Do you feel like you are tired of everything? Drained emotionally, physically, and mentally. But don’t want to go to different doctors and therapists. What if there is a health approach that focuses on every aspect of health be it physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual? Yeah, there is, called the holistic health approach.
The holistic health approach uses natural remedies and practices to treat a person in all aspects. And has gained significant importance because of its various benefits. Let us study about it in detail in this article.
What is Holistic Health?
Definition and principle
Holistic health is about considering all aspects of health such as the physical, mental, social, and emotional.
Its principle is based upon being well in all aspects and seeing the body as a whole structure. It views all the aspects of health as a connected system and focuses on treating the body physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.
Holistic vs. Conventional Medicine
Where Conventional medicines treat every patient in a similar pattern, holistic medicine considers the patient’s history and then plans a treatment according to the patient. Moreover, a holistic approach can be used to treat illness of all aspects, whether physical, mental, or emotional.
There are many benefits of holistic health over conventional medicine. One such benefit of holistic medicine is its minimal side effects while that of conventional medicine can be extreme in some cases.
Popular Natural Remedies
There are various types of natural remedies such as
1. Herbal Remedies
Herbal medicine has been used for centuries and is derived from various parts of plants such as leaves, bark, seeds, and roots. These remedies play an essential role in holistic health by helping to treat various ailments. Widely used herbs in holistic health include echinacea, ginseng, turmeric, and ginkgo. These herbs not only help prevent diseases but also strengthen the immune system.
For instance, echinacea is known for preventing the common cold, while turmeric supports bone health and aids digestion. Ginseng is used to boost the immune system and lower blood sugar levels.
2. Essential oils
Essential oils are again derived from plants. The oils are extracted from plants and are highly concentrated. Holistic health tries to treat the patient in every aspect of health and uses natural remedies to treat patients with care without causing any side effects. Therefore, it uses essential oils to treat various problems such as stress, skin problems, digestion, hair fall, etc.
The most commonly used oils are lavender, peppermint, tea tree oil, etc. Lavender is used to relieve stress, peppermint is used to boost digestion and energy, and tea tree oil is used for hair fall issues, acne, wound healing, etc.
3. Homeopathic remedies
Homeopathic medicines treat various diseases and body problems. They are based on the theory that the “lower the dose of medication greater its effectiveness”. Although these medicines work slowly but are surely effective.
Homeopathic remedies treat patients with the principle of “ like cure likes” which means that a substance that brings similar symptoms in a healthy person can treat the illness if given in a smaller dose.
4. Dietary supplements
Dietary supplements are again natural health practices to improve health. As the name suggests dietary supplements are an add-on factor to the main diet and help in curing or preventing diseases.
Dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, and probiotics provide the body with essential nutrients and help maintain health. For example, vitamin D makes bone stronger, magnesium aids digestion, etc.
Advantages of a Holistic approach
1. Improved Physical Health
The holistic approach is not about treating the body only when it gets diagnosed with diseases. Rather it is about working on well-being and reducing the risks of any future diseases.
The holistic health approach treats the person physically, mentally, and emotionally which results in improved physical health. This is because being mentally or emotionally unwell also affects physical health.
Holistic wellness focuses on treating the person by practicing normal daily activities such as getting good sleep, drinking enough amount of water, having daily walks, etc which results in overall wellness.
2. Enhanced mental and emotional well-being
When we say the holistic health approach takes into account the patient’s history, it does not mean only physical injuries or diseases. It also considers the past incidents, emotions, spirit, and preferences of the patients and according to this treatment is planned.
The natural remedies used for mental and emotional well-being are meditation, self-care, emotional support, etc. These practices result in improved mental clarity, and reduced stress and anxiety. Hence, we can say that holistic health enhances mental and emotional well-being.
3. Prevention and wellness
Holistic medicine can be combined with conventional medicine to be used as an integrative medicine that helps to prevent diseases, promote health, and focus on every aspect of health.
Integrative medicines help cure various chronic diseases and heal your mind, body, and spirit. Thus, a holistic health approach can help prevent various chronic diseases and promote the complete wellness of a person.
How to incorporate holistic health practices
We have covered the various benefits of holistic health practices and natural remedies. But how do we start with it? This section covers all about it.
1. Creating a holistic routine
To implement the holistic health approach, you first need to start practicing the various holistic health practices. These practices should affect all aspects of health such as physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
Start with natural health practices like meditation, exercises, a balanced diet, etc. These practices will improve the quality of your life. For example, do meditation for mindfulness, do exercises for stress release and physical well-being, and intake nutrients for a healthy body and mind.
2. Combining with conventional medicine
As mentioned before, a holistic approach combined with conventional medicine can help cure various diseases and even help prevent any future risks. But how do we integrate these two? Along with traditional medicines, you can start practicing holistic practices.
For example, practice yoga and meditation to reduce the pain from chronic diseases and to maintain good mental health.
Also, a proper diet and nutrition along with medicines will have a significant role in the treatment. Taking physical therapies will help in reducing pain and healing injuries.
3. Finding holistic health practitioners
Having a holistic health practitioner plan your diet and exercises will be safer than doing it yourself. We don’t know how to combine conventional medicine with holistic health practices and natural remedies so having a practitioner will make it easier.
Holistic health practitioners suggest natural remedies and practices based on your health issues, preferences, and age. This is because some holistic practices can interfere with traditional medications. Therefore consulting a practitioner is important so that these practices help you heal your body and mind.
What to consider when choosing holistic health
As holistic health is about treating the whole body and being healthy in every aspect, it is important to know all the factors to be considered when choosing holistic health.
1. Individual needs and preferences:
We have mentioned again and again that the individual needs, preferences, and environment of a person play a significant role in the holistic health approach. Before incorporating any natural remedies or practices, it is important to know the root causes, health needs, and preferences. Then only the approach would be successful in providing complete wellness of mind, body, and spirit.
2. Safety and efficacy:
When taking natural remedies, it is important to ensure your safety. Though these natural practices, herbs, etc used in the treatment are not generally harmful but can affect in case of serious illness as they may interfere with the medications.
Also, taking a larger amount of herbs can result in negative effects and cause more problems. Preparing your diet without knowledge can also be harmful as it will not fulfill the body’s needs.
3. Consulting healthcare professionals:
It is important to consult a healthcare professional before starting any new natural remedies as they will ensure that these remedies and practices are balanced and follow your needs and preferences.
As all aspects of health are interconnected, it is important to get professional help when adopting new habits, whether yoga, meditation, diet, etc. because one can affect the other. So to get the maximum benefits of holistic health, be sure to approach a practitioner.
Conclusion
Thus, a holistic health approach is a great way to improve overall health including your body, mind, and spirit. It considers individual needs, preferences, emotions, and environment before starting holistic health practices and has minimal side effects. It enhances mental and emotional well-being and promotes quality of life.
The only thing to keep in mind is to consult a practitioner before starting any holistic health approach for safety purposes. So what are you waiting for? Go consult a practitioner and heal your whole body using natural remedies and practices.
