Your body and mind are inextricably connected. You probably already know this. Each affects the other. But there’s more. At IMI, we’ve worked with thousands of individuals for over three decades: what our clinical experience proves time and time again is that there are seven key factors that impact your overall wellbeing. Seemingly unrelated yet intimately connected, these seven factors are essential for optimal health.
Seven key factors for optimal health and wellbeing: Mind. Emotions. Energy. Body. Environment. Community. Spirit.
We call this our integrated healing approach.
An integrated healing approach to mental health
- Your body and mind. Consider the foods that you eat. If they’re affecting your gut health and you’re experiencing digestive issues, they’re likely affecting your mood, mind and sleep. In fact, there’s no end of research that now proves the gut-brain connection. A healthy gut is necessary for a healthy mind.
- Your energy and mind. Your energy and subtle energy (you may refer to it as your chi, ki or prana) have a profound effect on your nervous system, vitality and steadiness of mind. When your energy is blocked or imbalanced, you may feel low, sad or anxious.
- Your environment and mind. In Hong Kong, we’re constantly bombarded with toxins. It’s in the air, our food, water, household cleaning products, skin care products and more. These toxins are proven to impact brain and mental health. In recent times, the protests and Covid-19 pandemic has left many of us feeling stressed, uncertain, fearful, and anxious. Multiple studies highlight the toll that these challenging times have taken on our mental wellbeing.
- Your community and mind. The global pandemic has pulled people apart. Social isolation from friends and family has had a significant impact on mental health. Our mind and brain are shaped by interpersonal experiences. A sense of belonging and a nurturing support network are key to good mental health.
- Your emotions and mind. Fear, sadness, confusion, loneliness. These emotions and many more are felt by billions of people across the globe. Some are instinctive, natural responses to current events; some are learned from our very earliest experiences. Your emotions form a powerful bridge from your experiences to your mind.
- Your spirit and mind. Feeling connected to higher power can offer people a sense of hope, comfort and support in difficult times. There are many ways you may feel connected to something beyond yourself, such as nature, the arts or voluntary work. Many spiritual traditions encourage contemplative practices, which can increase compassion and quiet the mind.
How to improve your mental health
There are a plethora of medicinal approaches and healing treatments available to help you or someone you know find peace of mind. What works for you really depends on the unique challenges that you are experiencing. Here are some of the ways that our IMI practitioners can support you.
- Counselling and psychotherapy. Talking to a trained professional, who can offer non-judgemental, confidential and skilled input, can provide huge relief. Good therapy can help you to cope better and move through the challenges you are facing; great therapy can offer fantastic opportunities for new self-awareness, understanding, enquiry and growth.
- Naturopathy and nutrition. Depending on your unique challenges and symptoms, our naturopaths will create a sustainable, customised plan to support your mental wellbeing. Your tailored plan may include recommended lifestyle changes; tests to determine any factors like nutritional deficiencies, exposure to toxins and food intolerances that may be impacting your mental wellbeing; treatment to rebalance the beneficial and bad bacteria in your gut, particularly as imbalances are linked to low mood and stress; and homeopathic remedies and nourishing herbal supplements to support your system
- Herbal medicine and tinctures. Conventional drugs may make you feel better in the short-term (unless you experience side-effects), but they’re not a long-term solution. IMI has Asia’s largest dispensary of pure and powerful liquid herbals and botanicals. Adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha, siberian ginseng and rhodiola help the body cope in times of stress; nervine herbs like oats, lavender and vervain nourish the nervous system; St John’s Wort, lemon balm and saffron are mood-lifting herbs, and passionflower, valerium and hops support a better night’s sleep. Our naturopaths will create customised blends to improve your mental wellbeing.
- Homeopathy. Powerful and pure, homeopathic remedies are gentle, safe, non-addictive and without side effects. They work to soothe and rebalance emotions, calm worries and restore confidence. Homeopathy works only when your take the correct remedy and the correct dose. After a comprehensive analysis of your medical background, daily lifestyle habits, and personality, our homeopaths will prescribe homeopathic remedy entirely aimed at supporting your mental health needs.
- Skilled hands-on therapies. Osteopathy, craniosacral therapy and acupuncture are excellent ways to support your nervous system, increase vital energy, restore balance and promote relaxation.
- Mindfulness. We offer a free Monday Mindfulness practice class every week from 6:45pm to 7:45pm. It is open to all levels and beginners are welcome. All teachings are offered voluntarily by experienced mindfulness facilitators. Our intention is to share tools and techniques from various traditions, so that you can discover a practice that resonates with you. For more information and to register, click here .
If you’d like to know more about these services, please visit Services.
If you are unsure which service you need or who to make an appointment with, please contact our integral health advisor here. Our advisor will make a simple assessment and connect you to the most appropriate practitioner and treatment.
We wish you well.
