What is Holistic Health?
Holistic Health is the term used to describe a healing practice that considers the whole person - body, mind, spirit, and emotions - in the quest for optimal health and wellness. The holistic medicine philosophy is based on the idea that one can achieve optimal health by gaining proper balance in life. No matter what type of doctor, or healing practice you choose to explore, the ultimate goal should always be optimal health, right? Holistic health practitioners understand that we can’t just treat the symptoms that have presented themselves, we need to treat the cause of an ailment - or in other words, we need to get to the root of the problem by restoring balance. When your car’s alignment is out of balance, the adverse effect often shows up as a whole host of “problems” - our bodies are designed to function the same way, in alignment!
Holistic health practitioners believe that the whole person is made up of interdependent parts and if one part is not working properly, all the other parts will be affected. In this way, if people have imbalances (physical, emotional, or spiritual) in their lives, it can negatively affect their overall health. A holistic healer may use different forms of health care, from functional medication to alternative therapies, in order to treat a patient. For example, when a person suffering from migraine headaches pays a visit to a holistic health practitioner, instead of walking out solely with medications, the doctor will likely take a look at all the potential factors that may be causing the person's headaches, such as ongoing health problems, diet and sleep habits, stress levels, and hormonal factors. The treatment plan may involve herbal supplements to relieve symptoms, but often times a treatment plan will include lifestyle modifications as well. Again, the key is to restore balance in all areas of our lives.
Principles of Holistic Medicine
All people have innate healing powers.
The patient is a person, not a disease.
Healing takes a team approach involving the patient and doctor, and addresses all aspects of a person's life using a variety of health care practices.
Treatment involves fixing the cause of the condition, not just alleviating the symptoms.
Holistic Medicine: Types of Treatments
Holistic practitioners use a variety of treatment techniques to help their patients take responsibility for their own well-being and achieve optimal health. Depending on the practitioner's training, these may include:
Patient education on lifestyle changes and self-care to promote wellness. This may include diet, exercise, psychotherapy, relationship and spiritual counseling, and more
Complementary and alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, homeopathy, massage therapy, naturopathy, and others
Western medications and surgical procedures
For more insight, below are some of my favorite excerpts from the “Holistic Health” chapter from the critically acclaimed book, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Body-Mind Disciplines. This material was written by AHHA President, Suzan Walter.
“Ancient healing traditions, as far back as 5,000 years ago in India and China, stressed living a healthy way of life in harmony with nature. Socrates (4th century BC) warned against treating only one part of the body “for the part can never be well unless the whole is well.”
Holistic concepts fell temporarily out of favor in Western societies during the 20th century. Scientific medical advances had created a dramatic shift in the concept of health. Germs were identified as outside sources causing disease. Gaining health became a process of killing microscopic invaders with synthesized drugs. People believed that they could get away with unhealthy lifestyle choices, and modern medicine would “fix” them as problems developed.
However, for some conditions medical cures have proven more harmful than the disease. In addition, many chronic conditions do not respond to scientific medical treatments. In looking for other options, people are turning back to the holistic approach to health and healing.”
and..
“Holistic Health is based on the law of nature that a whole is made up of interdependent parts. The earth is made up of systems, such as air, land, water, plants and animals. If life is to be sustained, they cannot be separated, for what is happening to one is also felt by all of the other systems. In the same way, an individual is a whole made up of interdependent parts, which are the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When one part is not working at its best, it impacts all of the other parts of that person. Furthermore, this whole person, including all of the parts, is constantly interacting with everything in the surrounding environment. For example, when an individual is anxious about a history exam or a job interview, his or her nervousness may result in a physical reaction–such as a headache or a stomach ache. When people suppress anger at a parent or a boss over a long period of time, they often develop a serious illness–such as migraine headaches, emphysema, or even arthritis.”
When we approach health + wellness from this perspective, we’re able to sort of reverse engineer treatment. This means, rather than working from the current illness and moving forward, we actually work backwards in a way - a way that brings us back to the beginning so that we can start healing from the root.
Aside from Holistic Health Coaches & Practitioners like myself, there are now some really great options for a more holistic healthcare approach. One of which being Parsley Health. This team of doctors and nurses is really revolutionizing the way we “go to the doctor”. In my opinion, they are the perfect marriage between holistic medicine and conventional medicine. The great part is, they’re also affordable and offer a ton of different healthcare plans. Plus, if you don’t live near one of their offices, no problem - you can even be seen virtually! I have been using Parsley Health for a while now, and can not say enough good things about them. And no - this is not an affiliate ad - ha!
For more information about Parsley Health, check out their website, parsleyhealth.com, and if you’d like to book a complimentary consultation with me, to see how we can restore balance in your life, feel free to connect with me HERE - I’m also able to meet with patients virtually ;)
xoxo,
Lindsay