Question

Explain illness wellness continuum by John Travis.

Answer 1

On one end we find people with good mental wellness while at the other end of the continuum we find people with poor mental wellness. Wellness continuum can be better understood using the following diagram which is based on Illness Wellness Continuum Model given by John Travis in 1972.

The horizontal line (A) denotes illness continuum while vertical line (B) denotes wellness continuum.So we get four compartments or quadrants.

Illness Wellness Continuum given by John Travis

1. Quadrant 1: The individual in Quadrant 1 has no mental illness. He experiences happiness and feels confident to face difficulties. This is the ideal state of functioning.
2. Quadrant 2: In Quadrant 2 also the individual has no mental illness. But he experiences subjective feeling of grief or unhappiness and sees no goals in life.
3. Quadrant 3: Individual belonging to Quadrant 3 is suffering from mental illness. But in spite of illness he experiences high sense of subjective well being, has good self-esteem and is hopeful.
4. Quadrant 4: He has mental illness and at the same time he experiences distress and sees no goal in life. At times personality disintegration is also observed. This is the lowest level of functioning.