Achieving psychological well-being through holistic medicine
Key takeaways:
Total wellness is not only defined by physical well-being but mental, as well.
Mental health conditions are prevalent across the United States.
There are several functional medicine approaches to address psychological conditions that can help patients achieve lasting psychological well-being.
Holistic mental health treatments include acupuncture, homeopathy, and manual therapy.
Our mental health is just as important to our well-being as our physical health, yet, too many people ignore this important part of their overall wellness and don’t stop to consider what is going on internally. Culturally, we sometimes operate from a physical symptom treatment-only mentality.
Advertisers market products that are designed to help us slim down and tone muscle, for example, but they don’t usually talk about how we can improve our mental health. All too often, western medicine points to talk therapy or prescription medication as the best cure for mental health issues.
Unfortunately, prescription drugs are rarely the answer. As a center dedicated to functional medicine, we recognize the importance of psychological well-being, alongside physical health. We will talk about the different types of psychological disorders, how to spot issues, and how a holistic mental health approach to an illness is the key to lasting wellness.
What is mental health?
Mental health refers to the emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being of an individual. It considers how we behave, act, think, and feel in a variety of scenarios. Depending on our psychological state, our mood, choices, and how we relate with others may change. Life experiences, like stresses or traumas, brain chemistry, and genetics can all impact the state of our mental well-being.
The prevalence of mental health conditions
While society continues to attempt to improve physical wellness, mental health conditions are quite common and on the rise. Each year, one in five American adults is diagnosed with a mental health condition and 46% of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their lifetime.
While changes in mood and behavior can simply be normal responses to the stress or experiences of our daily lives, sometimes the severity of those fluctuations can indicate a deeper, underlying mental health challenge.
Types of mental health conditions
There are different kinds of psychological challenges that individuals can face. The spectrum of conditions and their related symptoms is vast.
Some of the most common categories of mental health disorders according to the DSM-5 (a manuscript outlining over 300 mental health concerns created by the American Psychological Association) include the following:
Anxiety disorders
Eating disorders
Mood disorders (like depression or bipolar)
Personality disorders
Psychotic disorders
Trauma-related disorders (like PTSD)
Substance abuse disorders
Identifying mental health disorders
While each individual experiences the symptoms of their unique mental health challenges differently, there are a few common signs or clusters of symptoms that can make it easier to identify if a disorder exists. They are:
Frequent and excessive sleeping or eating
Infrequent or insufficient sleeping or eating
Little to no energy
Avoiding routine activities or relationships
Numbness
Forgetfulness
Prolonged irritability
Helplessness or hopelessness
Increased drug or alcohol abuse
Extreme worry
Even excessive stress can be a cause for concern.
Of course, as human beings, we all experience a spectrum of behaviors and feelings, but if a few of the above symptoms occur together, to excess or uncontrollably, it may be time to seek a functional medicine physician.
The good news
Mental health conditions are common, but you are not alone and help is available. Those with mental health issues can and do experience relief all the time. Chinese medicine has a long history as an effective treatment for mental health conditions and supporting patients in their journey towards lasting wellness.
We understand that each patient is a unique individual whose physiological state is affected by their particular lifestyle, diet, emotional well-being, and environment. That’s why Eacuwell takes a holistic approach to treating the unique mental health conditions of our patients.
Our mission is to serve you and provide you with a complete healing experience, physically and mentally. We integrate health, well-being, and longevity into all of our treatments and services. We take a holistic approach to treating the body, mind, and spirit as one functioning entity.
How can a holistic approach improve mental health conditions?
Eacuwell follows a comprehensive treatment plan that offers to heal our patients, holistically. Our practitioners go beyond the surface and physical symptoms. We not only focus on the mental illness itself and the related behavioral changes, but we look for the root of that illness to achieve complete well-being.
Many factors can trigger imbalances in the brain. They include not just genetics or chemistry, but also:
Environmental factors like relationships
Lifestyle choices like diet and exercise
Physiological factors like relationships and stress
Psychological factors like values, attitudes, and perceptions
Since there are endless combinations of factors that contribute to our individual experience of well-being, we believe the treatment of every patient should be unique and tailored to that patient.
What are some methods of functional mental health healing?
Eacuwell specializes in a variety of holistic mental health treatments designed to help our patients achieve total well-being of body and mind.
We treat patients with mental health conditions and offer emotional and psychological support through practices like:
Chinese herbal medicine
Homeopathy
Functional Manual Therapy (FMT)Manual therapy
Often, patients who are facing psychological disorders are living in high-stress environments that only contribute to the complicated and challenging experiences of their illness.
Our team of licensed practitioners will assess your mind and body through individualized metabolic testing, nutritional consults, and diagnostic testing and consider your lifestyle. Then, they will design an individualized treatment plan to address your specific thought, mood, and behavioral symptoms. This way, you’ll arrive at a state of optimum well-being through holistic and functional approaches to mental health. That means no prescription medications or conventional medicated approaches.
Mental health is within reach!
Mental health is equally important as physical health. Many individuals experience challenging symptoms caused by psychological disorders and are unable to find effective treatments that go beyond the surface without taking prescription drugs. That’s where holistic health treatments can help.
If you or someone you know is having mental health trauma, Eacuwell can support your healing process. Our team of functional medicine physicians uses science-based research methods to inform their treatment plan, as well as a variety of holistic healing approaches such as acupuncture and medical massage.
If you’re seeking a holistic healing approach to lasting mental health, there is hope! Contact our office for a complimentary consultation. behave, act, think, and feel
