Health creation – how’s your sense of coherence?
Previously we have written on the topic of salutgenesis
Simply put Salutogensis means “health creation.”
Salutogenesis was a term coined by Aaron Antonovsky PhD in his 1979 book Health, Stress and Coping – 1979. Salutogensis also made it into the dictionary in 2019.
Salutogenesis is the opposite of pathogenesis – the process in which a disease or disorder develops.
In pathogenesis we look at disease, how to avoid them, manage them or eliminate them. The focus is the disease, what causes it, and risk avoidance.
In salutogenesis we look at health, how to create it, improve it, and enhance it.
How to create a salutogenic approach to health
If you only take actions for your health based on a symptom or condition being present, you are defaulting to a pathogenic approach to health and life.
A common example of this in Chiropractic, is coming in for a visit with back pain, neck pain, headaches, or some other symptom, and then ceasing care once that symptom passes.
If you come in for assessments because you know it helps you function better regardless of the presence or absence of a symptom, then you are using Chiropractic in a salutogenic way.
The same applies for other health practices:
- If you only change the food you eat, and the fluids you consume based on a symptom/condition (e.g. constipation, reflux, to lose weight, for diabetes, and so on) = Pathogenic.
- If you eat well because you know it’s good for your body, it gives you resources, helps you think clearer, and so on, you are salutogenic.
The same applies for exercise, sleep habits, mental health habits, and rest.
Simply put, in salutogenesis we do health practices simply because we know it’s good for us
A health spectrum with a goal for better ease
Rather than seeing ourselves as sick or well, we should see ourselves on a continuum with absence of health at one end and total health at the other end. In Chiropractic we call the total health end “ease,” the extreme left end as “disease,” and the state in between as “dis-ease,” meaning lack of ease.
The goal in Chiropractic is a greater state of ease.
Antonovsky when creating the salutogenic model looked at General Resistence factors and Sense of Coherence as key ideas.
General Resistance Resources (GRR”s)
GRR’s are the general assets a person has that facilitate the ability to cope with stressors.
These can be resources within the body, or within a person’s environment/social circle.
The more GRR’s a person has the more likely they will have a higher sense of coherence, and the high the sense of coherence the higher the health.
Life is full of stressors, and these create tension in the organism – the more GRR’s the better the ability to cope with the stress.
Examples of GRR’s include:
(1) physical and genetic (strong physic, strong immune system, genetic strength
(2) material resources (e.g., money, accommodation, food);
(3) cognitive and emotional (knowledge, intelligence, adaptive strategies for coping, emotional intelligence)
(4) ego identity (positive perception of self);
(5) valuative and attitudinal (coping strategies characterized by rationality, flexibility foresight);
(6) interpersonal-relational (attachment, social support from friends and family);
(7) macro sociocultural aspects (culture, shared values in society).
(Moksnes UK. Sense of Coherence. 2021)
Sense of Coherence
The sense of coherence (SOC) has been defined as:
- a global orientation toward life that involves cognitive, behavioral, and motivational elements and is expressed in the belief that the world is comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful.
The higher the sense of coherence the more an individual can use the GRR’s to overcome the stressors of life to move towards the ease end of the continuum.
A sense of coherence is made of three components:
1. Thinking that is able to be ordered, structured and consistent.
This is termed comprehensibility.
Questions to consider:
Can you make sense of the information concerning your health, the environment around you?
Do you feel your health is unpredictable, random, inconsistent, chotic, or is your body intelligent, giving you constant feedback?
2. The ability to perform actions based on having enough resources to meet domands.
This is the behavioral aspect and is called “manageability.”
Questions to consider:
Do perceive yourself to have the resources to perform positive health actions?
3. the extent to which life makes sense, and the demands of live are worth addressing.
This is the motivational component.
Do you welcome health challenges, and see them as warning signals telling you what to do next?
Do you see meaning in your current health situation, and use that meaning to help determine best ways to move forward.
Summary:
- Salutogenesis is an approach to health creation. It is proactive, and looks to move a person towards greater health (ease).
- The general resistive resources as the general resources you (and your body) has at it’s disposal to cope with stressors. In Chiropractic, we would say your innate intelligence (inborn wisdom) is one of these resources.
- The sense of coherence is your sense that you can comprehend your state, use resources to respond, and move towards greater health with meaning.
May you develop salutogenic thinking, become proactive in your health approach, and experience greater health and ease for yourself and your family.
References
Available on request
