THE FUTURE

In the past, the wellness world has tread lightly around asserting its role in tackling mental issues. Yes, they have (softly) broadcast that core approaches like meditation, yoga and exercise (if done regularly) have eye-opening impact. But now, as Dr. Gerry Bodeker argues, they will “stick a flag in the ground”, put the mounting evidence more loudly on their side, and create new mental wellness programs and “paths” that are very, very different from what we’ve known as “mental health” approaches in the past–often a big pile of pills.

The world is only going to get more “mental”: more stressful, with more relentless digital and media overload. And wellness retreats, spas and fitness studios-and workplaces, governments, schools and hospitals-will necessarily “shift mental,” putting far more emphasis on (and creating important new approaches for) helping desperate people get less anxious and happier. The traditional medical world will shift, too, with the World Health Organization recently pronouncing that mental health is one of its top priorities in the next decade. It’s a powerful opportunity and a moral imperative, and wellness for the mind will be one of the most meaningful, powerful trends for decades to come.

Just as wellness tourism developed alongside of, yet distinct from, medical tourism, look for mental wellness to develop alongside, and distinct from, mental health. The distinction is an important one, and mental wellness will be a new category and culture, with very new paths to emotional wellbeing and happiness.

Dream meditation is rising, to clean out the subconscious and tackle everything from traumatic stress to sleep disorders – like at Dream Reality Cinema (Beverly Hills). Image Source: Dream Reality Cinema