What Is Holistic Well-Being?

Simply Holistic is my brainchild of the semester, centered around holistic well-being and my personal journey. While the rest of this site contains personal anecdotes, stories, and experiences, I wanted to take a moment to lay the groundwork for what exactly holistic well-being is.

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Defining Holistic Well-Being:

 

At its very core, holistic well-being is caring for the whole person (in your case- that would be you!): mind, body, spirit, and emotions. It looks at all the factors that contribute to overall health and well-being, including diet, illness, emotions, exercise, relationships, and much more. A holistic approach to wellness considers the whole person as the sum of its parts, and if one part isn’t working properly, the whole machine breaks down.

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Holistic well-being and holistic medicine, which I am fortunate enough to be able to take part in, go hand-in-hand. Holistic medicine follows the same principles as holistic well-being (which you can find here), and holistic practitioners focus on the patient’s body as one unit, not just a combination of symptoms. Let me give you an example. If you were to walk into a holistic practitioner’s office and say you have stomach pains, the practitioner is going to walk through all of the reasons that you may be experiencing them - from diet to bacteria to stress levels to emotional well-being. The doctor may run conventional tests, but the driving factor behind holistic medicine is to treat the cause, not the symptoms.

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Holistic vs. Western Medicine:

 

While holistic practitioners can and do use Western Medicine practices in their healing processes, there are a few differences between the two. First, in terms of what causes an illness, disorder, or symptom, a holistic practitioner will look behind the viruses and bacteria that drive the diagnoses in Western medicine. A holistic doctor considers the whole picture and how an individual’s lifestyle is contributing to his or her health before making a diagnosis. Second, while Western and Holistic Medicine do acknowledge diseases to be the same (e.g. a holistic doctor does believe in strep throat, the flu, etc.), treatment tends to differ. Western Medicine focuses on the short term - which, if necessary, often results in a prescription or treatment to see if medicine eradicates symptoms. On the other hand, holistic medicine will look at the short-term and the long-term: dietary changes, incorporation of exercises, herbs, acupuncture, supplements - you name it. The two practices are quite different, but, in my opinion, when used together can be quite powerful for a healthy lifestyle.

 

I know I said this page wasn’t going to be something personal, but I wanted to conclude by saying that Western Medicine has an important place in this world. I am very aware that I am so incredibly fortunate to be able to see a holistic practitioner, and I can honestly say that I have never felt better. That being said, nothing replaces my general doctor visits for when I have an aching pain or feel as though my throat is on fire. There’s a place for both in this world, but I believe that holistic medicine just hasn’t found its footing with the rest of the world yet. Hop on in though and discover this world with me!