Namita Subhash
Mental Health is a major public health problem faced by
most developing countries. Globally, mental, neurological
and substance use disorders account for more than
10% of the global disease burden. The lost productivity
resulting from depression and anxiety, two of the most
common mental disorders, cost the global economy US$
1 trillion each year. In low- and middle- income countries,
more than 75% of people with mental disorders
receive no treatment at all for their disorder .
The objective of the analysis is to develop an intervention
that will lead to an improvement in mental health
by making small changes in the physical health of people.
We evaluated the impact of physical wellness on mental
health by identifying selected mental disorders including
depression, anxiety and stress, to determine whether the
process of change in physical fitness was meeting the objective
of improving mental health. Physical fitness parameters
that we looked at included weight , BMI , blood
sugar , diet and sleep . We propose to use heart rate as
parameter for measuring the change. We included heart
rate as a proxy measure because there is evidence that
shows that the magnitude of heart rate variability reduction
correlates to the increased severity of the depression
. We used a literature search to assess the impact of level
of activity, diet and sleep and triangulated this data with
published data on other causes of mental health issues.
We also used qualitative data on perceived stress and
feeling of well-being amongst the respondents. We conducted
a simple correlation analysis between the cumulative
physical parameters and mental health status. The
analysis showed a direct correlation between the composite
physical health and mental health. There is value in
conducting a larger study with primary data to assess the
changes in mental health parameters through active interventions,
related to physical health and fitness. With
the use of secondary data, we confirm our hypothesis of
theimpact of physical health on mental well being.
Biography
Dr. (Maj) Namita Subhash is an experienced Medical
Doctor and a Positive Psychiatry Specialist. She has been
working at the intersection of physical health and mental
health management for over 14 years now. She combines
medical treatment and lifestyle modifications to get sustained
and life-long
benefit for her clients. She has worked with Indian Army,
Fortune 100 companies, UN organizations and educational
institutions – to provide positive psychiatry inputs
for managing chronic diseases, managing complex mental
health issues and increasing productivity and health
outcomes within diverse organizational settings. She conducts
online trainings, webinars and teleconsultations on
these issues. She is passionate about providing simple and
engaging solutions for mental health issues being faced
by adults, adolescents and children. She is a parent of
two and uses real life experiences in healthful parenting
as well. Dr. Namita is active on multiple online healthcare
platforms and mobile health apps. She has a popular
mental health podcast - “Daily Dose, by Dr. Namita Subhash”
on Apple podcasts, Google-podcasts and Spotify.