Recently, the attitude towards mental and physical health shifted. Before we used to treat and nurture only the part of our psyche that feels “sore.” Today more and more mental health experts advise us to take a more comprehensive approach. And so now we look at the problem from both mental and physical perspectives.
I’m sharing about this topic because I’m a bestselling wellness author and leading Behavioral Change Expert, and love to help people to live healthier lives.
Let’s find out what the holistic approach to mental wellness means and how to practice it for a balanced mental state.
The holistic approach considers mental health not as an isolated part of our well-being but as something tightly interconnected with other aspects of health and life. Many factors influence mental health. Social environment, gender, the level of physical activity, culture, relationship status, etc. This means that mental healing requires addressing emotional, social, physical, and spiritual facets of our lives. And we need to do this recognizing that one can’t truly improve without the other.
You’ve probably noticed that if you experience an anxiety attack, some breathing techniques will only help you in the short term. The issue persists as you haven’t worked through various factors that trigger these anxiety attacks in the first place.
The problem? We often forget to address the root causes of our mental health struggles. Instead we focus on surface-level solutions. Holistic approach encourages us to explore how different facets of our health can be balanced out for a more sustainable and fulfilling sense of wellness.
While appearing to be solely a mental practice, numerous studies show that meditation can benefit the immune system, blood pressure, chronic pain, as well as a number of mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance use disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On the HeyWellness platform, for example, you can find the meditation that resonates with your current issue and use it right away.
Meditation can take various forms, and you don’t necessarily have to sit alone in a room, concentrating on the guiding voice. Simply try mindfulness in your daily life and you may feel much happier as, according to the research from Harvard, “a wandering mind is an unhappy mind.” This technique boils down to concentrating on any present activity you’re engaged in. It can be washing dishes, listening to music, cooking, or drawing—remove any distractions besides the current activity and feel how your mind balances out by diving deeper into the present moment!
Yoga is another way to treat the mind in harmony with the body. Studies have shown that yoga has a positive effect on anxiety, depression, stress, and sleep quality, as well as on respiratory and cardiovascular function. What’s important is that what helps is yoga in its full sense, which is not only physical postures but their combination with controlled breathing and relaxation techniques (including meditation).
The positive effects of yoga are being actively investigated, and recent research already shows that such an impact on mental health is caused by yoga actually changing the brain’s activity! Together with impacting the functioning of the amygdala, hippocampus, etc., this practice also has the potential to mitigate age-related cognitive declines.
Various techniques from CBT help practice a holistic approach to health. For example, try out cognitive restructuring. Identify catastrophic thoughts like “This is the worst thing that has happened to me!” or overgeneralizing “I always fail!” and replace them with objective and neutral ones such as “It’s a bad situation, but I’ll manage it just as I managed problems before” and “I may fail, but I also have a chance to win!” Catching irrational thoughts and not letting them poison your behavior and emotional state is a great way to reduce stress and anxiety and, hence, curb them from affecting your health.
Stress and anxiety are natural body responses to various external and internal factors. It can be a broken car or an argument with a loved one that could cause worries and other uncomfortable feelings.
It’s totally normal to experience them short-term, but if they affect your daily life and alter your normal functioning, it’s time to think about visiting a mental health professional and introduce holistic health practices into your daily routine.
Anxiety and stress aren’t just worries in our heads. They are often manifested in the body through trembling, a rapid heartbeat, body aches, nausea, etc.
This is why addressing physical or mental symptoms in isolation rarely leads to long-lasting results, but mind-body exercises can be just on point to treat our multifaceted well-being.
More and more people are diagnosed with ADHD, and, due to the complexities of modern lifestyles, adults and adolescents often develop separate ADHD symptoms. It can be short attention span, impulsivity, forgetfulness, etc. As these uncomfortable symptoms stem from external stimuli (doom scrolling, bite-sized news, information overload, etc.), it’s important to address these problems holistically via engaging the brain and body, and not thoughts and feelings only. Check out this ADHD relief program that already has a thought-out system of exercises targeted specifically at soothing ADHD symptoms and calming a busy mind.
Often, traumatic memories are deeply connected to one’s body, and in order to cure the remnants of trauma, one may take a so-called bottom-up approach and work with the body first. Peter Levine, an American psychotraumatologist, proposed the idea of somatic experiencing, which boils down to becoming fully aware of the sensations in your body caused by traumatic memories.
Levine believes that through special movements and gradual exploration of these sensations, the hold that trauma has over one’s mind can be released. Similarly, returning to your feelings is an important process in the trauma recovery journey, and gentle yoga and meditation sessions are even scientifically proven to help with it.
It may seem like building up health while simultaneously considering the emotional, mental, social, and physical aspects of wellbeing requires a lot of effort. In reality, incorporating small changes—mindfulness, yoga, education on mental health, and psychotherapy—can create profound transformations over time.
The key is to approach your health as an integrated whole with many deeply interconnected parts. By daily nurturing your spirit, body, and mind, you’re developing your inner and physical strength and accepting every part of your being.
Explore my bestselling and therapist recommended audio and video program: The Anxiety Cure Course.
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