What is Health Education?
Health, a word that has a major impact in the current time. Health is the condition of an individual’s physical and mental well-being. In today’s time, health education is the top priority for any individual because of the pandemic and the acceptance of people about mental well-being. In this article, we will learn; what are the different kinds of health education? What is the importance of health education? How to keep ourselves healthy?
“Stop thinking and take a deep breath”
Different types of Health Education:
To know different kinds of health education, we must know different kinds of health conditions: Physical and Mental.
• Physical health:
Physical health is the state where one can see, feel or observe with an eye or with the help of medical tools such as x-ray, CT Scan, etc., either a person is physically fit or not.
• Mental health:
Mental health is the state where one cannot see with or without an eye or any medical tool but can observe and feel how individuals behave in their personnel time, in public or with close ones.
How to keep ourselves healthy:
An active body achieves health education for physical well-being with nutritious food and a disciplined lifestyle. The ideal lifestyle of an individual is achieved by following four rules of life every day, those are:
1. Practice meditation
2. Eat healthily
3. Talk wisely
4. Exercise
1. Practice meditation
Meditation helps to reduce stress and anxiety. It is necessary to meditate and find peace in ourselves because a day in the 21st century will not be easy and hustle-free. Meditation is practised for preparing the mind and the body for the rest of the day. Yes, the body, as a healthy mind, is healthy.
2. Eat healthily
To choose the correct kind of food for the first meal or any other meal of the day, it should be nutritious. Healthy food can keep the mind and body healthy. In the books of Ayurveda, the oldest medical system originated in India, there are three types of food explained- Tasmic, Rajsic and Satvic food. Tamsic word came from “tamas”, which means dark in Sanskrit and it led to lethargic body, are type of food such as alcohol, junk food etc. Rajsic word came from “rajas”, which means passion and activity and type of food such as tea & coffee, spices, rich flavored dishes. Excessive consumption of Rajsic food can create restlessness, dehydration and anxiety. Satvic food like turmeric, fruits and vegetables, nuts etc detoxes the body, purifies it and is healthy for any body type.
3. Talk wisely
The choice of food we do reflect in our health as well as our behavior. The better food we intake, the better our mind speaks. Whenever you communicate with somebody, be sure to choose the words kindly. Nobody needs to speak whatever one can think of, but selecting your words wisely matters a lot as harsh words affect more than the wrong food. One can face a problem with the food that has been intake and can reach a doctor for fast recovery; on the contrary, one cannot heal with medicine if the problem is with the emotions or sentiment.
4. Exercise
Once you realize and practice for a healthy body and a healthy mind, do not forget to make your body an active one. Practising a little exercise every day is beneficial for one’s health. Not necessary to have a gym membership but, a long walk or jogging or two yogasanas or skipping is enough for a routine until and unless you are a fitness freak.
Health education for mental well-being:
Mental health is a topic that is accepted by this generation on a majority. Earlier and even today, many people who don’t have access to quality education cannot accept mental health; instead, they tag it with mental illness. Mental health is as normal as physical health.
Maintaining healthy social behavior, being aware of your emotions, and having peace with yourself is mental health. At times, our mental health is disturbed for outer energies such as harsh words from closed ones, childhood memories, workload, deteriorating situation of the world resulting in monetary losses, and many more. To maintain healthy well-being, an individual must observe his/her/their behaviour. If anything comes across that raises curiosity, it is advisable to talk to a mature person. If that doesn’t help, seeking help is advisable. Reaching out to a psychologist is healthy for such a situation.
Giving importance to our mental health in childhood and adolescence is very important as we are not well matured at that age. Few things remain as said, no matter if you grow up and look into those things as very minor issues or neglect them completely. Still, the subconscious mind creates an image and triggers those memories at an unexpected time, which hampers our mental health and current environment.
Even in the regular days of an adult, we have some disturbing situations which affect our mental health and even then, reaching out for help is very typical. Anxiety, depression, stress, panic attacks aren’t just words but serious mental health conditions to look after.
Importance of health education:
The communities that don’t have access to health education are either suffering from health issues or spending money on things which is not necessary. NGOs and other social organizations are organizing health camps where doctors, nurses, health educators provide them all the necessary medical help and teach them how to maintain rules to have a healthy lifestyle. Health educators share their knowledge about balancing mental and physical health, and the teaching process includes public speaking, surveying and, at times, personnel visits. The importance of health education increases as the below poverty line people are still struggling with exceptionally able children, poor sanitization, communication barriers, and many more.
Promoting and spreading health education
Promoting and spreading health education is necessary as several people deserve a better life and better health. Inspiring people to choose a healthy lifestyle will result in positive ways only, strengthening a community or strengthening the countries unaware public.
Health educators spread the voice not only for health education but also for the right that every patient has every family member has if going under any medical treatment or medical observation. The importance of health education is equally rising incorporate businesses, schools and medicals. As we all know, the world is dealing with several problems at a time, and we are the world. If the public isn’t happy and healthy, nobody can expect a better life in the coming future, and a better life comes with a healthy mind and healthy body.
As simple as it sounds as vast as its field, health education is that any individual who is aware of his/her/their physical health and mental health is a healthy person. Maintaining a lifestyle of discipline every day helps to improve a person’s physical and mental health. The essential part people mostly forget it is ok if you skip discipline for a day. We are human and not robots; we need a change in our regular routines.
Final thoughts:
The importance of health education reflects in the attitude, personality, and understanding of students, young adults, and adults. Knowing about health and its challenging attributes, once health education is rooted in the depth of the young generation, they build a powerful concept of health education; they build the skill to inform others and practice it in daily life. Being optimistic about their health and their surroundings will also help decrease the self-harm rates of people who do not understand and end up in medicals.