Holistic mental health practices encompass more than what is on your mind. The purpose of all holistic forms of medicine is to treat the “whole person” rather than the problem. Holistic mental health practices incorporate exercise. Different forms of therapy for people in recovery are necessary.
A successful treatment pays close attention to your fitness and wellbeing routines. Mental disorders and other mental health issues will make it challenging to take care of oneself. Keep in mind; the ideal wellness regimen is achievable for you.
Setting attainable expectations that are appropriate for your level of recovery is critical. If you expect your regimen to increase your broader sense of well-being, be mindful.
If you are wondering how you can offer forms of support to yourself through your journey to mindfulness, keep reading to discover what holistic practices can provide to your mind and body. What you find may surprise you.
1. Meditation
Mindful meditation is the practice of using your cognitive intuition. This work can help you to manage stress and anxiety without prescription drugs. Mindful meditation relies on the ideals of perception and present moment awareness.
Mindfulness is a form of meditation where you concentrate on what is happening right now in you and around you. Pay attention to what you are sensing and feeling in your body and your surroundings. Mindfulness includes breathing techniques, guided imagery, and other activities. These help to calm the body and mind.
2. Breathwork
Breathwork, in a broad sense, refers to all sorts of guided modalities involving your breath, such as intentional breathing during yoga poses or drawing in breath consciously while doing mindfulness meditation.
Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique that promotes deep, slow breaths. This is one of the most common types of breathwork. Slow, deep breathing has also been explored as a pain and symptom management method with promising findings.
Breathing exercises for mental health have a long-standing tradition. Breathing techniques can help ease anxiety and promote a positive mental space. Yoga and meditation breathing could aid survivors with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to develop more clarity and serenity in their recovery.
3. Internal Family Systems Therapy
IFS is a distinctive form of behavioral therapy. It seeks and acknowledges the various personalities and attitudes, referred to as “parts” within us. In this school of thought, we have different parts of our personality that make up who we are as individuals.
For example, when we experience trauma, our personality breaks into many parts, each representing different aspects of our feelings of depression, sadness, avoidance, and shame. IFS works for anxiety, depression, various forms of abuse, as well as PTSD, eating disorders, and various other issues.
With the guidance of experienced mental health professionals, we can create a dialogue between your parts and your core Self that is beyond the parts.
Moving the stagnant energy blocked within ourselves can work to create an atmosphere of more ease and freedom in our lives. For patients, this can be incredibly freeing. It has been reported that IFS can encourage a tremendous sense of unburdening for those suffering from trauma.
4. EMDR
EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a well-studied psychotherapy approach that has been shown to help people recover from trauma, stress and other painful life experiences.
EMDR is very effective in overcoming unprocessed traumatic events and delivers long-term results in significantly fewer hours than other psychotherapy practices.
It works by enabling the brain to release the fight-or-flight mechanisms associated with painful experiences. This form of therapy concentrates on allowing negative emotions to be processed so that traumatic memories can be consolidated alongside non-traumatic memories into long-term storage.
Our brain’s working memories start with sensory associations. This is why aspects of specific memories like smell can be so powerful and triggering.
The visual information associated with visual stimuli is often referred to as the classic memory. The memory for aural stimuli is the echoic memory, and the touch memory is referred to as the haptic memory.
Our sense of smell may be far more connected to memory than the other senses, perhaps because of its location. The olfactory bulb and olfactory cortex (where fragrance stimuli are processed) function close to the hippocampus and amygdala.
These are parts of the brain that are involved in powerful memory associations.
One of the most impressive aspects of EMDR treatment for anxiety and other conditions is that it does not require a detailed discussion of your experiences. There is no homework to do in between sessions, nor are there any complex procedures to master. Instead, it focuses on encouraging the brain’s internal healing mechanisms to take over and relieve toxic emotions in a rapid and effective manner, rather than altering ideas, feelings, or values.
5. Self-Care
Receiving adequate mental healthcare is the first step in any recovery process. If you are uncertain where to start, seek help. Contacting a licensed counselor or a mental health support organization will point you in the right direction.
Consulting with a certified specialist means that the care you undergo will be suitable for your needs. These treatment methods are also supported by research demonstrating their effectiveness. Evidence-based therapies are especially significant if you suffer from trauma or a psychiatric disorder.
Any form of PTSD or deep emotional distress will most likely require therapy as a form of recovery. However, taking the utmost care of ourselves daily can work to our benefit as all of our systems begin to function precisely as they should. You will be thrilled once you see what a proper difference self-care can make.
Holistic Mental Health to Get Back on Track
When you’re in distress, a powerful intervention may be the only way to change the momentum and get things back on track. If you are overcoming traumatic events, employing a variety of holistic mental health practices can make a huge difference in the quality of your life.
Let us work with you to provide a healing experience. An intensive retreat offers relief and healing in days, not years, as required by one-hour weekly in-person or online therapy sessions. When you sign up for one of our retreats, you are making a decision to experience rapid transformation, healing and self-discovery.
To learn more about our recovery programs, visit our site. We encourage you to drop us a line to begin your journey of healing.