{"id":2241,"date":"2023-07-25T02:30:20","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T02:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/wordpress95\/?p=2241"},"modified":"2023-07-25T02:30:20","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T02:30:20","slug":"natural-mental-health-integrative-insights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/?p=2241","title":{"rendered":"NATURAL MENTAL HEALTH: Integrative Insights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" src=\"http:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/20210501150129-93.jpg\" \/>\t\t <\/p>\n<p>I&rsquo;ve been a psychiatrist for 3 decades, and I remain an optimist about the human condition. I see it as our nature to be emotionally balanced and mentally healthy &mdash; or what&rsquo;s often referred to as resilient. Though many things can deplete that resilience, In my opinion there is an innate capacity for self-healing within each of us. That&rsquo;s what this column will focus on in the months ahead.<span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>First, though, we have to understand the mental-health problem we are facing &mdash; and it&rsquo;s a big one. Just consider these staggering numbers:<span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>44 million Americans &mdash;&nbsp;about 13 percent of the population &mdash;<\/strong> currently live with a diagnosable mental-health disorder.<span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Mental-health disorders&nbsp;are the among the most common health conditions affecting American children: Market research of teens shows that <strong>nearly half<\/strong> suffer from some sort of mental or emotional disorder, while <strong>one of every six children<\/strong> has been diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental issue, for example autism or ADHD.<\/li>\n<li>In one recent study, 42 percent of school students had been diagnosed with a mental-health condition.<\/li>\n<li>Between 1999 and 2021, suicide rates increased by 33 percent in the usa. They had been on the decline since World War II.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mental illness is as old as human history. So why has it become a crisis today?<span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Lifestyle Factors Are Key<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Some experts believe our genes take into account up to 50 percent of the causes of mental illness, but our collective DNA changes so slowly it can&rsquo;t explain why&nbsp;mental-health&nbsp;issues have risen so quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Science and common sense suggest a host of other causes, including these modifiable lifestyle choices:<span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Diet:<\/b>&nbsp;Lots of people eat more processed than whole-foods, which affects brain chemistry.<\/li>\n<li><b>Movement:<\/b> Physical exercise affects hormone regulation, yet many people are largely sedentary in their daily lives.<\/li>\n<li><b>Sleep:<\/b>&nbsp;The&nbsp;linchpin of mental health, sleep is often the first thing many people skimp on.<\/li>\n<li><b>Stress:<\/b> Whether stress is real or perceived, the reaction to it has significant health effects.<\/li>\n<li><b>Relationships:<\/b> Social connection might be the most important factor for well-being &mdash; yet many people are lonelier than ever.<\/li>\n<li><b>Inflammation:<\/b> If the body is inflamed, same with the brain &mdash; and this can cause depression.<\/li>\n<li><b>Gut health:<\/b> Called &ldquo;the second brain&rdquo;; in many people, it&rsquo;s compromised because of poor diet and chronic stress.<\/li>\n<li><b>Environment:<\/b> Synthetic hormones, toxins, and electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) abound.<\/li>\n<li><b>Distraction:<\/b> We carry ADHD-inducing machines in our pockets.<\/li>\n<li><b>Meaning:<\/b>&nbsp;Without a sense of purpose, we can feel rudderless.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Mental Health Is Natural<span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p>To meet this crisis, we want an approach &nbsp;that is more holistic and accessible than what is commonly used today. I practice what I call &ldquo;natural mental health,&rdquo; an integrative mixture of science, skills, and practices for optimizing well-being.<span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The paradigm for natural mental health is among wholeness, building on strengths instead of focusing on pathology. We don&rsquo;t ignore what is wrong, but we seek to comprehend the root causes before initiating treatment.<span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>An integrative practice doesn&rsquo;t mean we throw out the standard toolkit, which includes medication and psychotherapy. We expand upon it by drawing from the variety of other sources, including neuroscience, functional nutrition, plant-based medicine, and also the psychology of mindfulness. Anything that works safely is worthy of consideration.<\/p>\n<p>Self-care is central for this approach. We work with lifestyle medicine (addressing the standards above) to determine the underlying reasons for illness and promote greater resilience for future prevention.<\/p>\n<p>Imbalance might be found in the neurotransmitters, of course, however it can begin in the body as a whole: mind, heart, or soul. The interior life &mdash; creating meaning, purpose, and deep connections &mdash; reaches least as important as brain chemistry in sustaining genuine mental health.<\/p>\n<p>The goal is not simply to improve symptoms or even to prevent illness. It is to create a flourishing life. And that is feasible for everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&rsquo;ve been a psychiatrist for 3 decades, and I remain an optimist about the human condition. I see it as our nature&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[20],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4032,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241\/revisions\/4032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}