ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the most recent data in lifestyle medicine that have major implications in positive psychology, describes how advances in lifestyle medicine have furthered our understanding of evidence-based literature in positive psychology, reports new breakthroughs in lifestyle medicine, and identifies how this data and connection to positive psychology can be applied to patient care. Lifestyle medicine utilizes comprehensive, evidence-based, patient-centered lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to prevent, treat, and reverse chronic conditions. Data on the implications of lifestyle medicine in overall health and wellbeing is expanding. Lifestyle medicine approaches can achieve numerous healthcare goals, such as enhancing physical benefits; improving quality of life; promoting mental/brain health and treating mental illness; maintaining positive, satisfying, and effective interactions between patients and providers; encouraging unconscious motivation for health-promoting changes in behavior; and enriching overall patient wellbeing. Lifestyle medicine approaches comply with existing positive psychology frameworks for flourishing, such as PERMA. Those who adhere to three to six pillars of lifestyle medicine are more likely to flourish. Clinical applications of lifestyle medicine that promote flourishing include patient-provider interactions, health assessments, health coaching, and appropriate use of internal and external patient resources. Lifestyle medicine and positive psychology reinforce each other via the bidirectional relationship between health-promoting behaviors and overall wellbeing.
