In understanding the difference between health and wellness, in short, health is a state of being, whereas wellness is the state of living a healthy lifestyle. Health refers to physical, mental, and social well-being; wellness aims to enhance well-being.
Life in practice is undoubtedly fraught with stresses, and so much so that we can — and should — question whether they are threatening the health and wellness of veterinarians. Can stress affect health? Absolutely. It can affect physical, mental, and social well-being. Can stress affect wellness? Yes, but only to a point, in that it can affect one’s perspective or dampen one’s energy, negatively influencing one’s commitment to self-care and the aim to achieve one’s fullest potential. The difference is that wellness is always a matter of choice.
Every day presents choices as to the extent to which you do what’s best to sustain your physical, mental/emotional, and social well-being, and preserve the balance among these aspects of your health. Optimal health comes from wellness, from making decisions and practicing behaviors that are based on sound health knowledge and healthful attitudes.
We can’t eliminate the stresses of practice, but we can make the efforts and intelligent lifestyle choices to prevent these stress-ors from wearing us down. The next column, we will look into the many ways in which you can cultivate a culture of wellness.