Continued from last week's discussion...
Although the shift seemed to have its catalyst in the 1970's, there is proof that the term of wellness as we now know it also had some credence in 1940's America. Ben Zimmer comments in his New York Times April 2010 article Wellness that,
"New approaches to healthful living were emerging then, inspired in part by the preamble to the World Health Organization's 1948 constitution: 'Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.' Halbert L. Dunn, chief of the National Office of Vital Statistics, was looking for new terminology to convey the positive aspects of health that people could achieve, beyond simply avoiding sickness" (Zimmer).
Anna Kirkland also comments that "The term wellness first came into usage in the post–World War II United States, but the roots of the concept extend far back into the history of American ideas about health, morality, and responsibility" (Kirkland).
The generations that were alive and well during the 1970's and 1980's seemed to begin to capitalize on the concept of overall wellness as defined in this course as a holistic health in the 6 wellness dimensions. Once the Millennial Generation came around, the wellness shift was beginning to gain momentum, and they grasped the concept with both hands and refused to let go. The wellness trend in America (and in many parts of the world) has only gained strength ever since.
Wellness in regards to generational views is in itself a complicated issue. For example, an 80-year-old Baby Boomer man and 25-year-old Millennial woman may both know that smoking is negative for one's health, but likely, only the Millennial woman would have any knowledge of the actual ramifications of smoking on the body. It's a matter of the culture in which each grew up. Baby Boomer's lived during a time where smoking was aggressively advertised and accepted as normalcy. Millennials grew up during the "shaming of smoking," if you will, and were taught the ramifications of smoking on the body-both physically and mentally. There is a grey area between such two extremes, however; the generations between the 1950's and 2000's were in a state of transition. Smoking was still popular, for example, but research was beginning to emerge that attested to smoking's devastating impacts on one's body. This is only one of the thousands of such examples.
In short, modern wellness seems to have developed in 3 stages over the past 100 years. The early half of the 20th Century was the fledgling understand of wellness, the middle portion of the 20th Century was when research began to emerge attesting to wellness' importance, and the latter portion of the 20th Century was when modern wellness seemed to come into its own.
Although the issue itself has affected multiple generations, the generation most-impacted by wellness has been the Millennials. Born in the 1980's through the early 2000's, they have been witness to the result of the wellness shift and have been subject to many of its effects. For example, Deborah Weinswig comments in her June 2017 article Wellness Is The New Luxury, that,
"While this trend is visible across age groups, Millennials are driving its growth. Millennials, who were born between 1980 and 1999, have grown up in a time of rapid change, so their priorities and expectations are sharply different from those of previous generations. According to the Harris Group, 72% of Millennials would rather spend money on experiences than on material goods" (Weinswig).
Millennials as a generation are subject to wellness education and appreciating that their forbearers were not. There are now classes in both high schools and colleges that examine the effects of wellness versus health on the world. For example, there are now college majors such as Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology, etc. that revolves entirely around the concept of holistic wellness.
It is important to take into account the fact that Millennials are unlike any generation before them. As Weinswig commented above, Millennials place less value on materialistic items and, instead, focus on experiences and bodily well-being. As a generation, they want to enjoy their lives in every way possible, by going out and having fun and also being a "well" person. Balance in the mind and body is of paramount importance to the Millennial Generation because of the culture in which they grew up and education that they were gifted in school.
An April 2017 article titled Millennials Differ From Other Generations In Almost Every Way by William Cummings, states " Today's young adults look different from prior generations in almost every regard; how much education they have, their work experiences, when they start a family, and even who they life with while growing up" (Cummings)." The article goes on to detail, exactly how, Millennials have completely re-invented how young adults approach life in general. The truth is, Millennials have set new precedents for the generations to follow them, some positive and some negative in the realms of wellness.
The differing views on wellness versus health in regards to different generations are the very basis of this course. Anna Kirkland comments in her article titled What Is Wellness Now? That, "While wellness is not new or unstudied, we are at a uniquely critical point in the institutional and legal position of wellness in the health economy of the United States" (Kirkland). In other words, wellness in itself not new to the world. What is new, however, is the fact that wellness is beginning to take center-stage attention in regards to other issues. Pandemics such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension are taking older generations by storm and Millennials have no interest in following-suit.
Millennials' newfound interest in holistic wellness has had resonating impacts on everyday life. For example, Kirkland writes that "Currently, workplace wellness programs are common and rapidly expanding, especially among larger employers, and they are generally voluntary rather than punitive" (Mattke et al. 2013). This is one of the many examples of a cultural shift in regards to wellness.
Another example can be seen in the medical field itself. Before the 1990's, much of the energy in the medical field was placed on combating diseases after they had arisen and firmly taken hold. Retrospective drugs and procedures took precedence over prevention. However, the newfound appreciation for holistic wellness versus bodily health has begun a slow shift in healthcare terms. Kirkland writes that "An emphasis on preventing diseases rather than waiting for them to strike has always been central to wellness" (Kirkland). The fact that the younger generations have such a firm appreciation for wellness over health has begun a shift in the medical field. Many doctors and healthcare teams are placing preference on prevention over combating formed diseases. For example, many doctors are now counseling those who may be at risk for heart disease and diabetes on ways to combat them before they happen. They do this by means of education (both in and outside the office), regular blood work and general lifestyle education such as healthy eating and stress-reduction.
Millennials, by and large, are living healthier lives in contrast to older generations, and not just in terms of bodily health. The six dimensions of wellness: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental and social all play pivotal roles in the young life of a Millennial. More than anything else, Millennials want to be happy, and a proper appreciation of wellness is of paramount importance. Of course, we must acknowledge that there are outliers in regards to the Millennial generation, many still smoke, drink, pursue stressful careers for a living and have dysfunctional relationships, but the truth is that they understand that wellness is important.
The millennial generation itself is a resounding testament to the evolution that wellness has gone through. More than any generation before them, Millennials have a profound respect and appreciation for wellness and wellness itself has been sculpted by the generations before. I suppose you could say that Millennials are a result of wellness evolution and they will continue the trends in wellness.
Tune in next week for Millennial Healthcare: Part III.
