Can lifestyle medicine improve global mental health?

Abstract

Rationale: The global impact of mental health, specifically depression, is expected to be a top concern by 2030. Despite the growing number of medications and interventions, access to resources for well-being, psychiatric medications, and psychotherapy continues to be a long-standing barrier, regardless of a person’s socioeconomic position or wealth of their country. Objectives: This article will review the relevance of the lifestyle psychiatry pillars for treating depression and will also include a review of their impact on climate health. Methods: A systematic review was undertaken using predefined search criteria on PubMed and Google Scholar. Results: There is a bidirectionality between mental health and physical illness as individuals with poor mental health have higher comorbid medical conditions and vice versa, which further supports a common theory to chronic illness (both physical and mental). Lifestyle interventions show increased efficacy in the treatment of chronic illness, and the same interventions positively support climate health. Conclusions: The benefits of lifestyle interventions are often overlooked, but they are scientifically significant, well-tolerated by patients, and can address modalities of illness. Lifestyle psychiatry can become an integral tool for global mental health providers.