The landscape of the mental health industry gets loaded with treatments designed to treat disorders such as anxiety and depression.
All this is a positive thing since it signifies that people suffering from major depression and other mental health disorders can get the help and treatment they need.
Traditional therapies such as counseling and psychotherapy are heavily researched, evidence-based treatments that have been incredibly effective in treating a wide range of mental illnesses for decades.
With all this, it’s no wonder that these advanced therapies are often the ”go-to” for those who are clinically depressed.
Depression and anxiety
Although, the broad spectrum of depression and anxiety treatments like psychotherapy, counseling, and other therapeutic approaches can often confuse people deciding to enter therapy.
What type of therapy should they choose? How long does treatment last? Is it affordable?
All these questions are valid and are often the deciding factors in which someone with depression or anxiety gets help.
Support
However, since mental health gets experienced differently, therapy is never a ”one size fits all” approach. Depression manifests in many different people in many different ways, and a customized treatment plan is usually the most helpful.
Holistic medicine
With the emergence of mental health treatments, the complete picture of mental health often includes many parts (not just the mind) but the mind and body.
Mind-body connection
Taking a more holistic approach to mental wellness is often the one-two punch needed to treat those with mental health conditions such as:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Grief
- Stress
- Burnout
Approach
By taking a blended approach and understanding the mind and body connection, mental health professionals can better improve mental health outcomes.
Experts explain that mental wellness is achieved by tuning together all the different aspects of mind, body, and spirit. All this gets done by fostering the mind-body connection.
Stress
Stress is known as the mental health burglar, the very thing that steals away peoples’ wellness and turns positive lived experiences into anxiety-fueled chaos.
By learning the principles of stress management, people will eventually learn to control their stress by adopting a more relaxed and calm mindset, improving mental health.
Essentially, if people learn to control their stress – this will significantly improve their wellness.
Holistic medicine
Some of the advantages linked to the holistic wellness approach include:
- All systems getting involved in treatment (such as for depression) like fitness, diet, lifestyle and spiritual beliefs
- Using the mind as a tool for healing – this includes training the mind to redirect destructive thoughts that produce a negative response by moving them in the direction toward calmer, constructive thoughts
- Making profound shifts in diet and exercise, all of which improve symptoms of depression and anxiety
- Learning stress reduction techniques such as mindfulness and meditation
Healing process
Complementary therapies such as yoga, nutritional counseling, energy work, acupuncture, and meditation are all part of the wellness programs used to treat people.
Alternative therapies are known to help heal those suffering from anxiety, depression and substance abuse issues.
This approach to treating the whole person, not just the mental health issue they present with (such as addiction or depression), is invaluable as it integrates the person as a whole and includes the emotional and spiritual aspects.
A lack of balance
Most diseases, be they mental or physical, are often related to an imbalance within the body.
Holistic wellness seeks to bring together all the imbalances in a person’s emotional, spiritual and physical life by re-establishing these core elements and encouraging them back into equilibrium.
All this gets done by embodying various treatments directed at the entire person, all of which guide them toward psychological fullness, well-being, and enlightenment.
Practice
Most individuals who incorporate this type of wellness practice into their lives have reported several positive life changes, including:
- Feeling a lot less stressed
- Having more control over their lives
- Improvement in memory, mood, and better sleep patterns
- Feeling a sense of calm and relaxation
- Higher energy levels
Recovery
Patients suffering from depression or problematic addiction, for instance, come to the understanding that holistic wellness therapy has afforded them a much better outcome.
Their recovery becomes easier to control and manage, and the formation of positive, healthier habits and coping mechanisms take precedence over past anxieties and destructive coping styles.
Through healing, the individual comes into fullness with their true self – and is better able to control the brain impulses that once led them to make bad decisions, such as cultivating a lousy diet or drug addiction.
Alternative medicines
Holistic wellness encourages those with depression and anxiety to eat nutritious foods, take up movement through yoga and exercise and learn the art of true relaxation through massage, aromatherapy, and meditation.
The holistic approach allows people to manage their recovery, empowering them to cope with any life stressors or challenges they may face in the future.
The different types of holistic treatments
Holistic wellness focuses on several alternative treatments that help bring about balance and positive change within a person’s life.
A holistic therapist helps people through the process of positive change and mental wellness by using a variety of therapeutic approaches, including:
#1. Meditation
By shifting the attention and focus towards one’s inner thoughts, patients learn to accept whatever chain of thought comes their way by cultivating awareness and non-judgment.
Meditation and mindfulness are known to:
- Reduce stress
- Help control the symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Lower blood pressure
- Calm the brain
- Reduce physical pain
- Minimize the risk of a substance abuse relapse
Meditation has become a popular treatment for depression over the years since it allows people to connect to their inner selves where true healing takes place.
#2. Yoga
Yoga derives from an ancient practice and is recognized globally for its health benefits on both the mind and body.
Some of the benefits of yoga include:
- The easing of inner and outer tension in the body
- Increased suppleness and flexibility
- Revitalization of energy
- Improvements to circulatory and heart health
- Inner peace and calm
The embodiment of yoga practice into patient rehabilitation increases the likelihood of positive recovery outcomes and a deeper connection to the self.
Yoga practice also reduces the likelihood of relapse, particularly for those suffering from anxiety and depression.
#3. Diet and nutrition
When it comes to recovery from substance abuse, addicts often go through detoxification to rid their bodies of any built-up toxins.
Nutritional guidance and counseling help people construct a plan to continue nourishing the system and replenishing all things lost due to stress, depression, or substance use.
All this helps with low mood, cravings and also assists with physical or mental health conditions such as depression.
#4. Energy work
Energy therapies like Reiki and Qigong are a combination of therapies designed to correct imbalances in the body and seek to restore energy levels.
The practice of energy work is to stimulate a person’s electromagnetic field, a non-invasive treatment designed to ground and center existing bodily imbalances.
Energy work integrates pivotal practices like therapeutic touch, deep breathing, and stimulation of the transcranial, which encourages mental agility and flow of energy.
This type of treatment helps control the symptoms of depression and anxiety and reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Contact us
If you or someone you love has been suffering from symptoms of depression, perhaps it’s time to reach out to a mental health specialist who will be able to recommend the right treatment.
Get in touch with one of our specialists at Centres for Health and Healing today to find out how we can help.
