Mastering the Four Pillars of Health

The Zeno Health Group team believe in 4 pillars of health as a central element of our philosophy. But why? And what do we mean? And how can we understand and impact these 4 pillars?

In this 5 part series (this post + 1 on each pillar) I will break down the rationale and each pillar with some evidence based points and practical tips to support each area.

The 4 pillars link back to the original BioPsychoSocial model (created by Engel, 1981) to suggest the bidirectional relationship between these pillars and our health status.

Put less formally it suggests that there is an influence from all these areas (biology – psychology – social influences) that link together to shape our past, present and future health.

For example our social circle (social) may influence the amount we drink alcohol and resulting physical health (bio) which may lead to us desiring to drink again (psycho) or even feel good when we think about drinking again with friends (all 3 combined between hormones, neurological pathways and the influence our social circle has had on these systems via good or bad association).

This is just one example of the many ways one area impacts the other(s) in positive and negative ways and all elements can impact all pillars.

So formally these are bidirectional and on a ‘continuum’ in that the status of each pillar can constantly change i.e. I may feel physically well today, physically unwell tomorrow, stressed in the morning but fine by the afternoon.

That is why personally I always felt financial health fits into this model perfectly as it has a huge influence on health, impacts the other areas significantly and its status can continually change.

For example If an individual is stressed about getting to payday or meeting liabilities after payday, this is initially a financial wellbeing issue. The individual then doesn’t sleep (physical/ bio) is worried and stressed (mental health/ psycho) and as a result misses their workout (physical/ bio) and snaps at a loved one or colleague (social wellbeing) due to sleep deprivation and losing the natural positive dopamine release from training (physical/ bio).

So in summary, our physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing all need a balance of attention, always. All areas have the ability to impact all areas and as per my previous posts on mindful planning, require attention to ensure you are getting the balance right on each area, at the right time.

In the following posts we will dive into each area in more detail and provide some practical tips to support each pillar.