Kelsey Crispeno Kelsey Crispeno

The Privilege of Health: Toward a More Inclusive Definition of Wellness

Who Knows Best What It Means to Be Well?

What is health? Wellness?

I'll make an attempt to define health and wellness here. For the purposes of this post, I'm going to use these terms interchangeably. I appreciate this definition from the University of New Hampshire:

"Wellness is an active process that helps individuals reach their optimal well-being by integrating all the dimensions of [what it takes to be well] into their lives: physical, social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, intellectual, occupational, and financial."

Who Knows Best What It Means to Be Well?

What is health? Wellness?

I'll make an attempt to define health and wellness here. For the purposes of this post, I'm going to use these terms interchangeably. I appreciate this definition from the University of New Hampshire:

"Wellness is an active process that helps individuals reach their optimal well-being by integrating all the dimensions of [what it takes to be well] into their lives: physical, social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, intellectual, occupational, and financial."

Well-being is defined as: "...an optimal and dynamic state that allows people to achieve their full potential (e.g., happiness, functioning, fulfillment, satisfaction) through both the individual pursuit of wellness and the commitment and support of the communities to which they belong."¹

Martin Seligman, who has conducted decades of research in positive psychology and human flourishing, offers another valuable perspective:

"What is human flourishing and what enables it? There are five building blocks that enable flourishing – positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (...PERMA).

There are many different routes to a flourishing life. People derive well-being from each of these five to varying degrees. A good life for one person is not necessarily a good life for another. In other words, we are not telling people what choices to make or what to value, but research on the factors that enable flourishing can help people make more informed choices to live a more fulfilling life that is aligned with their values and interests."²

So, more simply: being well encompasses all aspects of our being and how we interact with the world. And, being well involves personal agency—making choices that feel most aligned with our individual values and truths.

The Problem with "Wellness"

I feel sad about these definitions because they don't match what I see in mainstream media and society's portrayal of wellness.

I'll admit I have a slight aversion to the term "wellness." It feels overdone, poorly utilized, and harmful in many contexts.

For me, mainstream wellness is associated with privilege—access—time.

Health is a privilege afforded to the few. Health is not equally accessible to all people. I am keenly aware of this. Let's take my favorite topic for example: pain science education.

Pain is your nervous system's communication of something that is potentially threatening to your survival.

Hear this: Pain science shows us—your brain amplifies pain when it perceives your environment as unsafe. And guess what? Systemic inequality literally creates unsafe environments.

Studies show that socioeconomic status directly correlates with pain outcomes.

So when we hand out the same pain management advice to everyone without addressing these inequities, we're missing the whole picture.

Who Knows Best What It Means to Be Well?

Can we adopt a new definition of wellness that recognizes agency, individuality, AND the essential nature of community and belonging? Can wellness be about being connected to our communities in order to truly be well?

This, to me, begins to solve the health inequity problem (and I say "begins to" because we are just scratching the surface here). If our well-being is connected to one another's well-being—this becomes more than an individual journey toward health. It becomes a community journey.

This concept is nuanced and complicated. The path forward is windy and messy. Yet the path toward collective health also feels beautiful to me. This is what I imagine:

I am well when I have access to my personal autonomy—I have agency and choice. I get to decide what matters to me, how I want to approach health, which aspects of health I value most strongly and deeply. (I am connected to myself).

I am also well when my community is well. I am well when I am connected to those around me. The health of those around me—those who have more or less than me—also matters. We are well together.

Consider these questions:

  • What aspect of wellness do you feel you need (or want) to pursue right now?

    • Consider the many potential aspects of being well: physical, social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, intellectual, occupational, financial

    • Note that they are interdependent!

  • Where do you notice your health privilege or lack thereof? What emotions come up around this?

  • What agency and choice do you have around your health?

  • What would wellness feel like to you?

  • Do you feel connected to those around you? Do you notice if/how this impacts your well-being?

  • What is one way that you could contribute to the health/well-being of your community?



References:

  1. https://www.unh.edu/health/wellbeing-wheel

  2. https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/learn-more/perma-theory-well-being-and-perma-workshops

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