We now understand the importance of a whole-body approach to mental health in order to achieve sustainable mental and emotional wellness. In this article we cover how to heal and strengthen the mind gut connection.

It is estimated that 15 million Americans suffer from depression. If you’re one of them, you may be surprised to know that diet plays an important role in mental health. So much so, that is has inspired an entire field of medicine called nutritional psychiatry. And the gut plays a key role.

Once the body has encoded an experience as a threat to survival it is remembered and stored within the limbic system, which allows it to be recalled easily and quickly as opposed to long-term memory.

If the experience stays in the limbic system, for a variety of reasons, then this past experience can be triggered, or ‘lit up’, months or years later with something as small as a sound or a smell, and the victim can feel like the trauma is happening all over again, even though it is not.

If you have been experiencing constant worrying, chaotic thoughts, loss of appetite, inability to focus, disconnection from others or your own body, and/or insomnia, know that you are not alone! The extensive power and water outages, as well as food shortages, last year were a real threat to our survival; hundreds of people did not survive and our bodies know this on a deep, unconscious level. The worrying, disconnection, and sleeplessness are a result of the trauma you experienced last year.

Y’all have probably heard, read, seen or have had first-hand experience with the benefits of meditation. Most can feel a sense of ease or calm after only a few minutes of focused attention on the breath or the body. But when meditation is ‘practiced’, which means it is something you regularly engage in for at least three times a week, the benefits can go beyond feeling calm. For instance, a 2014 clinical review of research found that meditation can improve conditions of hypertension, diabetes type 2 and high cortisol and encouraged more research in comparing meditation to therapeutic treatments like some medications.

Practicing mindfulness can help you shift from internal “why” questions and into your body’s sensations or experiences that are occurring in the present moment and this can give your brain the vacation it is craving. Curiosity can be the key to connect you to the here-and-now, improve relationships with others and yourself and release you from the annoying dialogue in your head.