Get Ready to Embrace Lifestyle Psychiatry: The Six Dimension Theory
As part of PRMS’ ongoing commitment to mental health, we are pleased to feature Tarak Vasavada, MD, President of the Indo-American Psychiatric Association, Medical Director of Huntsville Hospital Behavior Health Services, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UAB School of Medicine, and creator of HappyMindMD website for healthcare workers. Dr. Vasavada shares more about the six pillars to wellness.
Lifestyle for Positive Physical and Mental Health
As incoming APA President Ramaswamy Viswanathan, M.D., Dr.Med.Sc., set out to identify a theme for his presidential year, he wanted to choose something that members could act on immediately to help improve their patients’ mental and physical health. Dr. Viswanathan decided to make the theme of the 2025 meeting, “Lifestyle for Positive Physical and Mental Health.”
Dr. Viswanathan noted the six pillars of lifestyle medicine to be: regular exercise, a plant-based diet with minimal or no processed foods, restorative sleep, stress reduction, avoidance of harmful substances, and positive social connectedness. He said 80% of healthcare spending in this country is for treating conditions attributable to unhealthy lifestyle choices. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that six in ten Americans have a chronic disease, and these conditions account for approximately 75% of all healthcare costs.
What is Lifestyle Medicine?
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses evidence-based behavioral interventions to prevent, treat, and manage chronic disease. It focuses on lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, stress management, sleep, and social connections. As a guide in my own life and practice, I usually follow the “six dimensions” theory, which was born in the late 1970s when well-regarded lifestyle coach Dr. Bill Hettler developed a wellness paradigm based on six key pillars (for more information, visit National Wellness Institute). The six key pillars Dr. Hettler identified include:
- Physical: Embrace a healthy lifestyle. Eat and sleep well. Control your habits and avoid smoking. Daily exercise is a must.
- Emotional: Watch and assess your emotions. Emotions will make you or break you.
- Spiritual: This means venturing beyond the physical realm of your existence and embracing the concept that your life has meaning and purpose.
- Intellectual: New learning, cultivating hobbies and creativity.
- Environmental: Stroll around the neighborhood, tend to your garden, or plan a nature-centric adventure; never underestimate the healing powers of fresh air.
- Social: Strengthen and nurture your social connections. Loneliness will bring ill mental and physical health.
I believe we should not only teach our patients to practice lifestyle medicine, but we, as providers, should embrace it - it is much easier to teach someone if you believe in this theory and practice it daily yourself.
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