b'A Holistic View ofMental and Physical HealthBy acknowledging the physical aspect, we destigmatize the use of medication to treat mental illness.Holistic-/hlistik/adjective-characterized likeillicitdrugsdo, wheninfacttheyareby the treatment of the whole person, taking medications that treat a chemical imbalance ininto account mental and social factors, rather one of your bodys organsthe brainallowingthan just the symptoms of a disease. you to regulate your moods and thinkingToday, more and more, people are recognizing appropriately.this important truth: mental illness is physical.This is not to say that all mental illness resultsTo demonstrate this, lets compare an illness from physical problems or requires medication.categorized as physical to one categorized Just as unhealthy physical patterns (such asas mental. In Type 2 diabetes, your body does a poor diet or lack of exercise) can lead tonot handle a hormone called insulin properly, problems that can be addressed with lifestyleand your pancreas eventually cannot produce improvements, unhealthy mental patternsenough insulin to regulate your blood glucose. can lead to problems that can be addressedIn clinical depression, your body does not through changes in our inner life (our thinkinghandle a neurotransmitter called serotonin and self-talk). However, more often than not,properly, and your brain eventually cannot there are physical components involved inproduce enough to regulate your mood. Both treatingmentalillness.Ifnotmedication,conditions result from a chemical imbalance treatment may involve exercise, relaxation,in your physical body. Why, then, is one sleep, or diet changes.consideredanillnessandtheotheroften Similarly, we need to adjust our view ofconsidered a weakness? physicalillnessestorecognizethementalcomponent. For example, emotional stressRecognizing mental illness as physical has contributes to physical inammation and canimportant ramications. When we acknowledge aect the state of the immune system. So clearly,thatmentalillnesshasphysicalroots,we managing our mental state is important to aeliminatetheideathatmentalillnessis condition such as MS, which is considered ansomething you can will away. Would you expect inammatory autoimmune condition. Yousomeone to will away diabetes? Or would you might encourage a person with emotional stressexpectthemtocombinemedicineand to go out in nature, try talk therapy, or eat alifestyle changes to treat their condition?healthy diet. But if mental stress contributes toWhen we acknowledge the physical aspect, physical illness, shouldnt those of us who arewe destigmatize the use of medication to treat physically ill get those recommendations as well? mental illnesses. For example, people do not The simple truth is that the mind is a productlook down on a person diagnosed with diabetes of the body and cannot function separatelyfor requiring insulin, or treat them as if using from the physical structures of the brain, nervousthe medication is somehow cheating. When we system, and neurochemicals. Furthermore,acknowledge the physical aspect of depression the body cannot function without the mind.or other mental illnesses, we do away with We must view the mind and body as a wholethe idea that mental health medications are in order to successfully treat physical or mentalhappy pills that articially alter your mood illness. This is the holistic view.49 msfocusmagazine.org'