1. The Aggregation for Enhancing Health in the Community.
1.1 The meaning of health
When we are born, we wish to live with a happy life. A happy life depends on many factors and one of the important factors is the health of body and mind. When we have a healthy life and good mental health, we are able to adjust ourselves and have the self-confidence not to worry or being stressed. We can spend our life with others in the society and can be a good member of society. The word‚ health defined by the World Health Organization means the condition of the integrity of body and mind and be able to live in the society happily without illnesses or being handicapped.
1.2 The importance of health
Health is utterly important for the life of human beings because happiness or distress of the human being depend on their health. The importance of health can be explained in 3 levels:
1) The self-importance.
Any person will be happy or in distress depending on his or her health. If they are healthy and have no illness including good mental health and are without envy, they are surely happy. On the contrary, if they are not healthy and are always ill including a not so good mental health and always envy to the others, so body and mind will degenerate, they will be unhappy all their life.
2) The importance to the family.
Health is an important part affecting the success or failure of a family. The family consists of the basic members, i.e. father, mother, and children. If the parents and their children are healthy, physically and mentally, the family will be happy as well. But if they have problems of the body and mind, the family may fail.
3) The importance to society.
A single society comprises so many members. Each one is physically and mentally unique which can create many problems. Those might be physical or mental problems and may lead to illnesses such as obesity, stress from social problems, etc.
1.3 The characteristics of a healthy body and mind.
Anyone who is healthy must healthy, both physically and mentally, so that they can live in the society happily.
Good health means that the body, including all organs and systems, is strong and well-functioning and can work efficiently.
The characteristics of the healthy people are as follows:
1. Having a healthy and strong body and can balance the body firmly as well as perform active movements.
2. Being able to do the daily life activities effectively.
3. The body organs and its systems are strong and work normally and effectively.
4. The growth rate of the body parts is appropriately to the age.
5. Being free of illnesses and congenital diseases.
6. Having enough rest and a fresh look.
Good mental health means being able to adjust to the environment and having a bright mind and self–competence.
The characteristics of the good mental health are:
1. Being able to adjust themselves to the society and any kind of environment such as at home, at school, or at work, etc.
2. Having self-confidence, independent mind, making reasonable decisions, and respecting others’ opinions, not being stubborn and ready to face problems.
3. Being able to face whatever happens in life whether success or failure.
4. Having good self-control by not showing too much anger, hate, love, sadness, dissatisfaction.
5. Knowing how to love the others who are close or those who are acquainted, and also having good wishes towards others.
6. Being happy at work, untiring, and not often changing jobs.
7. Having enthusiasm, hope in life, and being able to stand and wait for hope.
8. Being optimistic, not paranoid, and satisfied with their own status.
9. Having a sense of humor, pursuing happiness, not having too much stress, and able to relax themselves appropriately.
10. Having a rest wherever or whenever they can.
1.4 The principles of health care, physically and mentally.
People who have good physical and mental health are a worthy resource for the society; they have the knowledge of hygiene and sanitation.
The principles of taking care of physical and mental health are:
1. Having a good eating habit
By consuming clean and sanitary food useful to the body, from which the body gets all nutrients, eating fresh vegetables and fruits every day, drinking enough clean water at least 6 - 8 glasses every day, and not drinking coffee, tea or any kind of narcotics.
2. Knowing how to exercise appropriately.
Exercising can help our organs and systems to work fully efficient and enhance the health and strength of our body. We should exercise every day at least 30 minutes. We should consider our physical condition, age, places, and appropriateness, before choosing a type of exercise.
3. Knowing how to clean our body properly.
Each of us has different activities and the ways of life. The excretory system will expel waste from our body and if we do not keep our body clean, it may get various illnesses. So, we must clean ourselves by taking a shower at least 2 times a day, brushing the teeth at least twice a day, washing our hair at least twice a week, and keeping finger and toenails cut, and warring clean clothes.
4. Developing Excretion Habits.
Everybody should, at least once a day, excrete. If not doing so, waste will be accumulated in the body resulting in harmfulness to the excretion system, causing hemorrhoids, constipation, or inflammation to the urinary tract.
5. Having enough rest.
Resting will help us to relax. Our organs and systems need rest to be fresh for the next day. Not only the body but the brain needs to rest as well.
6. Adjusting to the environment.
In daily life, individuals have to meet many people either at home, at work, at school, or even at government offices. We can happily live in society if we understand and accept individual differences, reduce conflicts, and are sympathetic toward each other.
7. At the time of swelter because body will be lost water and sweat more than usual.
This can make Going into health services regularly. If we are sick, we should know how to use the appropriate health service to cure of sickness. Not only the health services
that we can use, we also prevent by having the body checkup periodically.
1.5 Aggregation for enhancing health in the community
Taking care of and improving health and mental health for each person are important and should habitually be done. The important elements are appropriately choosing what to eat with proper nutrition, having enough rest, and always having exercise. If all these can be done suitably for the body, they can live with a happy life and efficiently perform the duty.
However, only taking care of their own health is not enough if someone in the family has the health problem, it will affect everyone in the family such as the expenses for the treatment, health rehabilitation, etc.- From this reason, we should encourage family’s members and friends in the community to know and understand about how to take care of health in the proper ways along with persuading them to join the activities enhancing health in the community for the healthiness as well as good mental health and good relations to one others.
The activities which lead to enhancing health in the community are:
1. the aggregation for collaborative learning about practicing how to take care of individual’s health such as pregnant women, mother after delivery, teenagers, elderly, and patients, etc.-
2. the aggregation for having exercises and playing sports. At present, the community is interested in supporting the exercise like aerobic exercise, and the sport competition among people in the community, etc.-
3. the aggregation for the activities for leisure and recreations such as travelling, singing and playing music, working for the community such as planting trees in the public area, etc.- these should not be hard activities but only for the pleasure and good relationships among the group members.
4. the aggregation for the religious activities such as making merits, religious practices, and meditation, etc.-
The aggregation for joining these activities should cover health, of food and nutrition, exercising, relaxation, recreations, and developing mental health. This happens if we gather activities, the members in the family, friends, and people in the community and help create the enjoyable and increase knowledge to strengthen individuals, family, community, and finally our country.