The holistic approach to alternative treatments has three benefits. First, it can help the patient, perhaps for the first time in many years, to deeply analyze himself/herself, his/her lifestyle, mental states, including attitudes toward himself/herself along with mental and physical needs. The reality today is that many people do not pay attention to their own health until a problem arises.
Being a more self-conscious patient has the opportunity to see beyond the symptoms to increase self-knowledge and to see new ways to improve wellbeing and general mental health, which in turn improves the body’s ability to heal itself and combat the future diseases.
The second benefit of holistic treatments is that it allows the therapist to look more closely at the patient, rather than just taking into account a specific problem. This will favor the correct determination of the root causes of the patient’s ailments and treat it as a whole instead of just attacking some external symptoms. If these symptoms are alleviated but the cause of them is not tackled, it is very likely that one could safely say that the symptoms will return quickly. For example, if a patient has a problem related to stress, the therapist should be able to work with the patient to address the stress itself and not only the immediate symptoms, providing both a relaxing treatment and a beneficial advice in favor of the holistic health of the treated individual.
The holistic health treatment is undoubtedly beneficial because it takes time. There is no doubt that you will always get a great benefit when there is someone willing to listen to and attend to your needs, especially in today’s world, when life passes in front of us very quickly.
The benefits of holistic treatments go far beyond promoting the patient’s physical and mental well-being as they promote a balance between mind and body which allows the individual to better manage recovery, reduce stress, fatigue and help to heal the body in less time. These types of treatments can be used in conjunction with conventional medicine, since both the doctor and the therapist are aware of the roles of each in the care and treatment of the patient. In many circumstances, holistic therapies may represent an effective alternative to treat mental-emotional health problems in an easy-to-cope manner and free of side effects.
Many authors propose redefining the concept of health based on resistance or coping the ability to maintain or restore one’s health, balance and sense of wellbeing, adaptability and self-management in all spheres, physical, mental and social.
The controversy about holistic health continues, but we are left with a basic conclusion. The comprehensive health goes far beyond the biomedical system and it encompasses human behavior. It is a positive concept that involves the degrees of vitality and adaptive functioning.
