Human beings were created with biological, social, mental, and spiritual needs. These systems are interconnected, and when one is hurting, many times, the other systems are also experiencing distress. A holistic approach looks at the whole system and rather than addressing mental health in isolation, it looks at all aspects of the human being.
When looking at one’s mental health holistically, you would discover how emotional and mental health are impacted by physical well-being. Some areas of physical well-being that impact other areas of health are nutrition, exercise, stress, and sleep. When any of these areas are neglected all parts of the individual can be affected. Improving one, improves the other. Have you ever spent time on a walk or a jog outside and feel so much lighter and less stressed afterwards? This is why! There are several ways to improve physical health including moving more, prioritizing sleep and nutrition, and some techniques to improve stress or your reaction to to it by practicing mindfulness and meditation. This can look different for people, and can include breathing exercises, prayer, or practicing quieting the mind to live in the moment.
One other important aspect of holistic mental health is community. Humans were made with a need for connection. A study done by Tomova et al., (2020) looked at the results of social deprivation in healthy adults. The study showed there is a similar response in the brain when fasting from food for 10 hours and fasting from social interaction for 10 hours. After the deprivation, the participants were shown images of food and social activity. The brain lit up in both cases, showing a craving for what they had been deprived from. People were made to be in community. Community can look like volunteering, spending time with family and friends, being part of a spiritual community, or joining a support group (check out the groups we offer here!
Holistic mental health can also look like finding purpose in life. This may include helping individuals set goals for change or clarify values. This may also be an exploration into spiritual beliefs and purpose. When this part of a person is developed it helps them handle life and the curveballs it throws them.
Finally, holistic mental health allows individuals to take an integrated look at over all well-being. The integration of mind, body, and spirit is important in health. It is important to prioritize physical health, focus on mindfulness, create good social connections, and find purpose in life. When looking at all these aspects of health, a solid foundation for mental health is created and resilience is built when faced with difficulties that life may bring.
References:
Tomova, L., Wang, K.L., Thompson, T. et al. (2020). Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger. Nature Neuroscience 23, 1597–1605. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-00742-z
