1.1. HEALTH AND DISEASE
1.1.1. Basic concepts
Disease and health are two main forms of the vital process. States of health and diseases can pass many times into one another throughout an individual human life. Aristotle regarded health and disease as two qualitatively different categories.
WHO defines health not only as the absence of diseases and physical defects, but also as a state of physical, spiritual and social wellbeing. Besides, health should be considered as a multicomponent dynamic process. The following health components can be distinguished.
• Somatic health - the current state of organs and systems of the body stemming from the biological program of development, acting through universal basic needs.
• Physical health (physical wellbeing) - the optimum level of development of the morpho-functional capabilities of organs and systems, which ensures the following adaptive reactions: - lack of any disturbances in the body build and functioning of the body systems:
- parameters reflecting the physical efficiency and tolerability to physical loads;
- active attitude to physical exercises and sports, attentive attitude towards the health, advertency to own well-being.
• Mental health - an optimum state of the psychic sphere related to the healthy development of ultimate psychic functions of human. Such a state is driven by the healthy development at all its stages and is determined by both biological and social needs, as well as by the potentials for the personal enhancement.
• Psychological health - a whole of human interests, which concerns the potentials for self-fulfillment, display of initiative, and assertiveness.
• Moral health - a complex of characteristics of activities of the human being, which are related to the motivational and demand-informative spheres, and which determine its behavior and the statement of values.