What Is Balanced Wellness?
In my brick-and-mortar practice in Illinois, the two most common issues I see, and treat, are anxiety and depression. Compounding these common mental health issues are the effects of the stressful world we live in and the global pandemic that has caused more stress.
Rather than see mental health and physical health as two separate entities, I apply a blended integrative approach to mental health.
Over the years, working in family medicine, I saw people come in for physical health issues only to discover an underlying psychological stressor which was to blame. In my practice, which is exclusively mental health, I see many people who come in for mental health services which are the result of physical ailments and disease.
I have watched the lines blur between physical and mental health and have concluded that to achieve balanced wellness, we often must use the body to heal the mind and the mind to heal the body. What ends up happening is you heal them both.
Research continues to prove the benefits of exercise not only for our physical health and wellness but now also for our mental health and wellness.
I use the term wellness in its fullness as shown here:
To achieve balanced wellness we must look at several areas of our life.
Balanced wellness is the goal we are working toward. To that end, we must look at several different aspects of our lives.
It is not just about exercise or nutrition alone to achieve this goal. We also must look at our connection to our mind and body, our work life balance, our relationships, our environment, our sleep quality, and our spirituality and finally our personal development and where our passions lie.
When someone struggles with mental illness or physical illness, it impacts the other pieces of the wellness wheel. It is hard to have healthy relationships and good sleep quality when you are depressed or anxious or stressed out all the time.
We start with the foundation of our bodies and as we bring healing there, we work upwards toward our higher goals in life where we have the mental and physical energy to now work on our higher self.
As integrated beings we must also apply integrative practices to our health and wellness. It is not just about feeling less anxious, or losing 20 pounds, although that might happen.
It is also about feeling joyous, calm, centered, filled with passion and purpose with healthier connections to yourself and others. Big goals, yes. Achievable, also yes.
The goals of my wellness programs are to bring all these components together.Having me as your guide as a medical professional, a mental health professional and a personal trainer, you can relax knowing I have the tools to help you transform your life.
In my online programs, we dive a bit deeper into the concept of balanced wellness and how to harness the power of our bodies to improve our minds and our lives and the way we relate to ourselves and to each other.
To connect with me for a free 30-minute discovery call, click here.
For more information about The Wellness Rebuild Program, click here.
-Jada Butler
