TRAVIS ILLNESS-WELLNESS CONTINUUM Flashcards
Who invented the Illness-Wellness Continuum, when, and what did it combine?
Invented by John W. Travis, MD in 1972.
Combines Lewis Robbins’ health risk continuum and Abraham Maslow’s concept of self-actualization.
Created as an easy way to illustrate the concept of “wellness” and became a success among health practitioners and educators.
What does the Illness-Wellness Continuum demonstrate about wellness?
Wellness is a process, not a static state.
There are many degrees of illness and many degrees of wellness, illustrating it as a spectrum rather than a binary state.
How do the treatment paradigm and wellness paradigm function on the Illness-Wellness Continuum?
Treatment paradigm:
Brings a person to neutral, alleviating disease symptoms.
Wellness paradigm:
Encourages movement toward higher levels of wellness, even without symptoms of disease.
Works in harmony with the treatment paradigm, focusing on thriving rather than surviving.
How can you set the stage for disease even without symptoms?
Negative emotions and excessive stress can weaken the immune system.
Unhealthy coping mechanisms like smoking, drinking, or overeating contribute to a harmful cycle.
What does achieving high levels of wellness look like on the Illness-Wellness Continuum?
- Engaging in good physical self-care
- Using the mind constructively
- expressing emotions effectively.
- Being creatively involved with those around you
- being concerned about your physical, psychological, and spiritual environments.
What does the Illness-Wellness Continuum propose about illness and wellness?
It is possible to be:
Physically ill, yet oriented toward wellness through positive mental and emotional practices.
Physically healthy, yet functioning from an illness mentality due to lack of emotional or mental well-being.
It’s not where you are on the continuum, it’s the direction you’re facing that matters.
This is why the continuum was updated to consider dimensions of health beyond the physical.
