What is the health triangle?
The health triangle is a triangle that has a different side for a different aspect of your everyday health. The usual factor of health that comes to mind is your physical health. There are two others though that have to be included in order to equal a balanced and healthy lifestyle. You have to keep in mind that mental/emotional and social health affect you as much as physical health. All together, these factors make up the health triangle and because the triangle has three equal sides, all three of the factors should be equally incorporated into your life so you can live healthier and be your best self.
The first side of the health triangle, your physical health, includes the state of your body and how you treat it such as through diet, exercise, and rest. What food you put in your body should be nutritious and you shouldn't overeat or eat less than your supposed to. Food included in your diet should come from all the food groups: fruit, vegetable, grain, protein, dairy, and even oils. You should also make sure your getting all the important minerals and vitamins your body needs to function such as calcium, B vitamins, and iron. The right kind of food gives you energy and strength so you're better able to make it through your everyday life whether it be at school, work, or at home. Healthier food choices affect your physical health and your quality of life in the long run. Another factor of physical health, rest, also plays a key role in your everyday strength and energy. To be alert and ready for what the day has in store, you have to get enough sleep and know when too much work is too much. Late hours aren't good for you so set a sleep schedule and make sure you get all the hours of rest you need in order to recharge. A final factor that plays into your physical health is exercise. Regular exercise can help you lose/manage weight and burn fat as well as strengthen and tone your body and the parts that make it up such as your muscles, bones and heart. The important thing is that you get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, the best type being a form of or combination of aerobic exercises.
A second side of the triangle represents the mental and emotional side of your health. Your mental and emotional health deals with how you think, feel, and handle or react to situations life may throw at you. Coping with stress and anxiety is good for your mental/ emotional health as is positive thinking. Things such as low self-esteem and a negative outlook on life can be a sign of a mental illness such as depression. If you are in a healthier mental/emotional state, then your life will reflect it. You'll be more likely to work toward goals, feel optimistic, make good choices and overall be happy about what you're doing in life at home and elsewhere.
The final side of the triangle covers your social health. Social health can be defined as how you interact with and treat people and how others react and treat you in return. Basically, social health covers your relationships in life. If you're socially healthy, you can easily make friends and you enjoy working or hanging out with people in groups. You happily greet and get along with new people who happen to be different. Socially healthy people give off a sense of friendliness through smiling and taking time out of their day to listen and better get to know people. If you want to be socially healthy, you have to put yourself out there and join social situations such as conversations and outings. Speak up if you're the one who's new to the situation. If you're trying to make another feel welcome then give a sense of acceptance and show that you're comfortable and are enjoying their company. Don't judge people, even if they are different, and don't become too preoccupied with things such as work. If you're too busy doing things like work, then you're not making time to better the relationships that really matter such as in family, your friends, and even those in the spiritual side of your life.
The first side of the health triangle, your physical health, includes the state of your body and how you treat it such as through diet, exercise, and rest. What food you put in your body should be nutritious and you shouldn't overeat or eat less than your supposed to. Food included in your diet should come from all the food groups: fruit, vegetable, grain, protein, dairy, and even oils. You should also make sure your getting all the important minerals and vitamins your body needs to function such as calcium, B vitamins, and iron. The right kind of food gives you energy and strength so you're better able to make it through your everyday life whether it be at school, work, or at home. Healthier food choices affect your physical health and your quality of life in the long run. Another factor of physical health, rest, also plays a key role in your everyday strength and energy. To be alert and ready for what the day has in store, you have to get enough sleep and know when too much work is too much. Late hours aren't good for you so set a sleep schedule and make sure you get all the hours of rest you need in order to recharge. A final factor that plays into your physical health is exercise. Regular exercise can help you lose/manage weight and burn fat as well as strengthen and tone your body and the parts that make it up such as your muscles, bones and heart. The important thing is that you get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, the best type being a form of or combination of aerobic exercises.
A second side of the triangle represents the mental and emotional side of your health. Your mental and emotional health deals with how you think, feel, and handle or react to situations life may throw at you. Coping with stress and anxiety is good for your mental/ emotional health as is positive thinking. Things such as low self-esteem and a negative outlook on life can be a sign of a mental illness such as depression. If you are in a healthier mental/emotional state, then your life will reflect it. You'll be more likely to work toward goals, feel optimistic, make good choices and overall be happy about what you're doing in life at home and elsewhere.
The final side of the triangle covers your social health. Social health can be defined as how you interact with and treat people and how others react and treat you in return. Basically, social health covers your relationships in life. If you're socially healthy, you can easily make friends and you enjoy working or hanging out with people in groups. You happily greet and get along with new people who happen to be different. Socially healthy people give off a sense of friendliness through smiling and taking time out of their day to listen and better get to know people. If you want to be socially healthy, you have to put yourself out there and join social situations such as conversations and outings. Speak up if you're the one who's new to the situation. If you're trying to make another feel welcome then give a sense of acceptance and show that you're comfortable and are enjoying their company. Don't judge people, even if they are different, and don't become too preoccupied with things such as work. If you're too busy doing things like work, then you're not making time to better the relationships that really matter such as in family, your friends, and even those in the spiritual side of your life.
How does the health triangle work?
To achieve maximum health, you have to equally incorporate all sides of the health triangle into your life. Every side of the triangle affects the other two sides. If you lack something in a certain side of the triangle, then it negatively affects the other two sides and vice versa. The key is to balance all three parts that make up your overall health: physical, mental/emotional, and social health.
