Draft:Lifestyle and Mental Health

Lifestyle and Mental Health is the title of a noted 2011 review article published in the journal American Psychologist by Roger Walsh (MD, PhD, DHL). The article provides a variety of potential lifestyle changes to improve one's mental health along with supporting research.

Thesis
The central thesis of the article is the following: "'Health professionals have significantly underestimated the importance of lifestyle for mental health. More specifically, mental health professionals have underestimated the importance of unhealthy lifestyle factors in contributing to multiple psychopathologies, as well as the importance of healthy lifestyles for treating multiple psychopathologies, for fostering psychological and social well-being, and for preserving and optimizing cognitive capacities and neural functions.'"

Summary

 * Exercise
 * Nutrition and diet
 * Nature
 * Relationships
 * Recreation and enjoyable activities
 * Relaxation and stress management
 * Religious and spiritual involvement
 * Contribution and service

Impact and reception
Greg Bogart, a lecturer in psychology at Sonoma State University, devoted over 2 pages to discussing the article in their 2017 book Dreamwork in Holistic Psychotherapy of Depression. Bogart, a psychotherapist, concluded his treatment of the subject by stating "I often share these principles with clients and encourage them to practice them in their own lives." Authors Benas & Bryan, in their 2022 book The Resilient Warrior, describe the article as "seminal." According to Google Scholar, the article has been cited almost 1000 times as of February, 2024.