Preventive Psychiatry
"Any techniques that help prevent the symptoms psychiatrists treat can be thought of as "preventive psychiatry." For example, any treatments or activities that prevent or lesson anxiety, depression, neurosis, or a sense of meaninglessness are "preventive." Such methodologies need not be limited to medication or psychotherapy, but may also include participation in activities that one finds highly gratifying. For example, I find the behavior of music performance to be highly gratifying, and I know that such activity prevents me from feeling a sense of meaninglessness, depression, or anxiety that I would otherwise feel. Some musicians have even noted that they become physically ill if they do not perform music. Of course, what one person finds gratifying might not be gratifying to another. Thus, the trick is to discover what is most meaningful to you, and then to find a way to live your life in accordance with that discovery." -- Nonjohn