Health & Wellbeing Glossary

Anti-hustle culture is a rejection of the idea that business owners should work all hours, grind it out and hustle constantly.

Breathwork is a type of meditation that promotes the release of toxins and stress when you exhale, and it nourishes the mind and body when you inhale.

Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, is a mental health condition characterized by extreme mood swings that include periods of mania or hypomania and periods of depression.

A bursary is a financial award given to students who demonstrate financial need and/or academic achievement.

The capability approach is a normative approach to human welfare that focuses on a person’s ability to achieve a good life rather than on rights or freedoms.

A chronic condition is a persistent or long-lasting health problem that has developed over time. The term chronic is often used when the course of a disease lasts for more than three months..

Clinical and counseling psychologists assess and treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. They use knowledge of psychology to help people solve problems and make changes in their lives.

Coping mechanisms are ways a person deals with stressful situations. These methods may help a person face a situation, take action, and be flexible and persistent in solving problems.

A delusion is a false belief that persists despite obvious proof to the contrary and that is not accounted for by a person’s cultural background or level of intelligence.

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It can lead to a variety of emotional, physical and social problems.

Early intervention refers to the practice of identifying young people at risk of poor outcomes and providing them with effective support.

The term “emotional intelligence” is often used to describe the ability to understand, use, perceive, and manage emotions.

Emotional wellness is the ability to effectively manage stress and adapt to change, which includes responding well under pressure.

Empowerment is the degree to which you act on your own authority to represent your interests in a responsible, self-determined way.

The term energy management refers to the proactive, organized, and systematic management of energy use in a building or organization to satisfy both environmental and economic requirements.

Eudaimonia is a Greek term commonly translated as “happiness,” “the good life,” or “prosperity.”

The positive experience of emotions, psychological well-being, and social relationships is associated with optimal human functioning.

GPs treat the majority of medical conditions and refer patients to hospitals and other medical services for urgent and specialist treatment.

Happiness refers to a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.

In the healing journey, people tend to seek out bridges to resources and skills that might help them heal. These bridges often evolve in fits and starts, and it takes persistence to develop a sense of safety and trust.

Holistic health is a multidimensional approach to wellness that considers physical, mental, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual components of health.

Intentional living is a lifestyle based on conscious efforts to live in accordance with one’s values, beliefs, and goals.

A person’s life satisfaction can be measured in terms of his or her mood, relationship satisfaction, achieved goals, self-concepts and perceived ability to cope with life.

Qualitative phenomenological research involves the collection and analysis of data from a particular perspective.

Manifestation refers to various pseudoscientific strategies that can purportedly make an individual’s wishes come true by visualizing them.

A space to create and cultivate disconnection, which nourishes and sustains your emotional wellbeing.A space to create and cultivate disconnection, which nourishes and sustains your emotional wellbeing.

Mental health awareness is the ongoing effort to reduce the stigma around mental illnesses and mental health conditions by increasing public understanding.

Mental illness, also known as mental health disorders, is a range of conditions that affect your mood, thinking and behavior.

Mental health professionals are health care practitioners who offer services for the purpose of improving an individual’s mental health.

Stigma is a negative perception of those with mental illness. Discrimination is a negative treatment of those with mental illness.

The process of communicating care and concern for another, offering reassurance, empathy, comfort, and acceptance.

Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotions, thinking or behavior. They can be associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.

Mental wellbeing is a combination of how we feel, how we function, and our knowledge that we are separate from our problems.

Mental health refers to both psychological and emotional well-being, and it affects an individual’s ability to handle stress, relate to others, make decisions, and perform at work.

Natural immunity is the body’s protection against germs, created after the body has experienced the germ. Natural immunity varies from person to person and from germ to germ, with some people being less likely than others to catch a disease once they have been infected by it. For example, some people who have had measles may never get it again, but this is not true for every disease.

The nature-fulfilment theory suggests that there are two ways of understanding the fulfilment of human potential—fulfilling our individual nature, or fulfilling our universal human nature, for example, in our capacity to love.

