Anyone struggling with addiction or another chronic disease should also take a look at holistic therapy. No matter that it’s holistic or medicine, a holistic approach is standing out with looking over one’s mental and physical well-being.
When you’re dealing with a headache, a conventional doctor will prescribe you medications. On the other hand, a holistic practitioner is going to try his best to identify the leading cause of your headache. He/she is also interested in how to prevent the patient from dealing with a problem in the future.
What’s unique about holistic therapy?
Holistic treatments are unique as they consider that all people possess intrinsic healing abilities. They also believe that an integrative approach is fundamental for healing.
In the case of holistic therapy, the focus isn’t only on alleviating the symptoms of disease or withdrawal (if it’s an addiction we’re talking about). Still, it should also go on the entire patient: mind, soul, and body. Particular practices such as meditation, acupuncture, hiking, mindfulness, and even nutritional education are utilized as they’re proven to improve one’s health and well-being.
We should also highlight that holistic therapies may not be efficient for everyone. However, one dealing with mental health issues or addictions of any kind should give holistic therapies a try.
As it concentrates on one’s healing as a whole (body, mind, soul, and emotions), the holistic therapies will help with one’s wellbeing. The principles state that a patient can obtain the best health only after achieving the right balance in life.
It’s also common for the holistic practitioners to see the entire patient as being made with interdependent parts. When one of the components isn’t working well, every other part is going to be functioning worse. Therefore, people will experience imbalances (spiritual, physical, and emotional) in their lives. It goes without saying that the imbalances will harm the entire health.
Typically, a holistic professional is going to utilize different forms of health care, with both conventional medicine and alternative therapies for treating a patient. In the case of the patient dealing with a headache, a holistic doctor will most likely use more than medications. The chances are that he/she will also verify any possible factors causing the trouble. Don’t be surprised if the holistic professional is going to know many details about your diet and sleep habits, personal and stress issues. Information about your spiritual practices may also give the doctor a lot of help.
Even if the treatment may include medications for alleviating the headache, the holistic practitioner will also recommend changes in your lifestyle so that the problems never come back again.
Which principles are regulating Holistic Therapy?
Another aspect that sets holistic medicine apart from traditional/Western medicine is that it considers unconditional support and love as the most important healer. It’s the patient that is both responsible for his disease, just as he/she is accountable for getting healthy once again.
Some other principles regulate the actions and therapies within holistic medicine:
- The patient is a human being and not the disease per se
- Every human being possess intrinsic healing abilities
- Treatment isn’t only about alleviating the symptoms, but also about repairing the leading cause of the condition/addiction/disease.
- There’s a whole team working for healing a patient. Each member of the team will address various aspects of one’s life, utilizing different holistic therapies.
What kind of treatments can patients benefit from within holistic therapies?
Should you look into the details of holistic therapy, you will notice pretty quickly that there are numerous and different treatment techniques used for healing the patient. After all, the treatment is also about helping the patient become aware of his well-being so that he/she can obtain optimal health.
It depends a lot on the experience and the training of the holistic practitioner, but according to this website, holistic therapies could be as follows:
- Plenty of complementary and alternative methods such as homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic care, naturopathy, massage therapy, and more
- Patient education on lifestyle changes and self-care actions one needs to take for better well-being. Exercise, diet, relationship, and spiritual counseling, and also psychotherapy may be utilized.
- Surgical procedures and western medications
- Some people may already know which natural methods work for them or not. They will require a holistic professional for the ways to be included in the treatment.
- Addiction treatments focus on reducing stress. Therefore, holistic therapies typically are found in establishments and locations that promote a calming environment. Nine times out of ten, holistic therapy centers are located in amazingly beautiful places.
- The methods aren’t exclusive to some religions or beliefs. They represent another choice. Holistic therapies accentuate the role of natural methods for helping people solve their health issues. It’s common for people not to want to benefit clinical interventions. To the contrary, they are interested in treatment choices and methods that are customized for a program, especially for them.
- In the case of mental health problems, it’s typical for doctors to prescribe medication for alleviating the symptoms. The medication work on some level in terms of anxiety and depression, but other therapies can ensure better results. It goes without saying that a holistic doctor will use both the medication and also complementary therapies for healing.
Why would anyone consider Holistic Therapy?
Regardless of what one may think, holistic therapy can improve many areas of one’s life:
- Holistic therapies are efficient as they reduce the risk of relapsing, helping patients develop long-lasting coping skills. For instance, when practicing mindfulness, the patient can look inward and identify emotions. You mustn’t react in a damaging way, but make smart choices and react with purpose.
- Holistic therapies don’t concentrate only on some particular health problems. They also help people achieve clarity in all domains. They promote a healthy diet, which also leads to weight loss and a better feel about the body. Yoga is a fantastic way to deal with stress, which is a common trigger in recovery, especially when healing and addiction.
- Many people turn to holistic therapies after trying and failing with conventional medicine. No one should give up until finding out the best treatment for their problem. No matter which the final program will be.