Psychological Health— Te Taha Hinengaro
The Māori model of health and the importance of thoughts and feelings for Māori. Maslow and the need to feel safe. The significance of adverse childhood experiences and the roots of mental ill health in adults. The Dalai Lama on love and compassion. The New Zealand Government’s 2018 Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction and New Zealand’s suicide epidemic. The New Zealand government’s first ‘Wellbeing Budget’ (2019). The role of meditation in pain management (and the author’s personal experience thereof). Maladaptive thinking, rumination, and catastrophizing. The author’s personal experience of depression. Antidepressants, or ‘the drug, doctor’? Author’s experience of acceptance and commitment therapy (accept, choose a valued direction, and take action). Mindfulness and the daily practice of meditation. Another look at work and health, especially the notion of good work. The author’s development of a plan for ‘whole life health’ in his practice, and a patient’s testimony.