A neurotransmitter is a chemical substance released at the end of a nerve fibre by the arrival of a nerve impulse and, by diffusing across the synapse or junction, affects the transfer of the impulse to another nerve fibre or a muscle fibre or some other structure.

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The tendency to focus on external objects and one’s own physical sensations.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a condition in which a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.

Occupational therapists are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. They use scientific bases and a holistic perspective to promote clients’ ability to fulfill their daily routines and roles.

An outpatient department, or outpatient clinic, is the part of a hospital that treats outpatients. Outpatients have health problems that require diagnosis or treatment but they do not need to be admitted overnight.

Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by frequent and unexpected panic attacks. Everyone experiences fear at some point. In the face of danger or when confronted by stressful situations, it is normal to feel anxious or panicked.

One belonging to the same group or class, especially based on age, grade, or status.

Personal development or self improvement consists of activities that develop a person’s capabilities and potential, boost employability, and facilitate the realization of dreams and aspirations.

Protective factors are conditions or attributes in individuals, families, communities or the larger society that help reduce risk and deal with stressful events more effectively.

Prudential value is one kind of value that comes in many forms, including aesthetic value. It has a particular feature distinguishing it from other kinds of value.

A psychiatrist is a medical practitioner who diagnoses and treats mental illness.

A return to your normal self and good health

Remote access is the ability to access a computer or network from a distance without having to travel there in person.

Remote work is the practice of working from a location other than a central office operated by the employer. This could include an employee’s home, co-working or other shared space, private office, or any other place outside of the traditional corporate office building or campus.

Resilience is your ability to bounce back from life’s problems and to grow despite them.

Self-management is a technique for computer systems to manage their own operation without human intervention. Self-management technologies are expected to pervade the next generation of network management systems.

In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, self-actualization is the highest level of psychological development, in which personal potential is fully realized after basic bodily and ego needs have been fulfilled.

Taking care of yourself by eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep and making regular dental visits is an important part of self-care.

A “journey of self-discovery” is a trip or series of events in which a person attempts to determine how they feel about spiritual issues, rather than following the opinions of family, friends, neighborhood, or peer pressure.

Self-fulfillment is the realization of one’s deepest desires and capacities. This idea originated in ancient Greece and remains an important concept today.

Self-image is the mental picture you have of yourself, one that is quite resistant to change.

Self-love means that you respect your own happiness, needs, and well-being. It means not letting others sacrifice your well-being to please them. It means not settling for less than you deserve from yourself.

Fulfillment is a personal process of exploring and developing the potentialities of one’s character or personality.

Self-stigma is a negative attitude a person with mental illness has about his or her own condition.

When a person sleeps more than normal after a period of sleep deprivation, as if they are making up for lost time.

Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by a long-term, overwhelming fear of social situations.

Social connection is the feeling of closeness and connectedness to others. It involves the experience of being loved, cared for, and valued, and forms the basis of interpersonal relationships.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which people take part in society—improving opportunities and dignity for those who have been disadvantaged.

Spiritual wellness is defined as a sense of purpose and meaning in life that includes one’s morals and ethics.

It is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on characteristics that distinguish them from other members of society.

Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension caused by something in your life. It can make you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. Your body reacts to stress as a way of coping with challenges and demands.

Stress management is a wide range of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling your level of stress, usually for the purpose of improving your everyday functioning.

Wellbeing is a subjective measure of happiness, typically obtained by survey.

Subjectivism is the belief that our own mental activity, rather than shared or communal experience, is the only unquestionable fact of our existence.

Therapists help you look at how your feelings, thoughts, choices and actions interact with each other.

Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, or natural disaster. Shock, denial, and other emotions often accompany trauma.

The theory of welfarism can be defined as the view that well-being is the only thing that has intrinsic value.

The state of being in good health, both physically, mentally, and socially

Mental health in women is affected by both biological and social factors, and the clinical profile of mental disorders in women reveals that men and women are affected disproportionally by mental illness.