What Aspects of Our Environment Affect Wellness?

I don't necessarily agree that we are completely the product of our environment. I do know it has a huge effect on our success in achieving the well-being we all want and deserve. According to the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, “The fundamental conditions and resources for health are peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources, social justice and equity”. It appears that according to experts, the environment affects wellness in more ways than just by providing clean air and abundant quality food.

At the most foundational level, we must examine if our wage systems, costs and availability of housing, food, drugs and medical care, are affordable and abundant enough, for everyone to have access to the basic necessities. Are the social assistance and welfare systems adequate? Some statistics say Nova Scotia has some of the lowest amounts of support in a country where every provincial program has been deemed, by some, to be inadequate. Should we implement basic living wages for everyone or significantly increase minimum wage? Our systems and focus of governance must first serve the basic physical needs of our human survival, in addition to addressing climate change and environmental protection, if we want people to be healthy.

Holistic wellness requires us to consider mental and emotional factors in addition to the physical aspects. Is social justice linked to health and wellness? I don't know how we can separate the two. Therefore this means we also have to look at how cultural attitudes of racism and sexism, or educational and mobility barriers for the elderly and disabled, as well as the equity of justice (as examples), impact the health of our communities. Single parents, mostly women, who make up the largest group facing poverty, are not well served by a system where court orders, enacted programs and enforcement agencies, fail to secure legally owed payments that prevent their children from going hungry. Deficiencies in our attitudes and systems that block access, good will or justice for some, negatively impacts wellbeing of whole swaths of communities. Social justice and our belief in a fair and equitable society, IS a health issue, if we want to not only be well but thrive.

Protesting, bringing attention to a problem and formally taking a stand for change, in a constructive way, is really just a way to express compassion for others. Everyone in society benefits when we do our part to try and correct the injustices we see. It is also a positive and healthy way to channel anger and outrage when we witness or experience something that offends our sense of right and wrong. This applies to society at large as well as our workplaces, social groups, our neighbourhoods, our families and even our intimate partnerships. As stated above, peace, social justice and equity are three of the prerequisites to good health noted by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Fairness and justice are core values that depend on the virtues of courage, honesty, kindness, compassion and generosity we need to uphold and honour in all areas of our life, for the wellbeing of ourselves and everyone else.