristics

When we talk about health, it is common for many people to think about physical health, a person itself suffers or does not suffer from a disease. However, the concept of health is much broader and encompasses other areas of our life.

There are different definitions of this concept, but one of the most accurate is that of the WHO, which made public in the Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization, which was approved at the International Health Conference, held in New York at the year 1946. This definition, which has not been modified since then, affirms that health is "a state of complete well-being, physical, mental and social."

• Related article: "Health Psychology: history, definition and fields of application"

The types of health, explained

We'll see now what characteristics each type of health presents.

1. Physical Health

Physical health refers to the general physical condition of people at any given time. It is the well-being of the body, and its optimal functioning. It is the absence of diseases and the good physiological functioning of the organism

. Viral attacks or injuries have a negative effect on our physical health, which is also altered by other factors. That is why it is necessary:

• Rest and sleep appropriately, as well as how to rest when necessary.
• Eat well and ingesting nutrients appropriately.
• Play sports and maintain good physical condition.
• Take care of personal hygiene to avoid infections and diseases.
• Visit the doctor regularly to check for diseases.
• Possess an emotional harmony, since emotional health affects physical health. For example, when a person is under stress, their immune system weakens.

2. Mental health

Mental health, which is also often called emotional health, is a complex concept that not only refers to whether or not a person suffers from a psychological disorder. It is characterized by having a high level of self-esteem, feeling good about yourself, being motivated with life and having vital goals that help you live your days with optimism and hope, the capacity for resilience and to face problems and to enjoy an emotional balance, autonomy and a life free of stress and worries excessive.

To improve emotional health, you can follow some tips like these:

• Take an Emotional Intelligence workshop to improve the ability to manage emotions.
• Do sport, because it not only improves the appearance and physical condition, but also facilitates the release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin or endorphins, which cause a feeling of pleasure and happiness.
• Do activities that make us enjoy and that give meaning to our life.
• Have vital goals, keep them realistic and fight for them.
• Promote positive interpersonal relationships.
• Live in the present and practice acceptance.

You can delve into these tips in the article "Emotional health: 7 tips to improve it”.

3. Social health

Human beings are social beings, and much of our well-being is determined by the conditions around us, that is, our environment. In fact, even our own identity is built and developed in interaction with others.

Now, social health is not simply the fact of having friends or not, but has to do with our living conditions, such as for example, have a stable job, financial stability, have access to health care, access to recreational and leisure activities, etc.

Other types of health

In addition to the types of health mentioned in the previous lines, and which are part of the WHO definition, there are also other health classifications, as we will see below.

1. Sexual health

Sexual health is a state of physical, mental and social health that is related to sexuality, that is, to enjoying our own body and having healthy sexual relationships. Sexual health problems can be varied. To learn more, you can read our article: "The 8 most frequent sexual problems and how to treat them"

2. Food health

Eating healthy is an important part of our body. Food health is related to the nutrients we eat and with the amounts we eat, as well as the times we do it.

3. Enviromental health

Environmental health is one that is linked to the environment in which a person lives. That is, they are the external factors that affect a person. For example, the work environment can cause stress which, in turn, can cause problems psychological problems such as anxiety, insomnia and depression, but also physical problems such as diarrhea or constipation.

Noise pollution in a place also refers to environmental health, because exposure to harmful noise can cause physical health consequences to a person.

4. Public health

It is the collective health and the influence of political decisions when it comes to ensuring the health of a given population. It is related to protection managed by governments.

5. Economic health

A type of health based on enjoying good economic stability and that the balance between income and expenses, whether of a person or a financial project, is not negative.

6. Family health

Family is important in a person's development and health, but there are families that are considered toxic for his harmful influence because of your relational patterns. Good family health positively affects its members.

7. Occupational health

Occupational health has to do with the application of measures to maintain a positive work environment and favor the well-being of employees. In our article "12 signs that indicate that you are in a toxic work environment" we delve into this topic.