Psychiatrists know that medication and other forms of mental health care, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, are the most effective and efficient treatments for mental health concerns. And most Americans are familiar with the message that regular sleep habits, following a balanced diet, and consistent exercise lead to improved physical health outcomes.
Lifestyle psychiatry focuses on addressing psychiatric disorders through a comprehensive approach to health. When the brain-body puzzle is viewed as a whole greater than the sum of its parts, lifestyle psychiatry achieves impact, and our patients benefit.
As Head of the American Psychiatric Association’s Presidential Taskforce on Lifestyle Psychiatry, I advocate for the inclusion of lifestyle prescriptions to support psychiatric care in our approach to whole-body health. Lifestyle prescriptions can take a myriad of forms. For example, I’ve incorporated walking meetings into my life as a part of my commitment to move my body every day. In our work culture, we tend to do a lot of sitting, so if I have a meeting where I’m not seeing a patient, I like to walk and talk with my colleagues. We bring our phones along with us to record anything we may need to review later.
Another consideration is gut health. Many of us eat ultra-processed foods, which have been shown to erode certain neuronal functions if eaten often in large quantities. Making the switch to eating more whole foods will support both improved gut health and improved neuronal functioning. This cause-and-effect interplay is at the heart of lifestyle psychiatry: people with certain heart conditions are at a higher risk of depression, and vice versa, people with depression are at a higher risk of developing those same heart conditions.
However, as psychiatrists, we never want people to feel shame about not living by lifestyle prescriptions or not following them flawlessly. Nobody is perfect. For example, going into a sleep deficit is okay – say you were up with your sick child all night for a few nights in a row, or you have a job that requires you to put in a twelve-hour workday. That’s a part of life. But if you take a nap the next day, you can rest assured that you’re making up that sleep deficit. That’s lifestyle psychiatry in action.
Beyond the body and brain, lifestyle psychiatry is also about context. Paying attention to the whole patient and their lifestyle, including their surroundings and external barriers, is key for psychiatrists. Social connectedness and the understanding of oneself as having a greater purpose within a community is a meaningful factor in developing or maintaining mental wellness.
Take the first step in your mental health care journey and access resources that promote whole-body health at the online home of the APA Foundation’s public awareness campaign, mentalhealthcareworks.org. You can learn more about lifestyle approaches to mental health in my forthcoming book, Restack: A New Approach to Dismantle the Blocks Holding You Back.