Everyone is different, with varying needs when it comes to keeping a happy and balanced mental state. While psychiatric therapy, pharmaceuticals, and other approaches embraced by western medicine are useful and appropriate for many, the world of holistic health also offers valuable options that can help some people achieve better mental balance, either in addition to or independent of other methods. Since many of us try to focus on holistic health when it comes to caring for our mental state, let’s take a look at how a more holistic approach to mental wellness may be beneficial. Then, we’ll review some examples of holistic activities that might help us achieve a feeling of mental balance.

Potential Mental Benefits of Holistic Health 

As we have discussed in other articles, a holistic health approach looks at the person as a whole: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Holistic practitioners and others embrace the intrinsic connection between mind and body. When it comes to mental wellbeing, a holistic approach will usually take into account not only medical and psychiatric issues, but spiritual and emotional ones as well.

For example, a holistic approach to achieving mental balance might include training your thoughts to reshape situations toward a more positive or productive view. You might simply choose to try and block the negativity of others, or focus on finding the silver lining in a difficult experience.

Another example would be making shifts in physical activity, diet, or stress reduction to improve your mental state. A daily walk outside might significantly boost your mood and help you cope with stress. Cutting back on junk food might make you feel more energetic physically, which could leave you feeling more positive mentally. Meditating to relieve stress might be key to avoiding a downward spiral of frustration and sadness.

Holistic Health Activities for Mental Balance

Aside from exercise and meditation as mentioned in the examples above, there are other holistic health practices that might help you feel mentally healthy, including:

Breathwork

  • When you’re upset or stressed out, do you ever find yourself holding your breath or breathing shallowly? Doing this can prevent sufficient oxygen from reaching your brain, and may affect the way you function and think. Try practicing purposeful, deep breaths, especially during stressful or anxious moments. Don’t stop at one or two deep breaths — make it 5 or 10. Inhale slowly over 5 seconds or so, then hold it for 5 seconds, and release it for 5 seconds.

Energy Work

  • Energy healing methods like The Emotion Code, done on yourself or with a certified practitioner, can help you release trapped emotional energy that could be affecting you both mentally and physically. If you feel prone to fly off the handle, perhaps a Trapped Emotion of anger has made itself comfortable inside your body. If you can’t seem to get over sadness, disappointment, frustration, embarrassment, or guilt of the past, there could be Trapped Emotions in play that make you more prone to those feelings even years later. Releasing them in a few simple steps could play a key role in achieving the mental balance you’re after.

Aromatherapy

  • A lot of people swear by certain scents from essential oils or other natural sources for boosting mental wellness. Of particular interest are orange, rose, ylang-ylang, bergamot, lavender, and chamomile. Appropriate use of these scents in a diffuser may help you feel calmer or mentally clear.

There are many other holistic health tools that may affect you in different ways. Mindfulness, yoga, nutrition, religious beliefs, and other practices can be used in conjunction with western medicine, therapy, energy healing, and more. Consult a health care provider where necessary, but consider holistic health as your ally in determining what works best for you.