by Deborah Lindholm
More than 50% of the adults and children in the United States utilized some sort of complimentary and alternative medicine in 2007. Overseas the acceptance of alternative medicine and holistic health practitioners is significantly higher. Why are so many people turning to alternative medicine? The answer is simple; they’re seeking a whole body/mind approach – holistic health.
What Is The Holistic Approach?
Rather than using a particular type of treatment, a method of treatment is used with holistic health. This approach takes into consideration all aspects of your health, instead of treating only the symptoms physically residing in your body. The aspects taken into account are physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
For example, if you have a cold then traditional medicine would treat the symptoms. You’d likely be told to take a medication to reduce your fever, another medication to clear your sinuses and perhaps a third medication to suppress a cough.
A holistic practitioner may instead look at the causes for your decreased immune system. Stress, poor diet, compromised hormone or metabolic systems, negative emotions, limiting thought patterns, past trauma and so on. They look at your entire body/mind connection to determine what is causing the illness and treat the cause. Likewise, they may look to more natural remedies to alleviate or relieve your symptoms.
The goal of the holistic approach is not just overall physical well-being but also emotional, mental and spiritual well being too. They’re all intricately linked to your general well being and whole body/mind balance.
Therapies And Approaches to Balancing Whole Body/Mind
There are many varieties of therapies and approaches to treatment when you consider the many holistic practitioners and how they treat their patients. Within the world of traditional medicine you will find that an osteopathic physician or a DO, rather than an MD, takes a whole body approach to treatment where an MD does not, although both are board certified and provide the same level of care.
There are a number of traditional eastern alternative therapies above and beyond traditional medicine. For example:
Energy Psychology
Hypnosis
Mindfulness Meditation
Emotional Freedom Technique
Reiki
Massage
Touch Therapy
Acupuncture
Chiropractic
Ayurveda
Biofeedback
Naturopathy
Choosing the type of treatment you decide to use may have somewhat of a dependency on your approaches to healthcare as well as your current physician. More doctors have begun to accept other means of healthcare such as massage, Reiki or hypnosis, and in most cases have a few recommendations about potential choice for therapists. It may be of benefit to you to consider a combination of therapies for a whole body/mind approach, depending on what various issues you are dealing with. If you are receiving chiropractic care as well as acupuncture, in order to assist with your nutritional balance you may also want to see a naturopath.
Everything works hand in hand in body/mind health. If you’re depressed, it can be due to food allergies, poor sleep, stress, and even a hormonal imbalance. Treating only one of these issues or even simply treating the depression symptoms with pharmaceuticals may not solve the problem. Illnesses, fatigue, insomnia, digestive issues and even weight gain can best be treated by looking at you as a whole person – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Whole body/mind balance achieved by holistic health provides a much broader approach to successful health and happiness. Statistics don’t lie. With 50% more Americans turning towards holistic and alternative care, people are taking into consideration the power of the holistic health approach, and leaving the ‘take this or that pill to mask your symptoms’ approach aside.
Ready to find your own balance? Deborah Lindholm is a Serenity Empowerment Coach that shows you how to awaken your Inner Power Source to live an empowered life every single day. Download free pre-recorded telecasts, grab your “5 Simple Steps To Get What You Really, Really Want” report and more here: Free Stuff at Serenity Matters
