Scientists are calling for holistic care for mental health, combining physical and mental well-being

Doctors often routinely treat mental illness with a variety of medications. However, this approach largely ignores the role of environment, lifestyle and social factors. Mental health professionals must work towards a more holistic management view, argue Sidarta Ribeiro, Ana Paula Pimentel, Paulo Amarante and colleagues from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and FIOCRUZ in Brazil in the open access magazine PLOS mental health on June 4.

More people than ever are being diagnosed with mental health problems, especially children and young adults. The World Health Organization estimates that mental illness affects at least one in eight people around the world.

While pharmaceutical treatments are improving, Ribeiro and colleagues argue that psychiatry is overmedicalizing and focusing on the use of drugs to manage mental health. A better path, they say, involves integrating medication with a deeper understanding of all the mental and physical factors that can influence mental health.

A more holistic treatment, Ribeiro and colleagues note, starts with the rights and dignity of the individual. They note that peer support and community strengthening models can improve outcomes for people in acute mental crisis. Additionally, they suggest that psychiatric treatment could integrate lifestyle changes to improve sleep, diet, and exercise (such as yoga and Capoeira).

Finally, holistic mental health management involves engaging in “inner dialogues,” using approaches such as psychotherapy, art therapy, and exposure to nature. Psychiatry, the scientists argue, must deal not only with the biology of the individual, but also with his social environment, his environment and his life as a whole.

The authors add: “Deficits in sleep, diet, exercise, introspection and other pillars of good mental health don’t arise in a vacuum, they are caused by the way we live (…) It’s time to to strive for a more naturalistic and benign approach to promoting mental well-being, by strengthening connections with one’s body, nature and community.”