• Home
  • Blog
    • Healthy Lifestyle
    • Relationships
    • Health Problems
    • Social Issues
  • Comments Policy
  • Links
  • Terms of Use
  • Subscribe to the Blog
Everyday Livingness
Healthy diet, Healthy Lifestyle 412 Comments on Our Perception of Health

Our Perception of Health

By Johanna Smith · On November 27, 2018 ·Photography by Nico van Haastrecht

Recently I attended a professional development workshop on mental health. The presenters studied and work in the field of psychology and within education and training. For me, a large foundational part of mental health is ensuring that our physical health – our bodies – are taken care of, supported and nurtured. In my experience, the two go hand-in-hand.

It seems quite strange to me when I see someone who is ‘qualified’ in a physical or mental health field or holds a position of importance or power, yet their body, movements and manner do not show signs of good health and vitality. It highlights there’s a greater problem stemming from our education on the topic, and what we have chosen to accept as true. No matter how much we ‘know’ about a subject, the body always has its own marker and gauge of whether it is working at its optimum vital level and in harmony within all other areas or not. This fact we cannot change.

On the morning of my professional development workshop I had quite a distance to drive in peak hour traffic, so I made sure that I gave myself enough time without rushing. I arrived 15 minutes early and was the first to arrive. I walked in, said hello to the two presenters and went to find a seat.

As I was choosing my seat, unpacking my belongings and setting them up just as I needed them to be for the next 8 hours – placing my drinks, pen, paper, books, computer etc. down – one of the presenters said to me, “Whoa, that’s healthy.” Immediately I knew he was referring to my vegie drink and not my herbal tea or the manner in which I set up my space, simply because it was green in colour.

Initially I felt a little awkward that my choice of drink, which was a normal for me, had been highlighted. So, at the time I smiled and replied “Mmm…” But this comment caused me to pause and got me thinking… I pondered on why his response was a “Whoa.” I recalled that I have come across this reaction quite a few times over the years with ‘healthy’ food and drink choices, either when I myself was making them or when others around me at work or in public were making them.

These types of comments are reactionary to a way of eating or drinking that is not so commonly seen or practised, thus highlighting the person who is looking after their body and consuming nutritious food as being ‘different.’ Immediately I questioned what our societal gauge is being set from. If I had come in with a sausage roll and cream bun, it is likely I would have got no comment, or perhaps one that was in favour of my food choice.

Let’s face it, making supportive food choices that nutritionally support the body is going against a current norm and way of how people commonly choose to eat in society today. We do not eat to nurture or hold our body in harmony – a fact that is shown in the continuing rise of non-communicable illness and disease rates today, such as diabetes.

If it is not common and even considered unusual for people in general to drink or eat something that is good for their bodies to a point that it stands out and gets labelled and highlighted as ‘healthy,’ then how far have we slipped away from what is true and natural for our bodies. I find it interesting that we even have this word ‘healthy’ and don’t just live as our bodies need us to live. It is a clear indicator that we base our living and vocabulary around looking after ourselves from a way that is not conducive to the true vitality of our bodies.

Why do we not seem to question the meals or food people are consuming that are clearly not supportive for the body, yet are very quick to identify those who make more supportive food choices? Imagine if people started speaking on behalf of the vitality of the body by publicly noting to other people, “Whoa, that’s really unhealthy.” I wonder if we would start to think twice about what we are putting in our bodies.

The fact is that more supportive food choices do stand out from the crowd. And this is simply because the norm, the majority, the crowd acceptably choose food that is not supportive to the body. BUT, what if the majority did eat in a way and manner that nourished and vitalised the body, allowing it to run at optimal level?

Why do we even have a perception of what ‘healthy’ is and why is it not just embedded into the way we live?

Our understanding, perception and definition of ‘being healthy’ today is actually only based on and comparable to, the very unhealthy lifestyle – the way the majority of society are choosing to live, eat, indulge in and over consume.

This to me is a type of rot when we look at the extent of the damage it does to our bodies, our perception of health, the pressure it places on our medical system and so on. The illness and disease our bodies are increasingly showing through our health statistics speak loudly of our current global choices… to the point that the definition of health in our English language dictionary is stated as “the state of being free from illness or injury.” (1) Why is health not defined as, “the body working in its true optimal and vital order, each part working in harmony and joy with all others”?

If we all naturally lived from the latter definition as being our norm, then the word ‘health’ and a definition for it would probably not exist, simply because this would just be the way it was. Caring for our bodies would be the norm.

Back to my professional development workshop and the comment from one of the presenters that started this line of pondering and blog . . . if I had the moment again to respond to his “Whoa, that’s healthy”, I probably would have replied –– “only relative to how we live today.”

By Johanna Smith, Ba Education, Diploma of Counselling, Esoteric Practitioner, Perth, Western Australia

References:

1.Oxford Dictionaries | English. (2018). health | Definition of health in English by Oxford Dictionaries. [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/health [Accessed 1 Aug. 2018].

