Wellbeing: The Interdependencies of the Body, Mind & Spirit

By JIM PURCELL In 1891, Dr. Luther Gulick proposed a red triangle as the YMCA symbol. In his words, the equal sides of the triangle stood for “man’s essential unity– body, mind and spirit– each being a necessary and eternal part of man, being neither one alone but all three.” True then, and equally true today, it highlights what is missing from most traditional approaches to wellness–the mental, emotional, and spiritual components. Hardly surprising given the remarkable resistance mental illness treatments encounter. The term “mental illness” usually refers to recognized mental illnesses in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association. These include depression, anxiety, psychotic disorders, and bipolar disorder. While substance abuse and addictions are not so neatly categorized and are sometimes referred to as “behavioral disorders,” an indeed odd phrasing, we will refer to all such afflictions as “mental health or “mental illness.” Through the Middle Ages, the mentally ill were believed to be possessed or in need of religion. This almost always led to serious religious interventions, barbaric medical treatments, alternative starvings and beatings, or confinement. None seemed to be very effective. In the 1840s, Dorothea Dix lobbied for better living conditions for the mentally ill. It took Dix forty years, but she successfully persuaded the federal government to fund the bu...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs