The Illness/Wellness Continuum

The Illness/Wellness Continuum, which John first developed in 1972, is a simple one-dimensional model and has described at length in the Personal Wellness Area. It shows that just as there are many degrees of illness, there are many degrees of wellness.

On the illness side of the Continuum, therapy and treatment are used to alleviate symptoms and disability. However, treatment cannot be used on the wellness side of the continuum because on the wellness side there is, by definition, nothing to treat. Your location on the Continuum only represents where you appear to be outwardly, i.e., by physical assessment. To take things a step further, we can see that it's actually less important to know where you are on the Continuum, than it is to realize which way you are headed. Attitude and inner awareness come more strongly into play than physical condition.

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