If you are physically healthy, then you will benefit mentally and emotionally as well as socially. Mental benefits of being physically fit include an enhanced ability to think, plan, organize, and multitask. Increased blood flow through exercise can in the long run have protective benefits, reducing your risk for cognitive decline. You will feel great about your image and your self-esteem will go up. More confidence equals a better social life because you'll feel good about what people see when they look at you. Also, when you get out and exercise, you meet people in public places such as the park, gym, or even your neighborhood. If you aren't physically healthy, your appearance could disappoint you and you might have low self-confidence and shy away from social situations with others where you might feel as if you're being compared or judged. You could possibly feel sluggish, not just physically, but mentally too. It might become hard to concentrate at work or school and you're energy levels would plummet.
Being in a mentally and emotionally healthy state puts you in a good mood where you actually feel like exercising and have a positive outlook on what you could potentially become if you exercised and became physically fit. You'll feel better about yourself if you're in a good mental/emotional state and want to use your energy to spend time with people. There will be a want to make new relationships and strengthen those ties that already exist. Not only will you believe in yourself but you'll also believe and encourage others. Other's accomplishments, as well as your own, will make you proud and happy. Not being in a good mental/emotional state can have negative effects on the other parts of your health. If you don't feel good about yourself or think that you can do things such as become physically fit, then you won't actually put forth the effort needed to get yourself where you could and should be. If you lack confidence, you might not want to put yourself in situations where people possibly don't accept you. It might be a way of protecting yourself but after a while, the lack of socializing could make you feel alone and worsen your already fragile mental health and emotions.
Your social health probably affects the other aspects of your health the least. It's more so affected by them than the other way around. Having a good social health though, is good for your physical health because the people you have relationships with can encourage you to be more physically fit and make better choices through such things as diet and exercise that affect your physical health in general. They can participate in your exercise activities and be happy for you when you reach your goals. Your journey to become a physically fit person doesn't have to be one you take alone but with those who care most about you and your well-being. Being socially healthy can also affect your mental/emotional health by making you feel important and like your worth something. When there are people who care about you and others who depend on you, you feel like you have responsibilities and a reputation to uphold to. You'll feel confident and you're self-esteem will increase because you'll feel of value to those you interact with. If you aren't socially healthy and instead shy away from people, you won't feel a need to be physically fit and healthy. There will be no want to exercise because there are no one's expectations to fill. You won't feel as if there's a need to look great or try hard to better your physical health. Over time, you might develop a fragile mental and emotional state due to the lack of socialization and people noticing you in a bad way or not noticing you at all. Your life needs to include some amount of interaction with others so you can better the factors that make up your overall health.
If you are physically healthy, then you will benefit mentally and emotionally as well as socially. Mental benefits of being physically fit include an enhanced ability to think, plan, organize, and multitask. Increased blood flow through exercise can in the long run have protective benefits, reducing your risk for cognitive decline. You will feel great about your image and your self-esteem will go up. More confidence equals a better social life because you'll feel good about what people see when they look at you. Also, when you get out and exercise, you meet people in public places such as the park, gym, or even your neighborhood. If you aren't physically healthy, your appearance could disappoint you and you might have low self-confidence and shy away from social situations with others where you might feel as if you're being compared or judged. You could possibly feel sluggish, not just physically, but mentally too. It might become hard to concentrate at work or school and you're energy levels would plummet.
Being in a mentally and emotionally healthy state puts you in a good mood where you actually feel like exercising and have a positive outlook on what you could potentially become if you exercised and became physically fit. You'll feel better about yourself if you're in a good mental/emotional state and want to use your energy to spend time with people. There will be a want to make new relationships and strengthen those ties that already exist. Not only will you believe in yourself but you'll also believe and encourage others. Other's accomplishments, as well as your own, will make you proud and happy. Not being in a good mental/emotional state can have negative effects on the other parts of your health. If you don't feel good about yourself or think that you can do things such as become physically fit, then you won't actually put forth the effort needed to get yourself where you could and should be. If you lack confidence, you might not want to put yourself in situations where people possibly don't accept you. It might be a way of protecting yourself but after a while, the lack of socializing could make you feel alone and worsen your already fragile mental health and emotions.
Your social health probably affects the other aspects of your health the least. It's more so affected by them than the other way around. Having a good social health though, is good for your physical health because the people you have relationships with can encourage you to be more physically fit and make better choices through such things as diet and exercise that affect your physical health in general. They can participate in your exercise activities and be happy for you when you reach your goals. Your journey to become a physically fit person doesn't have to be one you take alone but with those who care most about you and your well-being. Being socially healthy can also affect your mental/emotional health by making you feel important and like your worth something. When there are people who care about you and others who depend on you, you feel like you have responsibilities and a reputation to uphold to. You'll feel confident and you're self-esteem will increase because you'll feel of value to those you interact with. If you aren't socially healthy and instead shy away from people, you won't feel a need to be physically fit and healthy. There will be no want to exercise because there are no one's expectations to fill. You won't feel as if there's a need to look great or try hard to better your physical health. Over time, you might develop a fragile mental and emotional state due to the lack of socialization and people noticing you in a bad way or not noticing you at all. Your life needs to include some amount of interaction with others so you can better the factors that make up your overall health.