Lifestyle Psychiatry

Lifestyle behaviors are foundational to holistic health and can lessen the need for other more intensive medical or psychiatric treatments.
These techniques can decrease, or eliminate, depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, substance abuse, and ADHD.
Patients can often lower, and sometimes discontinue, medications and psychotherapy altogether when these health behaviors are fully embraced.
Positive health behaviors will additionally improve chronic physical conditions including heart, lung, liver, and kidney disease, diabetes, obesity, and memory loss.
By adding these behaviors to traditional psychotherapy and/or medication, symptoms can be decreased and quality of life improved faster, more completely, and more permanently.

The Six Pillars of Lifestyle Psychiatry

Exercise

Exercise

Exercise

Get 30 minutes per day of exercise where your heart rate is 50% over resting

Diet

Exercise

Exercise

Eat a diet high in protein and veggies and low in white carbs and sugars

Sobriety

Exercise

Sobriety

Avoid alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, and other recreational drugs

Sleep

Mindfulness

Sobriety

Maximize healthy sleep behaviors including environment, relaxation, and timing

Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Practice 10 minutes or more of relaxed breathing or mindfulness meditation daily

Connection

Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Experience meaningful connection with other people, nature, or art

Health "Snacks"

We can all enjoy a healthy snack like nuts and fruits when we are hungry
But, we can also enjoy a quick "snack" of exercise, mindfulness, or connection
Health snacks are brief health behaviors, anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, that don’t require special equipment or lengthy prep work
They offer an alternative way for busy folks to get their heart rate up, eat well, relax, or connect
Additionally, research shows that health snacks, exercise in particular, performed throughout the day may be more beneficial than a 1-hour stint at the end of a day of unhealthy behavior
See the Health Snacks section for each of the lifestyle psychiatry pillars in the following pages

Lifestyle Psychiatry Poster

The lifestyle psychiatry poster is an introduction to lifestyle psychiatry behaviors.
It is a sampler including tips and tricks, hacks, to improve all six lifestyle psychiatry areas -- pick some boxes and give them a try.
This is a simple at fast way to get to know the program rather than focusing intensely on one area at a time.
For further assessment, education, SMART goals, and weekly behavior diaries, move on to the specific pages for each of the six behaviors - exercise, diet, sobriety, sleep, relaxation, and connection.

Download Poster

Initial Assessment

Physical Health Scorecard

The physical health scorecard will help calculate the overall risk for cardiovascular and other diseases that lead to diminished quality of life and lifespan.
This score is calculated using using four standard health metrics including blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and body fat.
For blood sugar, cholesterol, and body fat, there are several different measures that can be used -- pick one.
Although these are physical health markers, poor physical health directly affects mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, insomnia, and ADHD - better physical health means better mental health.

Mental Health Scorecard

The mental health scorecard will help calculate the overall burden of mental health symptoms that lead to diminished quality of life and lifespan.
This score is calculated using using four standard health metrics including depression, anxiety, insomnia, and inattention.
Although these are mental health conditions, poor mental health directly affects physical health through poor health decision making and substance use - better mental health means better physical health.

Lifestyle Scorecard

The lifestyle scorecard will measure current health behaviors that directly influence mental and physical health.
It evaluates to what extent the patient is currently practicing the six lifestyle psychiatry behaviors.
This score is calculated by measuring how many days per week someone is practicing the optimum lifestyle psychiatry health behaviors as laid out by medical research.
These behaviors, when practiced regularly, are proven to reduce the eight physical and mental health markers measured in the previous measures - better health behaviors means better physical and mental health.