Further Reading:
Eating Dis-orders
To Nourish or Bludgeon – How do we Use Food?
Living your own medicine

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • Email
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
Share Tweet

Johanna Smith

Living in Rockingham, Perth and loving life. I live with my gorgeous husband and beautiful daughter. Life is about people for me, responsibility, care and consideration for others. I love daily walks and being with friends, adore the beachside and bush scenery, and enjoy cuddles with my puppy. I teach fulltime, love sharing my amazingness, and am constantly learning from kids.

You Might Also Like

  • Healthy Lifestyle

    Has the Plague Ever Truly Left Us?

  • Healthy diet

    Food Choices, My Body and Me

  • Healthy diet

    Redefining ‘Food for Thought’

412 Comments

  • Greg Barnes says: November 25, 2019 at 5:40 am

    When we understand the body and the different ways we reconnected to either our essences, inner-hearts / Souls (all one and the same) or mind, we start to understand how our Soul connection deepens our full body intelligence and thus the way we approach a health rhythm that becomes our normal.

    Reply
  • Vicky Cooke says: October 29, 2019 at 3:39 am

    ‘Immediately I knew he was referring to my vegie drink and not my herbal tea or the manner in which I set up my space, simply because it was green in colour.’ What I got from this is how health is so much more than what we eat and drink and whether we exercise or not. How you set up your space here was very caring and supporting you for your day yet currently it would seem that we do not see such things as being healthy!

    Reply
  • Leigh M says: September 27, 2019 at 4:48 pm

    It’s become normal for me to have comments or be pointed out over what I eat or don’t eat. It’s not a discipline but my whole body saying it won’t eat a certain thing. I feel that what is being called out is far more than a food choice but a comment on the relationship I have with my body that is felt by others.

    Reply
  • Greg Barnes says: September 4, 2019 at 6:30 pm

    Living in a way that supports our needs should be taught at schools and also to those who are interested in how our body responds to True nutrition that, which Truly nurtures our bodies.

    Reply
  • sue queenborough says: September 2, 2019 at 3:38 pm

    “….. making supportive food choices that nutritionally support the body is going against a current norm and way of how people commonly choose to eat in society today” Its interesting that comments are made when someone observes our healthy food choices, but no such comments are made when junk food is eaten…. I have had similar comments made in the staff room, where biscuits and cake are the norm – and I eat fruit or nuts.

    Reply
  • LE says: August 31, 2019 at 5:41 am

    This blog is confirmation of societies standards that have dropped so low we now have perception which adds another level to our deception cake.

    Reply
  • Mary Adler says: August 3, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    Perhaps, not so long ago, I may have been observed eating something not very nutritious and have then been inspired by another who has made a different choice. The ripple effect.

    Reply
    • sue queenborough says: September 2, 2019 at 3:40 pm

      Now that’s gorgeous. Often we may not be aware of the choices others make on account of our reflection.

      Reply
  • Vicky Cooke says: July 28, 2019 at 2:34 pm

    Absolutely I would agree that everything is interlinked and all of our choices would have an affect on our mental health and well-being including what we eat and drink. You are so right in saying that ‘the body always has its own marker and gauge of whether it is working at its optimum vital level and in harmony within all other areas or not. This fact we cannot change.’

    Reply
  • Leigh Matson says: June 28, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    Being unhealthy in our lifestyle choices has brought in an overall demoralization, a lethargy upon society. Because often I get the comments that being healthy is hard work or I am praised for being “very disciplined”. Unhealthy food and choices seem easy when your already in the momentum of making them. The same goes for loving choices, it’s easier once you’re in the momentum of them.

    Reply
  • « 1 … 6 7 8

    Leave a reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Search

    Subscribe

    Recent Posts

    • Expressing the Unexpressed
    • Has the Plague Ever Truly Left Us?
    • Food Choices, My Body and Me
    • Interparental Hatred on Separation
    • Redefining ‘Food for Thought’

    Categories

    • Health Problems (6)
      • Dementia (1)
      • Digestive Issues (1)
      • Eating disorders (3)
      • Fatigue/Exhaustion (1)
      • Migraines (1)
    • Healthy Lifestyle (91)
      • Drug Abuse (3)
      • Exercise & Sport (25)
      • Healthy diet (26)
      • Music (1)
      • Quitting alcohol (13)
      • Quitting coffee (2)
      • Quitting smoking (6)
      • Quitting Sugar (4)
      • Safe driving (2)
      • Sleep (5)
      • TV / Technology (11)
      • Weight Loss (2)
      • Work (2)
    • Relationships (148)
      • Colleagues (2)
      • Communication (11)
      • Couples (33)
      • Family (29)
      • Friendships (19)
      • Male Relationships (6)
      • Parenting (27)
      • Self-Relationship (40)
      • Sex & Making Love (6)
      • Workplace (12)
    • Social Issues (50)
      • Death & Dying (8)
      • Education (14)
      • Global Issues (8)
      • Greed/Corruption (1)
      • Money (3)
      • Pornography (1)
      • Sexism (14)
      • Tattoos & Removal (1)

    Archives

    • October 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • November 2013
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Healthy Lifestyle
      • Relationships
      • Health Problems
      • Social Issues
    • Comments Policy
    • Links
    • Terms of Use
    • Subscribe to the Blog
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.