If you’ve taken the conventional medical route to address chronic pain or other issues and find yourself puzzled as to why you aren’t feeling better, in spite of following the doctor’s orders and taking the meds they prescribed, that may be a sign that it’s time to look at alternatives to your health care. While medical doctors may be able to pinpoint and relieve symptoms, the tendency is to look at the body part or organ in question – not the whole person. That’s where holistic healthcare comes in.
What is Holistic Healthcare?
Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses the care of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. A holistic medicine practitioner believes that one can only achieve good health by creating a balance between the three. The practice of holistic medicine integrates conventional and complementary therapies to promote optimal health and prevent and support disease by addressing the underlying causes.
Holistic healthcare sees the patient as an individual, rather than just another case of a particular condition or ailment. Even though two patients have the same condition, the cause for their condition may be completely different. Since the disease is understood to be the result of physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and environmental imbalance, holistic doctors determine where the imbalance lies and helps the body overcome obstacles to healing.
Examples of holistic practitioners include
Acupuncturists – An acupuncturist uses a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force — known as chi or qi (chee) — believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance.
Chiropractors- Chiropractors perform adjustments (manipulations) to the spine or other parts of the body. The goal is to correct neuromuscular stress and strain, and improve strength and mobility. They also use nutrition and other natural therapies to ease pain, and support the body’s natural ability to heal itself.
Naturopaths – Naturopaths use therapies to stimulate and strengthen the body’s innate self-healing and curative abilities. These therapies include nutrition, herbal medicines, and constitutional hydrotherapy.
Ayurvedic doctors – Ayurvedic practitioners follow an ancient Indian system of medicine. They believe that disease results from an imbalance in the doshas (basic energy types) in the body and prescribe herbal formulas for internal and external use to help bring the body back into balance.
Massage therapists – A massage therapist is a trained and licensed professional that practices the manual, or hands-on, movement of soft body tissues to enhance a person’s well-being.
Why Should I Consider a Holistic Approach to My Health?
If you are looking to address your health concerns in a more holistic way and get to the cause of your condition rather than just treating your symptoms, then you should consider holistic healthcare. Here are some of the reasons why patients see holistic doctors:
- Conventional treatments have failed – They’ve tried medications – even surgery – and nothing has helped. More and more doctors understand the effectiveness of holistic healthcare and recommend that their patients try it if conventional medicine hasn’t helped.
- Natural alternatives to medications –They wish to avoid heavy medicines and their side effects.
- Finding the source of their condition – Holistic healthcare helps them find the cause of their condition, rather than only treating the symptoms.
- A whole-person approach – Holistic healthcare patients prefer the whole-person, integrated approach.
In summary, holistic health care is about honoring your mind-body-spirit connection and treating you as a whole person. A holistic doctor is committed to bringing your mind-body into balance, getting you healthy, and keeping you that way through a comprehensive treatment and wellness program.