Integrative Psychiatry

Someone said to me recently that they had come to terms with the fact they had to accept an underlying sadness that would just always be within them even though they truly didn’t know why or how they felt the way they did. In turn this saddened me so much it made me want to ignore all the pandemic rules and run straight to them to pick them up and look after them for I truly don’t believe anyone should have to accept sadness in their lives as a given. I have to believe there are ways we can all seek happiness and find it because otherwise what is life all about? We can’t expect to feel 100% all the time but recognising what’s wrong and when, even if we don’t believe we SHOULD feel off, is part way to getting better. PTSD is one major contributing factor to feeling blue that we often want to dismiss as we don’t feel we are worthy of accepting we have it. You can read more here about PTSD, the stats, discerning if you might be suffering and ways to assist symptoms for the better. It’s important to recognise and be able to understand why you might feel the way you do.

BetterHelp has lots of information on Integrative Psychiatry which is a more holistic approach to therapy and I feel this could be beneficial to sadness when we just have no reasons for it. It looks at the principle of digesting a whole person and not just individual issues and with less conventional methods such as prescriptions but instead using complementary therapy I really feel it could be key for lots of people who have either sought more routine type therapy and had it not work for them or for who haven’t been able to be open to it.

Some examples of the way Integrative Psychiatry works are looking at nutrition and exercise both in the physical and for the mind. I think Joe Wicks proved to me how important starting the day by moving is during the first lockdown when I felt in the beginning like I might sink but quickly found myself being positive and seeing the light in the situation. Meditation is also something I have long believed in and use when I am in need. Relaxation, guided imagery, massage or even eye movement exercises can all be beneficial in a natural and holistic approach to looking after our minds. It’s about looking outside the boxes we are shown regularly and being able to accept there are other ways, but still at the heart, like any therapy, is the goal of healing and happiness.

It is said this type of alternative looking at therapies is often beneficial from those who have not responded well to the traditional approaches and yet who still want, as they should, to improve their well-being. It is especially helpful for those who are willing to focus on how their health impacts their life and anyone with anxiety, depression, PTSD, perimenopause or phobias may benefit greatly from this approach. Of course even if you don’t have any specific “issues” you could still benefit, prevention in the first instance is always going to be better than fixing situations later on.

We don’t have to accept things as being just the way they are if we are not happy; life is absolutely for living and living means investing, caring about and taking control of our healthy mind sets. We do however, need to find the right approaches for each of us individually and for lots of people the traditional routes are either not wanted, accepted or simply haven’t worked. Taking on a more holistic approach to healing our mind cannot hurt us, can only benefit us in fact and finding our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow should be something we all know we deserve enough to help us find it.

I don’t know about anyone else but I am 100% certain that in my own life I am stronger when I understand my own feelings, I am more capable and happier at the end of the storms as a result. It’s not to say this holistic approach will always work or that it will work for everyone but when other avenues have been exhausted it really might be just what we need to consider. Like I said, it absolutely cannot hurt in our seeking of the holy grail of happiness, an emotion we all of us 100% deserve.

Collaboration.