Psychiatry Isn’t Just Drugs
Lifestyle Medicine for Mental Health
Many patients choose White Pine Mental Health & Wellness for their mental health care because we specialize in comprehensive psychiatric care. Comprehensive care really just means that while we utilize medication, we also look at other factors that might be contributing to your anxiety, depression, OCD, or other concerns and then work together to address those issues as well.
In addition to the typical psychiatry questions about your mood, anxiety, sleep, etc., I frequently ask questions like:
What’s going on in your home or work life?
What things are you doing for self care?
Are there any big changes or stressors in your life?
What are you doing for fun?
This has always been my practice philosophy, but about five years ago, I was introduced to Lifestyle Medicine as I tried to get better balance in my own life. I loved the way it clearly laid out five areas of focus that can improve one’s overall health and wellbeing with evidence based recommendations for each.
Lifestyle medicine continues to be a touchstone in my own life as well as my work with patients dealing with anxiety, depression, OCD and other mental health concerns.
The Five Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine
Nutrition: What we eat definitely impacts how we feel, both physically and mentally. Making even small, easy changes can go a long way in improving wellbeing.
Exercise: Physical activity releases endorphins, chemicals that boost mood and reduce stress. Regular exercise also improves sleep quality, which is crucial for mental health maintenance.
Sleep: Adequate sleep is essential for cognitive function and emotional regulation. Sleep hygiene practices can significantly impact mood disorders like depression and anxiety.
Stress Management: Chronic stress can exacerbate psychiatric symptoms. Techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, and relaxation exercises can help manage stress and promote mental resilience.
Social Connections: Strong social ties provide emotional support and reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, which are risk factors for many mental health conditions.
How Lifestyle Medicine Can Help Mental Health
Integrating lifestyle medicine into psychiatric care can yield significant benefits:
Enhanced Treatment Outcomes: Combining medications with lifestyle interventions often leads to better symptom management and overall well-being.
Reduced Reliance on Medication: By addressing lifestyle factors, individuals may require lower doses of psychiatric medications or experience fewer side effects.
Empowerment and Self-Care: Lifestyle changes empower individuals to take an active role in their mental health management, fostering a sense of control and self-efficacy.
How I Utilize Lifestyle Medication in Working with Patients
I feel very strongly about personalized care where I get to know my patients not just as their diseases or struggles but as real people with families and jobs and preferences and strengths and weaknesses. I also like to meet people where they are.
So while I always ask questions about all the pillars of lifestyle medicine to get a sense of what’s going on, we may or may not initially work on lifestyle principles. If initially a patient only feels like they can handle medicine, that’s what we’ll do. Or inversely, if I have a patient who is nervous about medication and only wants to utilize lifestyle medicine, we can do that too.
But for most patients, we can integrate both pretty early in treatment. We usually focus on only one or two pillars of lifestyle medicine at a time, beginning with either the patient feels will be the easiest or the one where the patient feels like will make the most impact.
In collaborating with patients, we usually start really slowly building small changes into already existing routines until they feel easy and comfortable. Then we can make other small changes, adjust as needed and eventually have some pretty big results.
I love working with patients to create plans for their life that feel good for them. Creating even small moments of ownership and empowerment in the middle of mental health struggles like depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar disorder can be hugely impactful and meaningful.
How to Include Lifestyle Medicine into Your Mental Health Care
At White Pine Mental Health & Wellness, we specialize in comprehensive psychiatric care that includes medication management, counseling, and lifestyle medicine for patients in Alabama, Idaho, and Florida. Schedule an appointment today or email us to learn more about how we can support your mental health journey with personalized, holistic treatment strategies.
We’ll dive into each of the pillars of lifestyle medicine with specific tips and information over the next few weeks. So be sure to check back!
