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Post-Polio Health (ISSN 1066-5331)
Vol. 14, No. 2, Spring 1998
Read selected articles from this issue ...
Wellness: The Role of the Primary Care Physician
Marny Eulberg, MD, Saint Anthony's Hospital, Denver, Colorado
Wellness from Within: The First Step
Wellness for Polio Survivors
Sunny Roller, MA, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
What Works: Results and Implications of Post-Polio Clinic Survey
Stanley K. Yarnell, MD, Saint Mary's Medical Center, San Francisco, California
Non-Fatiguing General Conditioning Exercise Program (The 20% Rule)
Stanley K. Yarnell, MD, Saint Mary's Medical Center, San Francisco, California
My Experiences with Progressive Oropharyngeal Dysphagia
Peter C. Ellis, Nepean, Ontario, Canada
Support Group Success: "A remarkable thing happened in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania ..."
Phyllis Bailey, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
The Sitter: A portable device for providing the equivalent of chair arms
Post-Polio Bibliography
Wellness from Within: The First Step
According to the World Health Organization, "health is more than the absence of disease. Health is a state of optimal well-being." Optimal well-being is a concept of health that goes beyond the curing of ILLNESS to one of achieving WELLNESS. Achieving wellness requires balancing the various aspects of the whole person. These aspects are physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. This broader, (w)holistic approach to health involves the integration of all of these aspects and is an ongoing process.
Many of us have been brought up to believe that our health depends solely on the quality of the healthcare we receive. The truth is, your health is YOUR responsibility. You are the only person who can make the lifestyle decisions that contribute to your well-being. You are the one who must take the steps to preserve your health and promote your wellness. Only you have the power to create wellness for yourself.
Your power lies in the choices you make every day on your own behalf. If you react out of habit or fixed attitudes, you may not be using your choices wisely to create wellness in your life. To create wellness, you must expand your focus beyond mere physical health and:
- strive to balance and integrate your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects;
- establish respectful, cooperative relationships with your family, friends, community and the environment;
- gather information and make informed wellness-oriented lifestyle choices;
- actively participate in your health decisions and healing process.
Copyright 1995,1997 American Holistic Health Association
The American Holistic Health Association (AHHA) has developed a 25-page booklet to help achieve wellness. Contact them at PO Box 17400, Anaheim, CA 92817-7400, 714-779-6152, ahha@healthy.net or www.ahha.org, for a copy (free within the US, $1 in North America, and $2 outside of North America). The American Holistic Health Association (AHHA) is a national clearinghouse for self-help resources promoting health and well-being.