According to the teachings of the Medicine Wheel personal wellness is achieved by maintaining a balance between our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs. Mental health in this model refers to our intellect (the mind); emotional refers to our feelings (the heart).

As a strong believer in the medicine wheel and it's teachings I am led to see things wholistically. It teaches us that all 4 quadrants of the medicine wheel need to be nurtured in order to maintain true balance and harmony as a whole being.

Now that I think about it some more Wholistic Health is a better umbrella fit for me. It requires me to consider the interconnections of body, mind, soul and spirit. The interconnections of how I treat my body with how I interact with others, with how I process information, with how I view the meaning of life. They are all connected and each one influences the other.

I can no more behave my way to success than I can think my way there. I can no more pray my way to happiness than perform my way to there. I can build a house with my talents and intellect but I need my heart and spirit to make that house a home.

To achieve good health one needs to take care of the whole of the being. Wholistic Health sounds good to me. It is more accurate and less stigmatizing than Mental Health and less judgemental and weighted than Behavioural Health from where I sit.