The illness–wellness continuum shows the relationship between the treatment paradigm and the wellness paradigm. An individual may step beyond the “neutral” point to an even higher level of wellness. The health-illness continuum is a graphic representation of the wellness of an individual. The concept was first proposed by John W. Travis, who stated that a person is not only considered to be healthy based on the absence of disease but also on mental and emotional health wellness (Kishan, 2020). It provides a comprehensive range of health services to ensure care evolves with the patient over time and also ensures that patient health gaps are filled as their health may be most vulnerable during gaps in care. It is fair to say that the health-illness continuum is a clear and concise visual representation of health as a dynamic system. The model is significant for patient care since it allows for evaluating people’s health conditions and ensuring the promotion of their value, dignity, and flourishing. Moreover, the health-illness continuum can help every individual assess their well-being and define if any aspects of their health need improvements. This essay will examine the health-illness continuum and its importance, reflect on the overall state of health, and finally look at the options and resources toward wellness.
Health-illness continuum is a model illustrating a continuously changing process of wellness, good health, average health, illness, and death. It applies to everyone as it indicates the changes an individual goes through during adapting to various life changes and issues to maintain good health. Its model’s status can change depending on the individual’s current level of health and wellness. It is relevant to healthcare as it outlines a person’s current state of health (Feuston & Piper, 2018). It is essential to understand that having a positive perspective influences the health of the patients and the beautiful human experience shared when caring for patients. Togetherness and understanding help in building a connection with the patients. The health-illness continuum is physical health and a view of a person, including emotional and psychological health, and that is also the reason why having the correct perspective is essential to an individual’s well-being regardless of their age (Schinke et al., 2018). An individual’s perspective is powerful as it can move according to where it wants to be in the health-illness continuum. This can be seen in a person diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, and they can demonstrate through a positive outlook or a negative one. When they choose to grump and complain about the condition, their place on the spectrum will not move for the better, and it may even worsen the condition in comparison to when they view the condition as a positive thing wherein they can choose, such as having to control what healthy food to eat and the type of exercise to perform. Understanding the health-illness continuum and the effect of perspective on people’s condition makes the relationship between nurses and their patients capable of great things.
If one decides on the position on the health-illness continuum, it would be essential to place themselves in the middle of the average health. One should not have grave illnesses, and they should consider themselves healthy and be aware of unhealthy habits contributing to poor maintenance of their health. Building habits is essential when consciously taking care of one’s body, and one of the steps is to understand the best behaviors to start or continue and the ones to stop performing. Behaviors that can detract someone from wellness include not getting enough sleep, lack of exercise, and too much consumption of junk food (Xiao et al., 2021). For excellent and positive behaviors, one should take two liters of water daily, keep a journal for mental health, and constantly wear sunscreen. Such behaviors are essential in building healthy habits in an individual’s life.
After understanding the positive and negative behaviors of good health maintenance, it is essential to understand the direction to follow in terms of the health-illness continuum. From having regular health, one should work on having high-level wellness, taking commitment and dedication, which is worth the effort. In making steps towards wellness, one should plan on how they can effectively fix their sleeping schedule, routine exercising, and planning on their meals and sticking to the plan (Hoeger et al., 2018
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