Throughout the blog you will notice several references to biological, psychological and social factors concerning mental health. There is a good reason for that. Previous generations tended to focus only on the biological understanding of health (such as the presence or absence of disease) when defining "wellness." At the time this made sense. Humans had spent centuries believing basic biological conditions to be the work of demonic forces worthy of expulsion and, often, even death. With technological advancement the world changed to accommodate the realities of science and move beyond the superstitions of the previous age. The problem is, this often failed to account for the human condition outside of biology. And, try as it might, biology cannot explain everything. Humans are complex in their abilities to evolve culturally and mentally as well as physically. This is why 21st Century thought is rooted in the understanding that no phenomenon concerning humans can be fully understood without a holistic perspective of health. Being healthy doesn't just mean that a person is free of bacterial or viral disease - it encompasses their social and psychological states of well being.
Here's an example: If someone is diagnosed with Type II Diabetes (a condition whereby the body is not able to produce enough insulin to regulate your glucose [sugar] levels), a doctor must consider more than just the biological treatment for the disease. Type II Diabetes holds a stigma for being associated with people who are overweight and who fail to take care of themselves. A physician can't just expect to give a patient their treatment protocol (which often involves regular assessment of one's blood sugar and oral medication) and send them back into the world. Doctors must consider the social impairment, making sure the patient understands that even in social situations where checking one's blood sugar might be awkward, they still have a disease that could still kill them meaning they still need to do as they're told. The doctor must also consider psychological factors. Type II Diabetes is notorious for lacking severe physical symptoms. This often makes it difficult for a patient to foresee the possible side effects of not treating the disease (such as loss of limb, blindness, stroke and death). This implies that a doctor must also evaluate the mental competency of someone with Type II Diabetes to ensure they understand the dangers of failing to comply with treatment.
To understand any branch of science, one must understand that humans are rarely ever affected just biologically, or just psychologically or just socially. A young kid being bullied might appear to be just a social situation. But it's almost certainly going to correlate to psychological problems (such as social withdraw, depression and anxiety) as well as biological problems (such as a lack of sleep or self harm). Understanding the three dimensions of wellness is imperative to understanding health.
***
Biological Factors
Biological factors are typically defined as those that affect the physical functioning of a living organism. This includes every subset of an entire school of thought including anatomy, chemistry, cell biology, evolution, genetics, microbiology, physiology, and so forth.
Biology attempts to understand what we are physically. It seeks for reason in how neurotransmitters move messages from the brain to the rest of the body, how the heart pumps blood, how the skeletal system keeps us upright, how we pass specific traits onto our children. Arguably, our study of psychological and social factors is an extension of first having studied biology. After all, if we don't understand the human body, and therefore the brain, how can we understand the mental power of humans and how they use such power to create social customs?
***
Psychological Factors
Psychological factors are those concerned with an individuals mental state. This includes thought patterns, cognitive functioning, development, learning processes, and more.
Psychology is in it's most basic definition the study of human behavior. Unlike any other species in existence, humans are unique in their capacity to think, to reason, to evaluate. Our brains frontal lobe (and most notably, our prefrontal cortex) allows us to exhibit physical functioning beyond simply what is required to keep us alive. We are able to perform executive functions - the fount of everything we see around us; of all invention and innovation.
***
Social Factors
Social factors include those concerned with culture. We don't live in this world alone (no matter how often we might wish to). We are surrounded by other people who undoubtedly have an influence on our health (and nearly every other aspect of our lives).
Social factors include people and groups that an individual might come into contact with that have the power to influence their life. This involves micro-level systems, such as family, teachers and friends. It involves larger ecosystems such as the community an individual lives in, the local government and school systems. Extending even beyond that, it involves macro-systems such as the federal government, cultural customs and norms, and religious traditions.
***
This blog is dedicated to understanding human beings - our thoughts, minds and behaviors. To do this, we must understand the three crucial aspects of our health and wellness: biology, psychology and sociology. Lacking any of the three means we have failed to fully capture the human experience.
