Glossary
Health & Wellness
The BabyBoomer.org Health & Wellness Glossary is your trusted resource for understanding the terms and concepts related to your health and well-being. This comprehensive glossary covers a wide range of topics, from nutrition and fitness to mental health and medical care, all tailored to the unique needs and concerns of Baby Boomers. Whether you’re looking to deepen your knowledge about a specific health condition, explore the latest wellness trends, or simply find reliable information to help you lead a healthier life, this glossary has you covered. Each entry is crafted to provide clear, actionable insights, empowering you to take control of your health with confidence.
Meditation
Meditation is a mental discipline and wellness practice that involves focusing the mind on a specific object, thought, or activity to achieve mental clarity and emotional calmness. It often involves techniques such as mindfulness, or focusing on the present moment, and transcendental meditation, which uses a mantra or series of words to aid concentration. Regular meditation can help reduce stress, increase self-awareness, enhance emotional health, and improve attention span.
Menopause
Menopause is a natural biological process marking the end of a woman’s menstrual cycles and fertility. It typically occurs in a woman’s late 40s or early 50s, characterized by a decline in the production of hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, by the ovaries. Symptoms often include hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, and difficulty sleeping. It’s officially diagnosed after a woman has gone 12 months without a menstrual period. Despite the physical changes it brings, one can still stay healthy, vital, and sexual during and after menopause.
Mental Health
“Mental Health” refers to an individual’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how people think, feel, and act, influencing how they handle stress, relate to others, and make decisions. Good mental health is characterized by a person’s ability to fulfill a number of key functions and activities, including learning, feeling and expressing a range of positive and negative emotions, forming and maintaining good relationships with others, and coping with change and uncertainty.
Mind-Body Connection
The “Mind-Body Connection” refers to the intricate interplay between our mental and emotional states, and our physical health. It’s the concept that our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes can positively or negatively influence our biological functioning. This signifies that our mind and body are not separate entities but a unified system, where mental and emotional wellness is equally important as physical health. Hence, stress or anxiety can lead to physical ailments, while physical exercise and relaxation techniques can enhance mental well-being.