The World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." (link) In other words, using this definition, healthy people are not sick or impaired, and they benefit from physical, mental, and social stability and function. (This differs from the "biomedical" model of health which aims for the absence of illness (usually physical)). There is also a social model which places us, as individuals, at the center of larger and larger circles, starting from our individual lifestyles all the way up to global cultural, political, and environmental factors.

In public health classes, we use these models to try to predict, understand, and compare the health outcomes of people. As such, they're a little hard to apply to our own lives. For example, what if (like me) you have a chronic mental and/or physical condition? What if you are disabled? What if those social or financial factors keep you from accessing the resources you need to care for yourself, meaning you're never really at your best? What even is our "best"?

How do you think about health when you can't always be "healthy" (at least in the WHO's terms)?

Here's where I'll bring in the triangle. The three parts of WHO's definition (physical, mental, and social) are also called the "biopsychosocial model" in public health. But, different terms can be used (e.g. emotional instead of mental) and some models include other parts (e.g. spiritual, financial, occupational, etc.)

But we can visualize the three main parts as the sides of a triangle.

The triangle is a good metaphor because if we remember one thing from that physics activity with the marshmallows and toothpicks, triangles are a strong shape! (Listen, it's been a while, just trust me on this one.) The idea, here, is that your relative "health" in each dimension works with the other dimensions. Rather than thinking in terms of healthy or unhealthy, we can think about how well each dimension is currently supporting us in our goals/needs.

• Can I rely on my body to be able to get me between classes, see the board, digest ungodly amounts of coffee?
• Am I connected to peer, family, professional, etc. networks that can be an ear to vent to or a resource as I study for a big exam?
• Is my mental well-being at a place where I can weather the setbacks, criticisms, or bad news I encounter?

Importantly, each dimension is a spectrum, and they all influence eachother. You might feel like you're doing great physically, and your social connections are solid but not amazing, but mentally you are struggling. Maybe you haven't been able to sleep, or you are getting burnt out. Physical and social wellness can help hold that "side of the triangle" up to a certain extent, but they may also suffer if your mental wellbeing keeps you from taking care of your body or maintaining contact with friends.

This is where we (finally) get to how you can use this in your own life. Reflecting on your triangle (where it needs some extra support or where its strongest) can help you think about what kinds of self-care and/or healthcare to prioritise. You might make lists of things you can do to support your physical, social, and mental wellness, and try to make sure you are covering a few for each dimension each day. You can anticipate how these needs will change (e.g. during exams or flu season) and prepare some easy resources for that time.

The goal, here, is not to have a perfectly even, massive triangle. We will go in and out of balance. Our goals and needs will change, and our concept of "healthy" will shift based on how much those new goals require of us. The goal is to think about what areas in your life you need more support, and also what areas are providing a lot of support, or building resilience. Was that what the egg drop unit was all about, all along? Maybe I did learn something in physics!