24 Seven September 2021

care and is primarily the responsibility of the medical
community, while the vertical continuum deals with
self-care and is primarily the responsibility of the
individual.
Obviously, in the Dual Continuum Model, exercise and
movement are a critical part of the vertical continuum
and play a vital role in helping people go from
languishing to flourishing regardless of their medically
diagnosable condition.
You would think that everyone knows and accepts
this position, but nothing could be further from the
truth. For the most part, the medical community still
deals with the single, horizontal continuum and looks at
mental health as a pathogenic condition that requires a
medical solution. Because of this mentality, very rarely
are treatments for mental health/illness fully integrated
programs that include holistic, healthy lifestyle choices
such as exercise, nutrition, and mind-body practices
along with conventional ones, such as medication,
psychoanalysis, and institutionalization.
And the worst thing is that, because most people
do not have or know about proper coping skills, they
accept this form of treatment as the only solution. They
abdicate their health, happiness, and sense of well-being
to the health care community. Why? Because they do not
know what else to do -- lack of coping skills. And why
doesn’t the medical community integrate movement and
healthy lifestyle choices into their treatment? Because
they are not sure it actually works.
The John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation is trying
to flip that paradigm. It has compiled a comprehensive
synthesis of all published scientific evidence over three
decades on the link between exercise and mental health.
This free report and the accompanying data visualization
identifies the evidence, delivers an overview and
summary of the results, describes overall trends in the
literature, and provides an interactive way for people to
explore the studies in an easy online interface.
A key recommendation: exercise should be prescribed
for depression, and be supported and monitored for 12
weeks, similar to physical therapy after an injury. To
our knowledge, our report is the first of its kind. It is
hoped that this report will help legitimize in the eyes
of the medical community the benefits of exercise in
promoting mental wellness and preventing mental
illness.
According to Dr. Deepak Chopra, an integrative
medicine pioneer, and New York Times bestselling
author, “This synthesis of the evidence by the John
W. Brick Foundation makes it clear that exercise and
movement practices are key to mental health and
paves the way for physical activity to be recognized
and integrated as a key component of mental health
promotion and treatment.”
To view the Move Your Mental Health Report, please
visit the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation.
About The Author
C. VICTOR BRICK, M.ED
C. Victor Brick, MEd, is the founder of the John W. Brick Mental
Health Foundation and the founder and CEO of Planet Fitness
Growth Partners. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of
the Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences, a member of the Board of Advisors of the Global
Wellness Summit, and a member of the Mental Wellness Initiative
of the Global Wellness Institute.
To Learn More Visit:
www.johnwbrickfoundation.org