A website designed for residents of Galveston County and Cities

National Women’s Health Week is a  weeklong health observance coordinated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. It is celebrated the week following Mother’s Day Weekend, May 13-19, 2012. The purpose of the week is to raise public awareness about the importance of women’s health and encourage women and girls to make their health a top priority. The week serves as a reminder for all women to dedicate time to becoming physically active, eating well, visiting a health care professional, avoiding risky behaviors, and maintaining mental stability.

Galveston County Health District has coordinated a Fun Walk to celebrate Women's Health Week. Click here to learn more and view the schedule of the Fun Walk.

Introduction

There is a lot of talk these days about wellness. We see the word on billboards;(click here to see the WellRU billboard) hear it in the news, used in conversation and even at work. What is the actual definition of wellness? It may come as a bit of a shock, but there is no universally-accepted definition of wellness. The truth is wellness is a tough word to define but Webster's New Basic Dictionary offers the following; the condition of good physical and mental health esp. when maintained by proper diet and exercise.

Wellness is very much about making choices and assuming responsibility for making sure you have the best quality of life possible, and begins with a conscious decision to shape a healthy lifestyle. Many different wellness models have been developed over the years, but there are six commonly recognized wellness dimensions: Social, Spiritual, Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Environmental. An American humorist once said, "Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it." It is clear that wellness is not just absence from disease. It is an active process through which people make choices toward more successful and healthy lives.