In the United States, about one of every seventh adult is taking medication for anxiety or depression. Among adult women, it’s even worse. It’s almost twice as likely for women to take medication for anxiety or depression than men. In our culture where anxiety and depression are literally on everybody’s mind, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the extent of the problem. It’s easy to want to reach for quick fixes. Yet true healing is not from masking the symptoms. No, we know that true healing comes from addressing the root causes behind the symptoms. Drawing from the wisdom of experts like Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring, a board-certified psychiatrist and CEO of TaperClinic, we can reframe mental health as being upheld by four foundational pillars:
1. Physical health
2. Satisfying relationships
3. Finding meaning in life
4. Avoiding substance misuse and abuse
Now, as long-time followers of the Hallelujah Diet, these aren’t new things to you, but they are a practical blueprint for many suffering with anxiety and depression so that they can reclaim joy in life and be content. Like many of the solutions in life, it is simple, but it isn’t easy.
Who is Dr. Joseph Witt-Doerring? He is a board-certified psychiatrist, as mentioned above, who specializes in helping patients safely taper off their psychiatric medications at Taper Clinic. His approach emphasizes lifestyle interventions to tackle the underlying issues. He views medications just as a temporary crutch, useful while people work on the sustainable habits that can uphold their mental health when the crutch is removed.
His approach is in sync with our holistic view of health here at Hallelujah Acres. Just like we know that pharmaceutical drugs do not help our physical health, his approach reminds us too that our struggles with anxiety and depression do not stem from a “deficiency” in drugs. They come from imbalances in these four core pillars.
But here in the United States, we have forgotten the foundational principles and we have turned to quick fixes from the pharmaceutical industry. It’s time now to shift our focus back upon these four pillars that will help us heal naturally.
The Four Pillars: Building a Foundation for Mental Well-Being
Physical Health
Your body is the container that your mind lives in. So you have to nurture it with great care to maintain emotional stability. Physical health includes nutrition, physical activity, quality sleep, and stress relief.
Focusing on a diet rich in whole plant-based foods helps fuel the brain with loads of essential nutrients. Plant foods are generally anti-inflammatory, which helps your body improve its mood.
Physical activity, whether it’s gentle walking, stretching, vigorous high-intensity interval training, or resistance exercises, benefits you. Intense activity helps release endorphins, the famous “runners’ high” feeling.
We like to hustle in America and forget to prioritize rest and getting enough sleep. Even simple things like deep breathing can help you manage your physical stress and help your body relax when it’s under tension.
Satisfying Relationships
People need connection with other people. And when we have satisfying relationships, we thrive on it. Being in community helps with our sense of belonging. We have our tribe around us, whether it’s our family, friends, or acquaintances that we talk to on a regular basis. Don’t just rely on digital friends. You need real ones, too.
On the other hand, isolation fuels depression where we feel disconnected. We have no one to turn to to share our burdens, and we don’t have someone to help us figure stuff out. People thrive on connection with other people.
Finding Meaning in Life
As someone once said, “Hope is oxygen for the soul.” Purpose gives direction and resilience to get through the hard times. Hope keeps us going. As Christians, our hope lies not only in this life, but in eternity; that is, in knowing Jesus Christ and experiencing His presence now through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and forever after this life is over. This gives life profound meaning beyond the mundane day-to-day tasks. Having this hope in our faith helps us view yesterday with forgiveness and gratitude, and then helps us look forward with expectancy, for the best is yet to come.
Avoiding Substance Misuse and Abuse
With easy access to medication (with third-party insurance paying the bill), it’s tempting to turn to pharmaceuticals or other drugs to help us cope. It’s tempting, but we know that this just covers the symptoms without dealing with the root causes. And when we turn to pharmaceuticals, we neglect taking care of the underlying causes, which makes the long-term outcomes even worse.
Instead of that, we need to turn to focus on the other pillars to build up emotional resilience. For people that are already stuck in reliance on pharmaceuticals, Dr. Witt-Doerring’s work at TaperClinic helps them overcome their medical dependency on drugs.
Reflecting on Your Happiest Times: A Window to Healing
Often, the journey forward requires us to stop and look back for a minute. So take a moment to pause and reflect.
Think back to a period in your life where you really felt happy and content. Think of a time when you were not anxious or depressed. What was it that made that time special?
Now, examine that time through the lens of the four pillars:
- Physical Health: What were you doing back then that helped you be physically strong and fit? Were you engaging in regular exercise, doing activities that you love to do with people you love to do it with? Were you sleeping well and finding ways to manage your stress? Was your diet excellent at that time?
- Satisfying Relationships: What were your relationships like? Were you enjoying the people that you were with most of the time?
- Finding Meaning in Life: Did you feel a clear sense of purpose back then? What was it that gave you that purpose? Was it creating things? Was it helping other people? Was there a sense that you were part of a team on a mission together to fix something?
- Avoiding Substance Misuse: Back then, were you free of medications and alcohol or other drugs? What did you rely on to keep you going? Or was it just easy to avoid those temptations?
Now, life might not have been perfect back then, and you might not have had everything all together, but there were enough things working for you then that you felt truly happy and content. You likely were thriving because your foundation, your 4 pillars, were solid. Not perfect, but solid.
Crafting a brighter future: Rebuild the four pillars today.
Now, take the power of this reflection and project it into the future. You can recreate that contentment. When you use what worked in the past as a blueprint, you can create a better version of you in the future.
Picture yourself as a healthy person six months or a year from now.
- You are physically fit, sleeping well, full of energy day by day.
- You are investing in meaningful relationships, and you’re enjoying the people that you’re spending time with.
- You have a strong sense of purpose in your life. You know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
- You’re using natural things to bolster your health, not pharmaceutical drugs. You’ve gotten away from those and you have addressed the root causes through your lifestyle changes.
Can you see it? Keep that picture in front of you. That’s who you’re going to become.
Make a plan. Tell a friend. Get it done.
How can you get there from where you are right now?
First, start small. Start with one change that you want to make that will make an impact, one change that is achievable for you. Work on that. Make that a solid change. And once you have that going, then add another change. Work on that and build your lifestyle in a sustainable step-by-step process. Momentum will build from the small changes that you make.
Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) so that they can hold you accountable and help you overcome the barriers that you run into along the way. Tell someone in your life about your goals and tell them to keep you accountable for reaching your goals. Ask them to help you overcome the barriers that you run into. And keep going even when you fall down, don’t give up, just dust yourself off and pick up where you were again. You can do this. This is how you become an overcomer.
Mental health is not a mystery. God did not design us to be anxious and depressed. It is not a mystery as you can see from these four pillars. When you work on these basic things, these four pillars, you really can overcome anxiety and depression.
