According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is the state of total physical, mental and social well-being, not just the absence of disease or infirmity. Your spirituality, along with your emotional health, is also part of your overall health, and the importance of maintaining a spiritual practice--religious or nonreligious--can significantly affect your well-being. Definitions of health vary from person to person, but most would agree that health is, at the very least, a state or condition in which you're free of physical disease or pain.
Physical Health
According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the National Institutes of Health, physical health is intimately associated with physical activity. The NHLBI states that physical activity is any body movement that exercises your muscles and causes you to expend more energy than you would use when you're at rest. It cites the following as examples of beneficial physical activities: walking, dancing, running, yoga, swimming and gardening. Physical health is also influenced by your other lifestyle choices, including your diet and your use of substances, such as alcohol and tobacco.
Mental Health
WHO states that mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders--it is determined by socio-economic and environmental factors and is linked to your behavior. Your mental health is a product of interacting social, psychological and biological factors. According to WHO, the people most vulnerable to mental health problems are the homeless and the disadvantaged, due to an increased likelihood in this group of feelings of insecurity and hopelessness, poor housing and income, and the risk of violence. In a more positive sense, mental health is the foundation for your well-being, and it allows you to function effectively on a personal and community level. This core belief about mental health is imbued by many cultures.
Social Health
According to WHO, the social determinants of health are the circumstances in which you are born, grow, live, work and age. Your social health, and the conditions that govern it, are heavily influenced by the following factors: The distribution of money, power and resources at the global, national and local levels. WHO states that the social determinants of health explain many of the health inequalities evident between, and even within, countries. On a more personal level, your social health is influenced by your network of friends and relatives. Surrounding yourself with supportive, caring and nonjudgmental people can improve your quality of life and boost your perceptions of your own social health.
Spiritual Health
Spiritual health is an important component of overall health that typically gets less attention and emphasis than other components. According to a 1995 study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion, imagery, meditation and group support activities can effectively address the following elements of your spiritual health: meaning and purpose in life, self-awareness, and connectedness with self, others and a greater reality. The positive benefits associated with spiritual health activities include health behavior changes, such as improved communication and diet, an increased likelihood to stick with physician-recommended treatment plans, and a spate of beneficial health effects, including a reversal of heart disease, decreased cancer mortality, lowered anxiety and enhanced moods.
Emotional Health
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), emotional health is more than simply the lack of negative emotions. Emotional health is "the ability of your emotional system to regulate and negotiate your environment in an adaptive way." NINDS believes that your emotional health may be synonymous with your ability to regulate your emotions. Emotional regulation is your ability to influence and dictate which emotions you're experiencing, when you experience them and how often you experience them. Part of your emotional health involves your ability to understand and express your emotions, put emotional knowledge to good use and regulate your emotions to cultivate intellectual growth and well-being, which NINDS terms "emotional intelligence."
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