As a psychiatrist, I’m not immune to anxiety and depression. In fact, my experiences sparked a professional interest in mental health.
But when I went into psychiatry residency, I was disappointed by the heavy focus on medications.
Where was the training on lifestyle, nutrition, sleep, the mind-body connection, and wellness?
Don’t get me wrong – medications are a very useful tool in the mental health toolbox. In fact, they can be lifesaving.
But the truth of the matter is that depression is not caused by a Prozac deficiency. There is so much more to optimizing mental health and wellness.
When it comes to my working on our own mental health and that of our patients at Pacific Integrative Psychiatry, we use this general framework as a guide:
✅Lifestyle
→ Includes: relationships, sleep, nutrition, exercise, and habits
✅Mind
→ Includes: trauma, beliefs/mindset, meaning/purpose, and spirituality
✅Body
→ Includes: gut-brain axis, metabolism, genetics, brain health, inflammation, and toxins
If you’re working on your mental health, use the above framework to identify areas to work on.
If you find journaling helpful, you can even use these as journaling prompts.
If you’re in California and want personalized guidance on mental health and nutrition, schedule a free 20-minute call with our team to see how we can help.
