Holistic Healing Strategies and Mental Health- Yesenia's Insight
Mental Health
Holistic Healing Strategies and Mental Health- Yesenia’s Insight
Photography by Joel Naren on Unsplash
The path to healing and wellness is never linear, there are layers. Also, there is never one catch-all solution. This is not to scare you, but rather to serve as a guide to consider as you approach healing and wellness. While Psychotherapy has yielded many results that deem them Evidenced-Based Practices, healing is not restricted to the therapy room because the way in which one perceives AND experiences the world varies. Viewing the whole person is necessary to incorporate a holistic modality as it pertains to wellness and healing.
First, the Brain
The brain is marvelous, complex and powerful. Different areas of the brain are responsible for different functions such as logic/reasoning, intuition, creativity, movement and speech. When the nervous system is disrupted due to a traumatic event, various signals are sent to the brain. The body senses a threat, while the brain starts firing off fight or flight senses. Bodily functions are affected. the heart starts to uncontrollably beat irregularly, the throat locks up and becomes dry making it hard to swallow saliva, pain starts in the intestines along with several other bodily functions.
While the concept of Epigenetics is not new however, more conversations are being held around it as more attention is brought up to it particularly as it pertains to marginalized communities. Epigenetics highlights the notion of genes expressing themselves differently based on the environment and thus passing off to offspring.
Viewing the whole person is necessary to incorporate a holistic modality as it pertains to wellness and healing.
The Culture
We live in a day full of many isms and catch phrases, "Suck it up and push forward”, “goals, grind, repeat”. Some cities are fast paced and it can be easy to stay in the brain vs being mindful, present and in tune with the body. For communities that have been particularly marginalized, messages around “pushing through and pressing forward” have become a way of living. In many cultures, therapy is shunned, shamed and discouraged while redirecting focus and solution to religion such as “pray about it”.
We remain in our pain for many reasons. Pain tolerance can oftentimes be celebrated and martyr complex is so ingrained that it is misconstrued as a display of love prompting a person to dishonor their boundaries and words like “warrior” or being a “boss” even resulting in competition interpreting (cognitive distortion) pain tolerance as a badge of honor. Going to a physician for physical ailments can even be put off until it becomes unbearable thus making it challenging to seek mental health care.
The body always alerts us. However, we must learn to become more intune with ourselves holistically.
The Body
If you notice an infant sleeping, their bellies fill up with air and then go back down as they exhale. This is the ideal natural way to use our diaphragm. However, as adults, we stray away from this as a result of stressors. These stressors force the body to compartmentalize along with the holding of breath. We shy away from our bodies' intuitive and natural ability to repair itself. This is a natural and common defense mechanism we have to unlearn and regulate. This is most prevalent before, during and after a traumatic event. This defense mechanism will now carry over into other areas of life thus storing and taking in the stress vs releasing. For people that experience challenges or physically experiences their stress and emotions, a Somatic approach to healing will supplement therapy. A couple of strategies: Breathwork, Yoga, Walking, Reiki, Qi Gong, and meditation
Food and Your Mood
Foods! There is a lot of research and studies on the correlation between mood and food. Simply, you are what you eat. Studies have shown that unchecked emotional eating of fatty, fried, carbohydrate loaded, white sugar foods lead to hypertension and restlessness that result in an increase of anxiety. Furthermore, there are studies on how anxiety affects the intestines and bowels. Irregular bowels, a decrease in appetite, and/or unbearable knots in the stomach are signs of anxiety. The body always alerts us. However, we must learn to become more intune with ourselves holistically.
The Soul+Spirit
Spirituality and mindfulness practices originating in Asia have migrated and been adopted more and more by westerners. However, there are those conservative professionals hesitant to accept alternative healing. Holistic healing often labeled as “other” or “alternative” often appearing as less effective. Healing is about finding modalities that are effective and aligned with one's own beliefs and values. Oftentimes, my coaching clients want to heal, but on a soulful level where faith is intertwined as they sojourn to upward change. Practices that are gaining popularity that I recommend are Energy Work (ex: EFT Tapping, Splankna Therapy, Reiki, Craniosacral Therapy), Meditation and Spiritual Counseling.
Now What?
It's not easy deciding which path of healing is best for you. Trust me, I’ve been there. Don’t talk yourself out of finding the path of holistic healing that works for you, with you and yields results. Taking a moment to pause, reflect, and jot down what is stressing you the most (thoughts, feelings, physical limitations, false narratives)? Everything you need is already around you. I challenge you to find tools/resources and the appropriate professional you deem most effective to uncover your true holistic healing needs.
This will allow you to narrow down providers and have an informed conversation during your consultation. Taking this step will put you at ease in order to move forward with your healing journey. Most importantly, be patient and honor your process as you work with a healer/clinician you trust. There is no wrong way to do this, it is your journey. One way is not THE way. Find your way!
Written By: Yesenia Villalta
About the author:
Yesenia Villalta, LCSW is a bilingual and bicultural Licensed Clinical Social Worker based out of Virginia. She is also a certified Reiki Practitioner (Level III), Transcendental Meditation, Advanced Core Embodiment Process and completing training in Trauma Conscious Yoga Method. She believes in the individual and collective healing power and primarily works with 1st generation people of color.
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