• According to World Health Organization’s definition, health can
be defined as a state of complete mental, social, as well as
physical wellbeing. It does not denote the mere absence of any
kind of infirmities or diseases (Scully, 2004). a So, a healthy
person is someone who is completely fine in terms of mental,
physical, and social health. Being unhealthy is the opposite of
healthy. It means the absence of complete social, mental, and
physical wellbeing. An individual may be free of any kind of
disease that affects his or her physical health. But if his or her
mental or social health is compromised in any manner, then it
means the person is unhealthy. The word “unhealthy” is not
directly related to pathology. It is because being healthy does
not mean only the absence of any disease. Pathology is a
science that is related to the study of diseases or abnormalities
in the functions and structure of the body (Htwe et al., 2012). a It
mainly focuses on physical health and does not take into
consideration mental as well as social wellbeing. So, unhealthy is
not directly linked to pathology.
• No, being unhealthy does not include a drug treatment
automatically. Drug treatment is essential to treat disease or
physical conditions. However, being unhealthy can also be in
terms of social or mental health. Even if the physical health of
an individual is affected, drug treatment is not always the
solution. For instance, if an individual is feeling unhealthy due to
eating junk food items daily, changing his or her eating habits is
important to stay healthy. Moreover, being unhealthy in terms
of mental or social health may not require drug treatment. For
instance, practicing yoga and meditation can help in improving
the mental health of individuals. Similarly, meeting people and
socializing more can help in ensuring better social wellbeing.
References
Htwe, T. T., Sabaridah, I., Rajyaguru, K. M., & Mazidah, A. M. (2012).
Pathology crossword competition: an active and easy way of learning
pathology in undergraduate medical education. Singapore medical
journal, 53(2), 121-123.
Scully, J. L. (2004). What is a disease? Disease, disability and their
definitions. EMBO reports, 5(7), 650-653.
