What is Holistic Medicine?

Holistic Medicine is a system of health care, which fosters a cooperative relationship among all those involved, the patient, the family, the health care providers and ancillary support such as friends and pastor/minister etc.  With this level of support all leading towards optimal attainment of the physical, mental, emotional, social and the spiritual aspects of an individuals health and well being.  The American Holistic Health Association promotes holistic health as an approach to creating wellness which encourages you to: 

• Balance and integrate your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects.
• Establish respectful, cooperative relationships with others and the environment.
• Make wellness-oriented lifestyle choices and decisions.
• Actively participate in your health decisions and healing process.

Holistic Medicine treats the "WHOLE" person.  This ancient approach to health emphasizes the connection of mind, body, spirit and how a person interacts with their personal environment.  It looks at all aspects of a persons life to facilitate the healing process.  The analysis of physical, nutritional, emotional, environmental, social, spiritual and lifestyle values are the key to a hopeful and positive outcome.  It encompasses all stated modalities of diagnosis and treatment, including drugs and surgery if no safer alternative exists.  Holistic Medicine focuses on education and the responsibility for our personal efforts and decisions that we make daily to achieve balance and well-being in our lives.  Remember, there is nothing any doctor can do to undo what a patient won't do.

Holistic Health is actually an approach to life, rather than focusing on symptoms, illness or specific parts of the body.  The primary goal of holistic health treatments and protocols is to achieve maximum well-being for the individual, where everything is functioning at the most optimal level possible.  With Holistic Health people accept responsibility for their own level of well-being and the everyday choices that are used to take charge of one's own health.  When you begin to understand that it takes more than one way to regain or to promote improved health, your commitment to improving your health has begun. 

So where do you begin?  You begin with the choices that you make daily.  Start each day with the belief that your life is a blessing and thank God for it.  Choose to live and live abundantly from where you are right now.  Renew your mind daily with faith or however you seek your spiritual center and believe that you absolutely deserve to have excellent health.  So make a personal commitment to yourself to change the mind set, the habits and unhealthy daily decisions that stand in your way of better health.  Then step by step begin to work towards improving your health with the new information that you are learning.  It takes about 30 days to create a new habit for life, so have patience with yourself.  Change can be a process or just a decision.  But what ever it takes for you, just make the commitment.  Because good health is a choice, it's not an option. 

So what are the benefits of Holistic Health?  Holistic Health supports reaching higher levels of wellness as well as preventing illness.  People enjoy the vitality and well-being that results from their positive lifestyle changes, and they are motivated to continue this process throughout their lives.  From a change as small as drinking more water and taking a walk daily you can begin to improve your health and feel better.

Prevention is the key to a long lasting healthy life.  Prevention should be the focus and not just the cure of an ailment.   A proactive approach to maintaining good health long term through prevention will provide you with many years of high quality living and ultimately a very happy life.  Your view of life and all of the positive possibilities awaits you as you begin to feel mentally, physically and spiritually better. 

Prevention is rapidly becoming the new focus of the health care industry, because it is far less expensive to keep a person well than it is to try to bring that person back to wellness through traditional insurable options.  Because the average person can't afford the high cost of even basic or minimal insurance coverage. 

The insurance industry is also hopping on the prevention band wagon.  Because the cost of health care today is so astronomical, the average person can't afford to be sick.  Many insurances companies are now willing to pay for selective alternative health care options through health care plans.