Is Holistic Medicine Better?

Benefits of Holistic Medicine

There are many things about holistic medicine that many people feel makes it better than other kinds of healthcare. Some of these things include that it considers a person as a whole, rather than just physical symptoms and problems of their body. 

Holistic medicine takes into account all aspects of a person’s being including their physical, psychological or mental, spiritual, and lifestyle health. Holistic healthcare seeks to help patients not just be cured of physical problems but to attain the optimal health that they can. Holistic medicine and healthcare help people to do this by gaining a more balanced life. This does not mean that physical health problems are by any means ignored if a patient is seeking help with a specific problem/s, just that this is often done in conjunction with addressing their specific problems and ailments.

Holistic Medicine

A holistic healthcare provider may use many forms of health care to help their patients achieve optimal health. These different forms of health care often include both, conventional medicine and therapies as well as practices that are often referred to as, “alternative” medicine and therapies. An example of this is that a patient that suffers from migraines may leave a holistic doctor with a prescription for Western migraine medication as well as suggestions for lifestyle modifications based on things such as diet, sleep, and stress- as well as complementary and alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, naturopathy, and others.  

Holistic health care practitioners can be doctors with Western medical and/or other kinds of licenses or degrees that give them the title of doctor, such as a medical doctor (MD), doctor of osteopathy (DO) or doctor of Oriental medicine (DOM). They may also be trained in chiropractic care, massage therapy, naturopathy, homeopathy, nutrition, Ayurveda, hypnosis, herbal medicine, Reiki, meditation, and other forms of alternative and complementary practices. Some healthcare practitioners are not medical doctors but obtain the title of doctor through academic work from a PhD program.

Why People Choose Holistic

Different people are attracted to holistic health care for many different reasons. One of these is that many forms of holistic health care try to help people without the use of conventional medications, many of which come with negative side effects. Another attraction is that holistic health care providers spend more time with their patients in order to get to know their patients as a whole, and not just their symptoms and problems. Many people appreciate the holistic approach to medicine where it is believed that:

– All people have innate healing powers

– The patient and the doctor/s are a team in trying to achieve the patient’s optimal health

– A patient is a person, not just a disease or problem

– Treating symptoms to try to help the symptoms themselves should be done while also trying to fix underlying conditions that may be leading to them

There are many other reasons why people choose holistic medicine and healthcare.

Learn more about holistic medicine and health care with Costal Natural Health.