What is holistic health? Holistic health is the idea that the body, mind, and spirit are all connected. When one of these areas is out of balance, it can cause problems in other areas. Holistic health practitioners believe that people can improve their overall health by restoring balance to all places. Many aspects of holistic health are essential for maintaining general well-being. This blog post will explore the different parts of holistic health and how to take care of each.

The different aspects and how to be good at each

When we talk about health, the first thing that probably comes to mind for many is physical health. Somebody is healthy when people have a fit physical body and don't get sick often. It's easy to see the signs of good health when we only look at physical wellness, but it may not be evident regarding the non-physical signs of the other aspects of holistic health. Physical health is only one aspect of holistic health and includes others, namely mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health. For somebody who seriously considers holistic health, one can only say they are genuinely healthy if they achieve wellness in all aspects of holistic health. If one part is in disarray, the other elements can get affected too. So it is essential to know what each aspect involves and how you can take care of yourself for each part.

Physical health

Physical health is pretty much self-explanatory. It refers to the condition of our physical bodies and how well and able it is to perform daily activities. When physically healthy, we can do physical activities more effortlessly and endure more when doing back-to-back tasks. As a result, we don't get too tired quickly and can resist diseases from affecting us. It's also easy to know when something is wrong with our physical health since our body will show signs and symptoms of being sick, and a doctor can quickly diagnose and treat us if needed.

Many health advice you will hear pertains to taking care of your physical health. However, there are many ways to do it, and it will require time and effort to be physically healthy. Some of the things you can make a habit to be physically healthy include:

• Getting enough hours of sleep every day
• Doing enough physical activity every day
• Eating meals that are good for your body
• Avoid excessive drinking and eating
• Practicing good hygiene habits, such as cleaning hands regularly
• Having a regular check-up with your doctor at least once a year

Mental health

Mental health refers to how healthy our brain functions. Just like how we can train our muscles to improve ourselves physically, we can also teach our brains to improve our cognitive abilities and keep our minds sharp. A healthy mind is vital to ensuring we stay sane and have good thoughts.

There are various ways we can take of our mental health, such as:

• Continuously learning new skills and knowledge to keep our minds active and sharp
• Eating foods that are good for your brain
• Ensuring you always take a break and have opportunities to quiet your mind and relax
• Check-in with a therapist when something is bugging your mind heavily, and you can't easily regulate or overcome it.

Emotional health

Emotional health may overlap with mental health since it also has something to do with what's happening inside our minds, but the difference is that it focuses on our emotions. In contrast, mental health concentrates on our brain function. Both mental and emotional health plays a part in affecting our physical bodies. If we are not mentally and emotionally well, it makes us more unmotivated to exercise or eat healthily since we may lack the drive to do these things. Emotional health can influence how optimistic or pessimistic we can be about life. It is essential that we can express our emotions correctly and that we experience positive feelings like happiness as much as possible.

One should not overlook one's emotional health, as it is just as important as the other aspects of holistic health care. Some of the ways you can do to take care of yourself emotionally include:

• Inject more positivity into your life
• Keep a journal to record your thoughts and feelings. It is an excellent way to express what you feel if you can't do it openly to somebody else.
• Just like with mental health, seek a therapist if something is bugging you emotionally and you don't know what to do about it.

Social health

Social health refers to how well we are in terms of the connections and relationships we have in life with friends, family, and others who play a part in our lives. Generally speaking, one should have a solid social support system in the form of people you can ask for support during times of hardship and somebody else who will listen, trust, and accept you. People around you are crucial to keeping your mental and emotional health in good condition. Without people you can consider friends or family, one may falter mentally, cause one to feel lonely, and even lead to doing troublesome acts for oneself and others.

Good social health doesn't only refer to positive relationships. It also means removing toxic relationships that only put a toll on your mind and health. So to keep yourself healthy socially, you must know how to mingle with the right people, keep trustworthy ones, and maintain good relationships with them. Other things you can do are:

• Learn how to connect with people
• Maintain good relationships with the good friends you have found in life
• Let go of toxic people and others who only make you feel heavy and pessimistic about life.
• Put yourself out there to increase the chances of meeting someone significant in your life
• Make an effort to socialize and participate in such activities

Spiritual health

Spiritual health is perhaps the one that will get most overlooked among the five aspects of holistic health. It may not be as apparent as the others as this aspect pertains to how good one is when touching with the inner self and making sense of more extensive, seemingly inexplicable things around us. Spiritual health can be pretty private, and it's something one chooses to do or forgo. However, once practiced, it can be a powerful influence that can affect everything else in your life. When your spiritual health is good, you can derive more significant meaning and purpose behind your actions and goals in life.

Joining a religious group might be the first thing one can think of when discussing spiritual health, but this is only one example of practicing spirituality. There are other ways to take care of your spiritual health, and it all involves connecting yourself to something greater than your life and establishing faith in it.

• Practice mindfulness activities
• Have some time for meditation and deep thinking
• Spend time with nature
• Ask yourself where you are going and the reason behind your actions.

Aside from the five aspects of holistic health mentioned here, this article adds three more: nutritional, financial, and environmental. Nutritional health is a subset of physical health and focuses on managing your eating to ensure a healthy and balanced diet. Financial health pertains to how well you are in finances, such as having the freedom to buy what you need and want, spend your money wisely, and budget and get rid of debts. Finally, environmental health refers to how conducive your immediate environment and the community within it are to support your health, security, and well-being.

The ideal goal when pursuing holistic health is to ensure you are doing well in all aspects, including the three additional ones we mentioned. However, it can be a lofty goal considering various factors can influence how easy or difficult it can be to manage one aspect and the rest. Therefore, conscious effort and mindfulness are needed to know how you are doing. If something is wrong with one or more elements, action is required to ensure other aspects won't be affected. Only when all parts are in good condition can one achieve good overall well-being, leading to a more fruitful and productive daily life.