Why Holistic/Alternative Health Care?
WHY Holistic anything?
When you hear words such as ‘holistic health, ‘alternative therapies, ‘energy medicine’, ‘reiki’, etc., do you think of alternative medicine, naturopathy, or other Eastern-inspired health trends? If so, you're partly right.
Holistic health does incorporate complementary therapies that have been scientifically proven to work actually for centuries, and like alternative medicine, it focuses on wellness and prevention, rather than just treating a disease. However, holistic care is more than combining Eastern and Western medicine. It is a more personalized way to think about wellness.
So, what exactly is Holistic/Alternative health care?
It’s About Treating the Whole You
Holistic healthcare is a beacon of comprehensive wellness, it’s about championing an approach that treats the entire person rather than isolating symptoms or conditions.
Holistic health is about caring for the whole person — providing for your physical, mental, spiritual, and social needs. It is based on the understanding that all these aspects affect your overall health, and being unwell in one area can affect you in others. Unlike traditional medical practices, which often focus narrowly on specific ailments, a holistic approach to healthcare encompasses a broad spectrum of alternative therapies to work alongside Western medicine.
Let’s take stress as an example. Do you know that over 75% of doctor office visits are related to stress? The accumulation of our stress after a while adds up leading to a higher risk for disease, a poor and weakened immune system, and a disabled self-repair system.
Although stress is considered a psychological response, it can cause physical symptoms, like headaches, trouble sleeping, weight gain, and muscle pain. However, on the flip side of that, being physically ill can cause you to feel anxious or depressed and all those things above.
In Conclusion
By integrating physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual awareness and wellness, holistic or alternative therapies address every facet of an individual’s being. It's about honoring the mind-body connection and treating the whole person, using a variety of clinically proven therapies.
More and more studies show positive results and mainstream hospitals and clinics are incorporating holistic alternatives. The end goal is about results, the care and to boost and foster well-being while offering balance to help people not only recover from illness but also thrive in their daily lives.