HealthcareBenefits of the Holistic Approach to Health

How many times have you heard people before talking about so-called “holistic” healthcare. You might have wondered what that term means. It’s certainly something you’ll hear a lot if you visit the best naturopaths in Melbourne, as well as practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Sydney, and myopaths in Perth…you get the idea. But what exactly does it mean? Is it just another of those health buzzwords?

Actually, no. The term holistic has been around for a long time and is actually used a lot more commonly than you’d think. In education, for instance, the “holistic approach” to education means that a school is dedicated to educating the “whole child” as opposed to just teaching them facts and information to pass a test. That means all aspects of education become important to complete with care and dedication: emotional growth, social development, cognitive ability and critical faculties, a sense of community and duty…and so on.

Well, the holistic approach to health is no different. Rather than simply reacting to a specific set of symptoms or a specific disease that you might have, it takes a wider view of the bigger picture of your healthcare. Below are some of the many benefits of that overall approach.

Benefit 1: Tackles Root Causes of Various Health Problems

First and foremost, taking a holistic approach to one’s healthcare means that you don’t just look at what symptoms are currently manifesting on the body surface. You look much deeper to find where certain imbalances are that are the real root cause of such symptoms. It could be something to do with your diet that lacks certain nutrients and vitamins that subsequently makes your body more susceptible to getting sick.

A typical approach might be to just deal with the symptoms as and when they arise. But with a holistic approach, you are dealing with the cause of those symptoms and thus “curing” yourself in a much more meaningful sense of the word.

Benefit 2: Takes a Preventative Approach

Following on from the previous point, rather than just reacting to circumstances, a holistic understanding of medicine and healthcare means taking a preventative approach. This means that you live in such a way that prevents the health problems you would normally react to from happening in the first place.

Some people tend to look at medicine as a dichotomy between preventative medicine and reactive medicine. But why? Surely we should promote the 2 ideas working hand in hand, because they do. The preventative approach helps to stop your body succumbing to many everyday and commonplace ailments, while reactive medicine helps you deal with acute problems, not to mention physical trauma from accidents, etc.

Benefit 3: Promotes Healthier Living

A big part of the preventative approach to healthcare is living a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle. When you take the holistic approach, you have to look at all aspects of your life from diet and vices (e.g., smoking and alcohol consumption) to how you exercise each day and how you manage stress and strain on your mental health.

When you spend your life reflecting on these things and actively trying to improve them, you will boost your overall picture of health as a natural result of that. It’s hard to argue with something that encourages you just to live a healthier life.

Benefit 4: Covers Both Mental and Physical Health Aspects

Finally, a holistic understanding of health means looking at both the physical and the mental aspects of health. Those who only take care of the body but not the mind are doomed to harm the mind, leaving one depressed, anxious and worse. There’s a mental health crisis going on in countries around the world right now with people refusing to acknowledge the importance of taking care of our minds as well as our bodies. Favouring the holistic approach ensures that all aspects get fair attention.

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