The more Dr. Ilardi looked at the commonalities of these mentally healthy societies, the more he was able to tease out certain common variables that he was then able to operationalize in his groundbreaking research dubbed the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) Project. He took clinically depressed subjects and then incorporated several of these therapeutic lifestyle changes into their lives for several weeks.
The results? They experienced phenomenal outcomes: people who had suffered from mental health, anxiety, and depression for many years saw amazing–and measurable–improvements. Indeed, these improvements were statistically significant, not only when compared to control groups, but also when compared to people who had been treated only with depression medications.
The Core Elements of Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes
And what were these magical lifestyle changes? Get regular daily exercise, get plenty of natural sunlight, and get ample sleep every night. Eat an Omega-3 rich diet. Involve yourself in some type of social activity where you make social connections. Participate in meaningful tasks that leave little time for negative thoughts or rumination.
Along with traditional psychotherapy, we’ve incorporated those “Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes” into the clinical protocols of Omega Recovery.
Unplugging from our devices can be more therapeutic than an hour in a therapist’s chair. Developing a sense of healing community is also incredibly powerful. Physical exercise and immersing oneself in nature alone can be more healing. These activities can be more therapeutic than simply venting about your life. Of course, there is value to traditional psychotherapy. Our master’s level clinicians also provide traditional psychotherapy at Omega Recovery. But there is something even more special, more healing, and more transformative. This happens when traditional therapy is combined with nature immersion and somatic therapies. Experiential therapies and the above-mentioned Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes enhance the healing process.
Indeed, outdoor nature immersion, also known as “Adventure Therapy” has been researched as OBH (Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare), more typically associated with adolescent wilderness-style programs, but which also applies to the nature immersion and adventure therapy we are doing at Omega. So hiking the Greenbelt, kayaking, biking, mindfulness walks at Zilker Park, exercising with their clinical group at the Town Lake YMCA…all of these activities can be incredibly grounding and can help restore a person to a more balanced and emotionally and psychologically healthy way of being.
