Ross Van Allen provides psychiatric care at Axis Integrated Mental Health, whose own journey into mental health care is as inspiring as it is transformative. After realizing that the career path he had meticulously planned was wrong for him, Ross found himself struggling with depression and anxiety. But rather than letting this experience destroy him, he channelled his struggle into empathy and support for others. Read on if you'd like to learn more about Dr. Van Allen.
The first time I started thinking about entering the mental health field professionally was after my own experience with a bout of depression and anxiety. At the time, I’d spent roughly 7 years trying to achieve my goal of being a nurse anesthetist. I worked really hard in school to get good grades, declined social events to study, took extra classes to build up my resume, and anything I could think of to achieve my goal. After getting into one of the top programs in the country, I realized that I wasn’t prepared to handle the coursework or the nature of work, and eventually had to withdraw from the program. This led to a rapid decline in my mental health, but after recovering, I realized that I needed to use this experience to help others.
In addition to my dedication to providing holistic and integrative psychiatric care, I place a strong emphasis on maintaining a balanced lifestyle that nurtures my own mental and physical well-being. Recognizing the profound benefits of nature on mental health, I actively prioritize spending time outdoors, particularly in the breathtaking landscapes of Colorado, which are still new to me.
I'm also currently preoccupied with dog training, which might be a great way to practice discipline, patience, and empathy not just with your dog but with yourself.
Finally, exercise, not only for its physical health benefits but also for its proven efficacy in alleviating stress, anxiety, and depression. It's part of my holistic approach to wellness that resonates deeply with the ethos of comprehensive psychiatric care.
Eating any sort of sweets.
One thing I’ve been experimenting with lately is making contracts with myself and have found them surprisingly effective. For example, I drafted a contract to myself stating that I will walk x number of steps per day for x number of days, and signed it. I also had my partner sign it as a witness. If I break the contract, I start over again.
Get outside more. There are so many benefits to being outside that it’s impossible to list them all here. Currently, we spend ~93% of our time indoors sitting and staring at screens.
Yes, very differently. When I was younger, success to me was making as much money as possible, having a big house and owning fancy cars. Now, success is using as much as my free time as possible to spend on interesting hobbies and getting outdoors as much as possible.
I just read an article that exercise is as effective as antidepressants. The authors went through and examined which exercises were most effective and the top three were walking, jogging, and….dancing. So my top tip is to walk or jog, preferably outdoors, and dance. In fact, Axis Integrated Mental Health is even prepared to help you do that through their social prescribing program. Many of our patients walk at the Denver Botanic Gardens, which we give them tickets to go to for free.
My main hobbies right now are hiking, biking, running, and weightlifting. I also dabble in dog training.
Outlook email.
The Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain by Michael Easter.
