The salutogenic approach can offer a fresh and hopeful view of how we deal with psychosis susceptibility. It is no miracle and no quick fix. Nor is it something you ‘must’ do, or something everyone can do. But if you set yourself to it and keep it up long enough, it can bring you something. There is always something you can do, however small. And that contributes too.
What is salutogenesis?
Salutogenesis comes from the Latin ‘salus’ (health) and the Greek ‘genesis’ (origin). It focuses on what makes and keeps people healthy, instead of on what makes them ill. It shifts the focus from illness to wellbeing, from problems to potential.
People with above-average psychosis susceptibility often experience that they are in a system that focuses on their symptoms and on what is ‘wrong’. Salutogenesis offers a balance by looking at their strengths, their resources and what they need to flourish.
Ways to increase your mental resilience
The things you can do to increase your mental resilience follow below. They will sound familiar. Yet few people in our hurried society get round to applying them systematically. That does our collective resilience no good.
- Sleep. Your brain recovers and reorganises during sleep. Enough rest gives a more stable emotional basis.
- Food. Choose foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and B vitamins. These can contribute to better brain function and mood.
- Structure. Building a daily routine gives fixed points in your day, which is especially important in stressful periods.
- Connection with others. Whether it is family, friends or support groups, human connection is essential for our wellbeing.
- Meditation and mindfulness. By learning to stay in the present and to reduce reactive thoughts, you can find inner calm. Read more about mindfulness.
- Meaningful activities. This goes further than work. It can also be art, music, gardening or other forms of expression that give you fulfilment.
- Spirituality. This can be faith, but also yoga, walks in nature, or any activity that helps you connect with something greater.
- Exercise. Physical activity, such as walking or dancing, stimulates the production of endorphins, the ‘happiness hormones’.
- Education. Knowledge is power. Learning about psychosis susceptibility can help you understand it better and deal with it.
- Art and creativity. Expression through art can work therapeutically and offers an outlet for emotions.
- Nature. Spending time in nature can reduce stress and promote a feeling of connectedness.
- Animals. Working with animals is a special and increasingly popular way of working on mental resilience.
Animals do not judge
Contact with animals, such as dogs, horses, cats or smaller pets, can have a deep therapeutic effect. These animal-assisted interventions help to reduce anxiety, stress and feelings of isolation.
Animals do not judge, which makes them a safe place to express and process emotions. Their presence can be calming and helps some people feel more connected. Equine therapy, for example, is good for building trust and self-awareness, and also promotes physical coordination and balance.
The simple pleasure of caring for a pet, such as walking a dog or brushing a cat, can offer structure and routine. It can help you to be in the moment and offers daily moments of unconditional love and affection.
How do you start?
You start with awareness: thinking about how you do things and how it could be done differently. Where could you start and how do you motivate yourself? Working on your mental resilience is an ongoing process, and it can be challenging. That is why it is so useful to make use of places such as recovery colleges or peer-run centres.
Salutogenesis and medication
Salutogenesis does not mean that you should ignore your medication. But it is often the case that as your mental resilience increases, the dose of the medication can be lower. Sometimes it can even be tapered off completely. What many people do not know either is that medication can be much more effective, and can have fewer side effects, if you are consciously working on salutogenesis. By combining a holistic approach with medication, people can often see better results. It is about finding the right balance and cooperation between different approaches.
Do not change your dose on your own. Discuss it with your doctor and read more about quitting medication.
Finally
Every individual is unique, and what works for one person does not necessarily work for another. Salutogenesis invites us to be curious, to discover what helps us flourish and to take an active part in our own recovery process.
Prof. dr. Jim van Os, Chair Division Neuroscience, Utrecht University Medical Centre. Jim works at the interface of ‘hard’ brain science, health services research, art and subjective experiences of people with ‘lived experience’ in mental healthcare.
Jim has been appearing on the Thomson-Reuter Web of Science list of ‘most influential scientific minds of our time’ since 2014. In 2014 he published his book ‘Beyond DSM-5‘, and in 2016 the book ‘Good Mental Health Care’. In 2026 he published 'Wat psychisch lijden is'.
Want to read more?
Blogs by Jim van Os can be read here
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