A Holistic Approach to Mental Health

Take a moment and think about your car; if one of its tires is low, it affects the performance of the vehicle.  If your car has a flat tire, you are stuck until you get the flat repaired.  If all your tires are properly inflated, then your vehicle will take you where you need to go.  We are similar to our cars in that if we ignore an important part of ourselves, it will affect our performance.  Sometimes it's small enough that we can get by, but we are not functioning at our greatest potential.  Other times, if we neglect an important part of our functioning, it can be debilitating.  There are 4 primary areas that I want to take a closer look at that comprise a holistic approach to mental health.  The first is our mind or thoughts, second our emotions, third our physical health, and fourth our spiritual health. 

Mind

Our mind is composed of the things we think about most.  Take a moment and reflect on what things you spend the most time thinking about.  Are you consumed with anxious thoughts?  Are your thoughts primarily focused on negative thinking?  If your thoughts are anxious or negative, what are you consuming that is feeding those thoughts?  What are you telling yourself day in and day out?  As a mental health professional, I see a lot of people that struggle with anxiety or depression yet spend hours on their phone doom scrolling or watching the news.  It's good to be informed, but if we are constantly inundated with the news, it can really affect our thinking.  If you find yourself anxious or only able to focus on the negative, it's good to limit your screen time.  Additionally, self-talk and the things we are telling ourselves matter.  Often, the thing that you tell yourself becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Our minds are very powerful.  If we believe that we can't do something, then we will be limited by that belief.  We become what we believe.  For many people, it’s helpful to work with a therapist to identify your negative or unhealthy self-talk and to learn how to counter those thoughts. Making a gratitude list can also be a powerful way to retrain your brain to think more positively or balanced. 

Emotions

Our emotions are strong indicators of how we feel about our circumstances.  However, sometimes our emotions lie to us, and sometimes we can let them run our lives.  We may feel an emotion intensely, but that doesn't always mean we should act on it.  We have an emotional part of our brain, and a reasonable part of our brain and when we let both of those parts of our brain work together, we are able to have a wise mind.  Our wise mind is able to incorporate emotions and reason together.  The wise mind is able to recognize and respect feelings while also responding to them in a rational way.  Another component of healthy emotions is our social and emotional development and functioning.  We were created for community.  We need people.  Healthy relationships help us know ourselves better.  Sometimes we've been so wounded in relationships that we need the outside support of a therapist to work through those hurts and to be able to have healthier relationships. 

Physical

Taking care of our physical health is extremely important if we want to have good mental health.  Good physical health is multifaceted.  One facet is getting adequate sleep.  Sleep is critical to our functioning.  Generally 7-8 hours of sleep is recommended. Secondly, eating a healthy balanced diet is also going to affect how you feel.  Think of food as the fuel your body needs to run.  If you only fuel your body with junk food, you're not going to feel very good.  Eating nutritious, nutrient-dense foods will help you have the energy your body needs to feel your best.  Another facet of physical health is exercise.  Exercise is one of nature's best stress relievers.  Generally, 30 minutes a day of physical activity is recommended.  Even a leisurely walk can really boost your mood and help fight anxiety.  Spending time in nature and getting fresh air and sunlight can also help boost your mood and help with sleep regulation.  If one of these areas is off, it will affect your overall functioning.  With physical health, it is a marathon, not a sprint.  Taking regular, consistent action will pay off in the long run.  Oftentimes, I see people try to make healthy changes for a little while but then get discouraged because they're not seeing the progress they want or feel like it's too difficult to sustain the changes they are trying to make.  Keep at it.  Even if you have a bad day, week, or month, pick up where you left off and start again.  It doesn't have to be an all or nothing mentality. 

Spiritual

Lastly, is our spiritual health.  We are created for connection with our Creator.  I see a lot of people who grew up going to church or in a Christian home but then sort of drifted away from it as they got older.  Oftentimes, reconnecting with God is the area that is missing in their life.  We all have existential questions.  Why am I here?  What is the meaning of life?  What is my purpose?  It’s important to search out those answers for yourself.   We have counselors that are able to help you explore these questions from a Christian perspective, but we are open and respectful of all religious backgrounds. 

I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on what area of your life needs the most help right now.  What is one small step you can take this week to work towards better mental health?  If you feel like you could benefit from working with a professional, please contact us.  We would be happy to help you find a therapist that can help you work towards your goals. 

-Written by Nicole Garrett, MA, LPC-Associate

Supervised by Sara Miischler, MA, LPC-S

LifeSpring Behavioral Health

LifeSpring Behavioral Health

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