Well-being is one of those overused buzzwords in health culture. It’s something everyone claims to understand, but few can clearly define. It floats somewhere between “feeling good” and “having your s—t together,” the nebulousness that renders it useless when researchers or policymakers actually try to measure it.
So, an international team of researchers tried to remove that ambiguity and, using hard science, clearly define a word that means something different to everyone.
In a study published in Nature Mental Health, researchers from 11 disciplines collaborated to develop a clear, shared definition of mental well-being. The project, led by the University of Adelaide in partnership with Be Well Co, surveyed 122 experts across fields ranging from psychology and psychiatry to economics, philosophy, and theology. The goal was simple but seemingly insurmountable: what, exactly, does it mean to be “well.”
According to the researchers, mental well-being depends on a sense of purpose and satisfaction with life. It means you are accepting of yourself, you maintain close relationships while still maintaining autonomy over your personal choices, and you regularly feel happy.
Researchers Finally Gave ‘Well-being’ an Actual Definition
A lot of the things we typically associate with well-being, like financial stability or physical health, didn’t make the cut as core components; instead, the focus was entirely on emotional and psychological satisfaction. Financial and physical health were still factored in, but they act as secondary influences for “drivers” that can support well-being but don’t define it. Being financially well-off can influence your well-being, but someone who is dirt poor can feel satisfied and can practice self-acceptance just fine, according to the researchers. The adage “money can’t buy happiness” is especially relevant here.
Researchers also made clear that well-being doesn’t mean a person exists in a constant, unbroken state of perpetual happiness. Someone dealing with mental illness can still experience positive mental health. A person with good well-being can still experience the emotional ebbs and flows of daily life. It isn’t so much about being deliriously happy 24 hours a day as it is about having the psychological tools and social connections necessary to navigate the difficulties of life and still come out the other side feeling generally okay.
The researchers argue that well-being isn’t a single feeling. It’s an interconnected web of perspectives and support systems that prop us up every day. Defining it provides the larger global network of researchers with a common framework that they can use to compare studies or design policies, but now, should this definition become widely accepted, they can do it while all speaking the same language.
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