The 5 Pillars of Health

You are growing tomato plants. You place them in well-drained soil with a pH of 5.8 to 7.0. You add compost to the soil. You plant them in a location that gets plenty of sun. You water once every 2 – 3 days at the height of the summer and when the weather cools you cut back to once a week. You stake them to provide support. You use a repellant if deer become an issue. You snip off any yellow leaves to prevent fungus. You remove suckers knowing they won’t bear fruit and will only use up energy. After all this diligent care you are able to enjoy a bumper crop of tomatoes come late summer. If you neglect any one of these steps your plants fail to thrive, become sickly and die.

The same is true for human beings. Well, while our requirements are certainly different then tomato plants the same general principles apply. There are 5 main pillars of health: physical, mental, social, spiritual and intellectional. Neglecting any one of these pillars has consequences. If a pillar is lacking or off- kilter for an extended period of time it will have an effect on our overall health. Here is a closer look at each pillar.

Physical Health

Physical health encompasses many things but the major components include daily physical activity, good nutrition, adequate hydration, sleep hygiene, moderation or abstinence of alcohol, abstinence of drugs, smoking cessation and regular medical self-care. Like the tomato plants, if any one of these elements is lacking our physical health will start to suffer.

Establishing a daily routine is hard work and takes discipline but it is a good way to stay on track with our physical health. In general, people feel better when they get regular exercise, plan healthy meals, eat at set times, establish a bedtime routine, get a sufficient amount of sleep, drink less alcohol and not smoke or do drugs. Research has shown that people who stick to a routine and follow healthy principles live ten years longer than those who do not.

One of the things people say they look forward to most in retirement is the freedom to do nothing at all. No longer having to get up at a set time and commit to an eight hour structured shift of work, doing whatever whenever seems a dream come true. Staying up until the wee hours of the morning, waking up at the crack of noon and finally showering and getting out of PJ’s at 3PM becomes the new unhealthy pattern. The obvious consequence is decline in health. No matter what stage in life you are at, having stucture and a healthy routine is a prerequisite to good physical health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) included in its definition of health “not merely the absence of disease.” It is important to point out that having a chronic health condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure does not automatically classify an individual as unhealthy. Few of us will escape a chronic health condition (or two) in our lifetime. But keeping that chronic condition in tight control, in my opinion, still constitutes good health. An adult onset diabetic, for example, who adheres to a carbohydrate controlled diet, exercises daily, achieves a healthy weight and enjoys consistent glycemic control is healthy despite having the chronic condition.

Mental Health

Mental health refers to our cognitive, behavioral and emotional well-being. It influences how we think, feel, act, reason, relate to others and cope with life. Stressful events, negative thoughts, unhealthy habits like not getting enough sleep, poor nutrition, abusing drugs and alcohol and chemical imbalance within the brain can trigger mental illness. Mental illness can manifest as stress, anxiety, depression, phobias, eating disorders, obscessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors and addictive tendencies.

Did you know that poor mental health can lead to poor physical health? The opposite is also true. Poor physical health can lead to poor mental health. The two are fundamentally linked. The split between mind and body is rather misleading. Disorders of the body often have mental consequences and disorders of the mind often have physical consequences. One of the best examples of the mind – body connection is broken heart syndrome also known as Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. This occurs when a person experiences severe stress (anxiety, grief, fear, extreme anger) which then causes sudden heart muscle weakness manifested by chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating and dizziness.

Although we are making progress, the stigma surrounding mental illness is still very much a real thing. If you wouldn’t think twice about going to the doctor for a sore throat or urinary tract infection why would you hesitate about making an appointment for feelings of sadness, hopelessness or depression?

Some ways to foster good mental health include staying positive, using healthy coping mechanisms, developing a sense of meaning and purpose in life, helping others, practicing gratitude, being understanding and patient, practicing good anger management skills, having meaningful relationships, forgiving others, being physically active, working productively and making meaningful contributions to work and community. Like the tomato plants, if any one of these elements is lacking our mental health will start to suffer.

