The Wellbeing 5 Project
Dr. Donna Poppendieck
Health & Wellness Online
The Mental Wellbeing 5
5 Simple Questions to help with mental wellbeing with answers from Experts, Thought Leaders, Campaigners & Advocates
Dr. Donna Poppendieck
Dr. Poppendieck (or Dr. P) is a mental and holistic health expert. She is a psychologist, counselor, prevention specialist, teacher and course author. She holds Masters Degrees in Applied Psychology & Education and Allied Professions and has completed a Master of Arts program in Health & Wellness Coaching.
Over the course of 16 years, Dr. P taught over 1000 children aged 12-16 in a wide variety of subjects including; behavior, to cognition, personality development, cultural diversity, social psychology, numerous substance use courses, career choices, diagnostic evaluation, motivation leadership and critical thinking.
Dr. P’s website, “Health and Wellness Online” is an online course provider specializing in mental health and addiction recovery with a holistic approach to health. It tackles the hard questions and concerns that parent’s may have about their child’s health.
Find out more about Dr. P here
The Mental Wellbeing 5 with Dr. Donna Poppendieck
1. What is your favourite quote, anecdote, proverb or experience that helps with mental wellbeing?
Dr. P: One of my favorite sayings is, “don’t sweat the small stuff.” The reason for this is that many people focus a great deal of energy on smaller issues which do not necessarily have large consequences, and then avoid working on ones that can truly make a difference in their lives. I know – I have done this myself so many times until I learned better! Here is one example: My child doesn’t put away her clothes on a regular basis and her room is very messy and hard to keep clean. So, I fuss at her a lot about being neater, when I could be saving all that negative energy and instead focus on learning to communicate better with her, especially in a positive manner, building a healthier relationship.
2. What is your top piece of advice for mental wellbeing?
Dr. P: Believe it or not – my top piece of advice for mental wellbeing is to eat healthy, nourishing foods and avoid the trap of consuming overly processed junk foods. This makes a huge difference in one’s emotional wellbeing, as well as helping to heal and create a healthy body. Think about it this way – healthy body, healthy mind. If your body is healthy and in balance, then your feelings and thoughts are able to function better. If you are in therapy, think about how much better therapy will “take” if you’re not being dragged down by mood swings (i.e., insulin spikes, etc.). There has been a great deal of research about this. Some studies have shown that even violent, incarcerated, or paroled individuals, when consuming a diet that is healthy for them, become more even-tempered. Eating a healthy diet, perhaps with a few well-chosen supplements thrown in, has the power to improve not only your mental wellbeing, but also your immunity!
3. What is the one change in the world that you would like to see? (in your area of wellbeing or in the world in general or both)
Dr. P: Especially in today’s health climate, I would like to see all people involved in some way in the health industry be honest and above-board. This of course includes mental health. Beyond that, I would like to see all people be better educated and more open, open-minded, to the creation of health, inclusive of mental health, in conventional ways and holistic approaches. While important, I feel that we need to make politics and money-making lower on the list of priorities and have abundant, robust health be squarely at the top of the list. While there are many who claim that is what they do, that may not always be the entire truth.
4. Which resources (books / websites / videos etc) for wellbeing would you recommend?
Dr. P: Well – this is a loaded question! There are tons of wonderful resources out there. As I love what I do, and there needs to be many more such resources (and at the risk of sounding egotistical ☹), I would recommend my website (https://www.healthandwellnessonline.org), courses, and other readings at the top of the list. Adding nutrition and other elements such as mindfulness practices greatly enhances all other efforts at achieving and maintaining mental wellbeing. However, there are other awesome, highly reliable, and credible resources. Consider this source: The Academy for Addiction & Mental Health Nutrition (https://aminoacidtherapy.com). Amino acid therapy has been used with great success (in lieu of prescription medications) in the area of substance use detoxification and in the establishment and stabilization of positive moods in general. An interesting open-access (peer-reviewed) journal article examined “the Association between Dietary Quality and Dietary Guideline Adherence with Mental Health Outcomes in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis,” by Meegan, Perry, and Phillips. (It can be accessed here: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/3/238) Another interesting open-access (peer-reviewed) journal article looked at “Antidepressant foods: An evidence-based nutrient profiling system for depression,” by LaChance and Ramsey. (It can be accessed here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6147775/)
5. What’s the one thing that always makes you smile?
Dr. P: It never ceases to amaze me that looking at videos with animals, showing the awesome, unconditional love between and among humans and animals, always melt my heart. In fact, if I am dealing with a difficult issue and I am not feeling particularly happy, watching one of these videos will inevitably bring a smile to my face and melt my heart. In a way, I guess you could say that this is a mindfulness activity for me. The DoDo site, located on YouTube, is a wonderful source of such videos. (It can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCINb0wqPz-A0dV9nARjJlOQ)
Bonus Question! Is there anything else pertinent you would like to add to the conversation?
Dr. P: I believe happiness in life – including mental wellbeing – is completely achievable no matter what your particular circumstances are or have been, when you pay attention to these four areas and in a mindful way: your thoughts, your feelings, your physical body, and your soul/spiritual life. This is a holistic view and one I practice, and I cannot help but feel that being selfish (i.e., of the self) first and foremost (in a positive way, as in self-care, not selfishness), is the key to long-term health and happiness overall. In addition to this, always know that if you don’t give up, mental wellbeing is achievable.
So – have a happy, holistically healthy day!
Further Exploration - Dr. Donna Poppendieck
Website: Health and Wellness Online
Health and Wellness Online is an online course provider specializing in mental health and addiction recovery with a holistic approach to health. It tackles the hard questions and concerns that parent's may have about their child's health.
Article: Hydration & Holistic Health: Holistic & Mental Health Practioner Talks About Her Personal Experience With Hydration & Holistic Therapy
Article with Dr P. on Hydrusedge.com discussing what holistic health is and 5 tips to maintain it; staying hydrated, experimenting with diet & nutrition, get genetic testing, mental health counseling and mindfulness and spirituality
Social Media - Follow Dr. P below
More Mental Wellbeing 5 Interviews Below
More Mental Wellbeing 5 Interviews
With answers from experts, thought leaders, advocates and campaigners to help with mental wellbeing