The Bar Stool- A Picture of Health?

In seventh grade, my teacher told me that health is like a barstool. There are multiple components, and if one component is out of balance…the whole thing crumbles.

This analogy has been a very effective analogy for me, from middle school to my current college years. It reminds me that I need to be worried about things besides my cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

All of us (especially college students) need to consider all FOUR legs of the “bar stool” of health:

1)   Mental Health – Includes topics ranging from anxiety, to stress management, to depression

2)   Emotional Health – Similar to mental health, this category includes the way you feel about yourself, the quality of your relationships, and your ability to manage your feelings and deal with difficulties. The idea of “community” has always been central to my feeling of emotional health…which is something that I’ll talk about in later posts J

3)   Spiritual Health – My Health class defined this as “feeling of purpose in life.” My relationship with Christ has provided me with purpose, meaning, and comfort. Also, spiritual “communities”, such as churches, can provide some of our emotional health needs.

4)   Physical Health – What most people think of when they hear the word “health”

In later posts, I want to explore each of these categories more in-depth. But for now, I wanted y’all to have an overview of where this blog is headed!