Social Health

Humans are social creatures. We are meant to relate, interact and form meaningful relationships with others. Did you know that individuals who classify themselves as lonely are more likely to die prematurely compared to individuals with healthy meaningful relationships? There have been studies comparing individuals who state they are lonely and individuals who smoke 15 cigarettes a day. Both are equally as deadly. So it turns out the saying “loneliness kills” is actually true. It is, in fact, a silent killer.

In a world where work at home, on-line classes, digital social networking and computer gaming are becoming increasingly popular, non face-to-face interaction is becoming more and more the norm. This social isolation has adverse effects on physical and mental health. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced confinement through stay at home orders and is a good case in point. The lockdown has caused an increase in depression, chemical dependency and mental health crisis which was the direct result of feelings of loneliness and social isolation.

Some ways to improve social wellness include engaging in hobbies, keeping in touch with supportive friends and family, joining a club, volunteering in an area you are passionate about, planning outings, attending community events or periodic date nights.

Spiritual Health

Spirituality comes from the latin word spiritus which means breath or life. It is more than organized religion and prayer. It is something that gives meaning and purpose in life. It is also inner peace, unrelenting faith and feelings of hope and optimism. Morals, values and ethics are also components of spiritual health.

Spiritual health acknowledges that there is a higher power responsible for the wonders of the universe.

Good spiritual health gives us the desire to move beyond ourselves to help others and to use our talents and abilities to make a difference. In a society full of so many negative influences it is a constant struggle sometimes to maintain spirituality. Maintaining self-awareness, physical discipline, mental clarity and inner peace can be accomplished through spiritual wellness activities like yoga, meditation, prayer, mindfulness, music, spending time in nature and journaling.

Working on strengthing spiritual health has a huge return on investment. Some of the benefits include:

• Stronger, healthier and more committed relationships
• Deeper levels of intimacy
• Improved ability to manage anger and stress
• Improved inner peace and calmness
• Improved emotional state
• Improved self-confidence

Spirituality is rather abstract and highly personal. With that being said, no one exactly knows how spiritual health relates to overall health. One thing we do know, however, is that mind, body and spirit seem to be connected. When the health of one declines the other two seems to suffer.

Intellectual Health

There’s a quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder “We start learning the minute we are born. And if we’re wise we don’t stop until the Lord calls us home.” Few would argue that human beings are the smartest animals on earth. The human brain is unique in that it has countless folds and creases which allow more cortical surface (gray matter) to pack tightly within our skull. This three pound organ full of more then 10 billion neurons, more than 125 trillion synapses and 40 plus neurotransmitters has the ability to store 2.5 million gigabytes of memory. The brain is curious and craves learning, grasping new concepts and processing new information much like a junkie getting a fix on heroin.

Intellectual health refers to increasing our knowledge and understanding, learning new skills, improving old skills, continuously challenging ourselves and exercising our creative as well as analytical brain. Intellectual wellness is important because it helps us achieve a more balanced life, allows us to be open to new ideas, strengthens critical thinking skills, enhances memory power, recall and concentration, keeps the mind fresh and alert, brings richness to life, fills us with a sense of accomplishment and promotes mental stimulation. Research suggests that doing regular intellectual stimulation and brain exercises staves cognitive decline and reduces the risk or delays the onset of dementia.

There are so many ways to increase intellectual health. Some examples include:

• Reading a book
• Writing poetry or short stories
• Journaling
• Doing random math problems
• Working on jigsaw or crossword puzzles
• Learning a new recipe
• Playing a musical instrument or listening to music
• Drawing or doodling
• Going to a museum
• Learning a foreign language
• Engaging in debates and discussions
• Watching educational channels like Discovery or National Geographic
• Watching movies
• Listening to podcasts

Health and wellness is a lifelong journey. It is a committment. It is a balancing act. It requires disclipine and focus. It is really hard work but the outcomes justify the means tenfold. Like the tomato plants, the amount of time and effort put into planting and caring for directly correlates with the health and yield. Conversely, the amount of time and effort put into personal health directly correlates overall wellness and longivity.