Health, well-being, and the quality of life: some psychosomatic reflections.

To be healthy and feel well does not evoke any particular attention of man. It is held as something natural and is used as a basis for other interests and activities. Disorders of health, in contrast, are noticed by a heightened arousal as they represent distress and/or danger of suffering and threatening of life. This may be one of reasons why there exist minute descriptions of hundreds of symptoms and signs of various health disorders whereas the state of health is usually described in more general terms only as if it should not have such a distinct identity of its own as the health disorders do. It is somewhat idealised at times also.