Health is an overall state of mental, physical and emotional well-being where infirmity and illness are absent. A wide variety of terms have been used over the years for different purposes. In simple terms, health is the condition of being fit and capable to undertake given tasks. It is not a matter of absence but the actual quality of life in its fullest sense.
A wide range of conditions fall under this broad umbrella and each of them has its own definition. Some of the common terms that are used are robustness, good health, physical condition, healthy body, physical surroundings and so on. A relatively new definition that is gaining popularity is described as the third definition of health: a state in which an individual is able to cope up with the necessary aspects of his life without facing any suffering or difficulty. This third definition is said to be the state of health when an individual is not infected by any disease or disability and is capable of leading an active and productive life.
As far as this is concerned, the concept of health is relative. It refers to a mental well-being as well as the physical well-being. A mental illness is defined as any impairment or malformation that interferes with one’s normal functioning in one’s daily life. While any impairment to normal functioning can be the basis for a mental disorder, the existence of other mental illnesses alongside it, like drug abuse, substance dependence or developmental disorders, do not necessarily mean that a person is suffering from a mental illness and therefore should also be treated for the mental illness along with the other disorders.
