Lifestyle Changes for Mental Health and Longevity
Improving Care for Individuals with Mental health Conditions: A Focus on Lifestyle Interventions
A recent report from The Lancet Psychiatry Commission builds upon 2019 research demonstrating that individuals with mental health problems have a shorter average lifespan. One key area for improvement identified in the report is the implementation of lifestyle interventions.
According to Jeroen Deenik of Maastricht University, lifestyle interventions are essential to improving this situation.He notes that approximately 40-50% of people will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime, with around 300,000 people in the Netherlands experiencing serious, long-term conditions. These interventions focus on improving health-related lifestyle factors such as exercise, nutrition, and sleep, as explained by Mariëlle van den Berg of MIND, an institution dedicated to supporting mental wellbeing.
Though, MIND highlights a notable challenge: many individuals struggle to maintain these interventions long-term. A key issue is that current interventions offered within mental healthcare (GGZ) are often not sufficiently tailored to individual needs. They frequently lack the input of individuals with lived experience, resulting in a poor fit for those they are intended to help.
The form of support is also crucial. Van den Berg emphasizes the importance of offering support in a way that suits the individual – whether that’s one-on-one or in a group setting – to maximize the chances of success.
The report, authored by 30 individuals from 19 countries, doesn’t focus on if lifestyle interventions work, but rather how to make them triumphant in practice. deenik points to staffing shortages within the GGZ as an obstacle to better personalized guidance. He advocates for a broader approach, involving collaboration with various specialists including peer support workers, dietitians, and exercise professionals. He also suggests combining multiple lifestyle aspects into a single intervention, rather than offering separate exercise and nutrition programs, as combined approaches are more effective. Improvements are desired both within and outside of the GGZ system.