Explore!
 
"Wellness" (a program at Oregon Health & Science University—see below) goes beyond "good health" by including many aspects of a full, satisfying life.  Neighborhood Associations, City services, educational institutions, and other people-oriented efforts might usefully organize efforts about such a theme.
OHSU Public Lectures



Explore the community
Wellness
as experienced in Portland, Oregon

.
Division of Health Promotion and Sports Medicine
at
Oregon Health & Science University
would like to see you healthier and happier.
The division's director says, you can be!
Corporate Wellness Services
is a program at
Oregon Health & Science University
director: Susan Butterworth, Ph.D., M.S. 
Assistant Professor for OHSU School of Nursing

                    derived from a "Healthy Chat" by Susan Butterworth, February 2001—Portland, Oregon

If we are to lead a full, rich life we must attend to many needs.

  Physical 
             Emotional 
                     Cognitive 
                                Social 
                                         Spiritual

 
Physical
fitness, nutrition, sleep, drug free, safety
Emotional
mental health, self-esteem, happiness
Cognitive
intellect, academics, problem solving
Social
relationships, community, networks
Spiritual
connections, inner peace, faith, beliefs

 
When you get past 50, your mailbox gets inundated with advertisements concerning your health.  They think you have lots of money to spend, and they want as much of it as they can get.  Many are quack crap, slippery gull traps to avoid.  Some are downright sleaze.  But a few offer something of real value.  Most of these are health newsletters.

We've tried several of them.  Many are rather shallow, occasionally merely trendy...telling you what they think you want to hear.  But two we have continued year after year...because they are genuinely helpful, truly interesting, and clearly authoritative:

The New England Journal of Medicine, HEALTHNEWS
Consumer Reports, onhealth

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine just sent us an ad for their Health After 50  newsletter.  It certainly looks interesting—and their Web Site is one of the best.  In particular, look at their,

A Practical Anti-Aging Plan

1.   Get Moving  ...your single most potent antidote to aging: exercise.
2.   Don't Smoke   ...it's never too late to quit.
3.   Follow a healthy diet   ...rich in fruits and vegetables...low-fat...
4.   Use supplements wisely   ...fill gaps in a sound diet.
5.   Drink enough water   ...older, you're prone to dehydration.
6.   Avoid excessive exposure to the sun   ...protective pigment diminishes with age.
7.   Reduce stress   ...meditation, yoga, and exercise.
8.   Challenge your mind   ...learn new skills.
9.   Limit alcohol consumption   ...If you don't drink, don't start*.
10.  Cultivate satisfying relationships   ...positive social interaction...
11.  Consider preventative medicine   ...reduce high blood pressure...
Today, such messages pop up everywhere.  Medical research clearly points everyone in these directions.  Medical advisors on TV and in newspapers do, too.  Our Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) conducts a superb program of lectures, "Healthy Talks," research summaries...guidelines to all aspects of wellness: they, too, point us in these directions.

Look at OHSU's "Virtual Wellness" site for an outline of one program that helps people follow such routes.

Look to this Explore Portland site for some exercise ideas and worthwhile social interactions in Portland, Oregon.  Look to our "Knowledge for Use" site for challenging kinds of possibly unfamiliar skills: learn some ways of looking at the world that are the ways that brought us several centuries of science...and might bring other, even more useful, outcomes.  Just maybe...
 
 

EXPLORATION AT THE EDGES OF HUMAN COMPREHENSION
  *Good health is a complex weave of many factors.  Some people perhaps should start according to some current research.