Articles: health.
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Equating health with complete physical, mental and social well-being, as defined by the WHO, has played an important role in the development of healthcare systems in Western countries. However, this definition has contributed to the rise of the myth of well-being, increasing the demand on healthcare systems and raising the risk of medicalizing all aspects of life. Additionally, equating health with complete well-being is conceptually flawed for two important reasons. ⋯ While there are various approaches to defining health, the crucial issue is that each definition should include states of unwell-being. Incorporating this perspective would represent a paradigm shift in the field of health, fostering more realistic expectations and reducing the risk of medicalization.