For many people, the last year has presented new challenges for how we maintain our health and wellness. An expert in integrative wellness, Ayanna S. Kersey-McMullen, DO, MSPH, recently examined what it means to be “well.”
Dr. Kersey-McMullen’s insight appeared in the spring 2021 issue of Lehigh County Health & Medicine magazine:
“The Western perspective on health and wellness often tends to compartmentalize it as a physical state of being, defined by the absence or presence of disease. However, wellness is not simply the absence of disease. It also integrates components of physical, financial, social, occupational, emotional, intellectual and spiritual health.”
What Are the 4 Pillars of Wellness?
In the article, Dr. Kersey-McMullen details how the four pillars of wellness can provide holistic solutions to chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, chronic pain and general deconditioning:
- Traditional Medicine
- Psychology and Mental Wellness
- Nutrition
- Exercise
Click here to read the full article. Lehigh County Health & Medicine magazine is the official publication of the Lehigh County Medical Society.
Dr. Kersey-McMullen is a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician (physiatrist) who serves as medical director for Good Shepherd’s Stroke Rehabilitation, Integrative Wellness and Wellness in the Arts programs.