Holistic health is a concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people’s needs: psychological, physical, social and mental, should be taken care of.

There have been times in people’s recovery journey that they came to feel they concentrated so much on their mental health that they unintentionally let their physical health deteriorate, until it caused problems.

Recovery from a mental illness doesn’t just include treatment, but is also about taking care of you and doing whatever needs to happen so you can get and stay well. That means that recovery is not just about your mental health, but includes things like how healthy you are, how things affect you spiritually, and how your relationships are working. Recovery includes things that happen in your everyday life and how those happenings can affect you. Holistic care includes considering how many of the basic needs need to be met to help you travel on your recovery journey.

This is why people on their recovery journey want the psychiatric care they receive to be more holistic, more about whole health. People found that things that affect their physical health also affect their mental health. Having physical problems (like arthritis, diabetes, weight, etc.) affects the way we feel mentally. It’s also been found that some of the psychotropic medications can affect physical health.

Integrated health care is when different providers work together, preferably, closely together. The doctor you have for your physical care needs to know what psychotropic medications you are on. Your psychiatrist needs to know about things your family doctor may have prescribed that can affect your mental health. Medication side effects always need to be considered, not just by your family doctor, but by any doctor you go to see. This is all a part of integrated holistic health care.

Examples of things that need to be looked at from a whole health perspective are:

It is very helpful to have baseline medical information done before a medication change happens, to see if any unintended side effects could be occurring. When your care is holistic, whole health is looked at.

The goal of holistic, whole health care is to help you feel physically well. After all, when we feel physically ill, have recurring dental problems or diabetes, or if we get an exercise coach and start to move more, or start to eat better, all can affect our mental health.

Holistic care also includes treatment providers understanding and knowing about alternative treatments like:

Some of the above mentioned alternative treatments have been tested and are more likely to be recommended by professionals and some haven’t been tested enough. Each alternative treatment can affect one’s mental and physical health and is a part of holistic care.

Holistic care also includes things like healthy eating, spirituality, and exercise. When we feel healthy, we are able to move more, think better, and gain a stronger recovery.

There is no health without mental health.