By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    bowl of vegetable salad
    Raw Foods: benefits and harms
    November 9, 2021
    pros and cons of the keto diet
    Read This Before You Follow the Keto Diet
    May 18, 2022
    spinal cord injuries
    4 Potential Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries (and How to Seek Compensation)
    May 25, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    4 Reasons Why Medical Device Compliance Matters
    May 22, 2020
    What To Know About The Importance Of Healthcare Marketing
    November 23, 2019
    healthcare courses
    6 Supplemental Courses in Healthcare to Support Your HR Degree
    August 20, 2021
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Why Are We So Afraid of Holistic Healthcare?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Wellness > Why Are We So Afraid of Holistic Healthcare?
Wellness

Why Are We So Afraid of Holistic Healthcare?

Per Wickstrom
Last updated: October 25, 2013 8:00 am
Per Wickstrom
Share
6 Min Read
benefits of holistic care
SHARE

benefits of holistic careWhen people feel sick, they visit a doctor. At the doctor’s office, they expect to get a prescription. Whether or not a prescription drug is the best option, both physicians and their patients are programmed to expect drugs to solve their problems.

benefits of holistic careWhen people feel sick, they visit a doctor. At the doctor’s office, they expect to get a prescription. Whether or not a prescription drug is the best option, both physicians and their patients are programmed to expect drugs to solve their problems.

A 2012 report from the CDC showed that 48.5 percent of Americans had taken at least one prescription drug in the previous month. There’s no doubt that traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals help people recover from illness. However, the one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare may mask problems caused by a patient’s lifestyle choices and overall health. Holistic care can offer an alternative for some. 

Approaching the Patient as a Whole Person

More Read

unhealthy food
Not So Superfoods
Starting a Paleo Diet – What You Can Eat and What You Can’t
Green Garden Project “Grows” at Sinai
Continua’s Chuck Parker on Connected Health (transcript)
Preventive Aging

Holistic medicine is a healing approach that addresses the whole person — mind, body, and spirit — and places the responsibility for an individual’s health in his own hands. Rather than treat a specific ailment, holistic healthcare focuses on a person’s well-being by combining alternative therapies, nutrition, exercise, and Eastern healing arts with the advances of Western medicine.

Holistic medicine predates our current ideas of “traditional healthcare.” In the fourth century B.C., Socrates warned about treating an isolated part without seeing the body as whole. Holistic medicine existed even earlier in Greece, as well as in India and China, where holistic remedies are still common. After falling out of favor in the West, holistic medicine has experienced a recent resurgence.

A host of therapies can be grouped under the umbrella of holistic medicine, but some of the most common include acupuncture, Reiki, meditation, massage, chiropractic care, homeopathic remedies, nutrition, and aromatherapy.

When a patient visits a holistic doctor about a specific issue, the doctor will ask about the person’s other health problems, diet and sleep habits, relationships, and spiritual life to determine an underlying cause before suggesting treatment.

Holistic Care for Effective Treatment of Pain

While holistic health is much bigger than a single sickness or symptom, in certain situations, traditional medical care is required when holistic remedies are insufficient. Antibiotics treat infections, a ruptured organ requires surgery, and a broken bone needs a cast.

Yet our modern illnesses are often much more complicated, nuanced, and lifestyle-related. For example, doctors may try to help a patient with chronic back pain by recommending steroids, pain medication, and surgery. It’s unwise to ask someone to undergo such life-altering treatments without first seeking less invasive options, such as acupuncture, chiropractic treatments, vitamin therapy, or VAX-D. If the patient’s chronic pain is related to stress, diet, or an activity, traditional medicine may not recognize these causes, much less prescribe a practical treatment for them.

Furthermore, holistic healthcare teaches people to take responsibility for their health emotionally, physically, and spiritually. The patient learns to understand his pain in an interrelated way. People who understand and actively work to take care of their bodies feel more positive about themselves and more in control.

In some situations, holistic healthcare is a strong alternative to traditional care. In my experience, drug addiction is often treated more effectively with a combination of traditional and holistic methods, rather than just with pharmaceuticals. Suboxone and Subutex are effective to treat withdrawal from some illegal drugs, but long-term sobriety requires lifestyle changes.

Reasons People Avoid Holistic Medicine

Despite the obvious benefits of holistic methods, both doctors and patients are wary of them because of our cultural expectations of healthcare. Our traditional beliefs about healthcare have taught us to take a pill for a quick fix. We assume taking medicine will help us — and it often does. However, medication can carry serious side effects. Our reliance on prescription drugs may take a toll on our well-being.

People also shy away from holistic treatment because of time. Lifestyle changes require patience and commitment; they yield slow results. In our culture of instant gratification, there’s little patience for plodding change. If someone has the choice of taking a pill for immediate weight loss or using alternative therapies to shed pounds over months, most will opt for the fast, easy method.

Seeking a Long-Term Solution

The medical community is increasingly open to considering lifestyle a factor in preventing disease. It’s clear that pharmaceuticals and traditional medicine alone won’t prevent future problems. Lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, and stress reduction are required to improve people’s quality of life.

Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, is credited with saying it’s more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has. He may have been on to something.

(holistic care / shutterstock)

TAGGED:holistic careholistic healthcare
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Dental health
May 21, 2025
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
Dental health
May 21, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025

You Might also Like

Wellness

Need Detox? Start with Your Air and Water

July 5, 2017
NewsWellness

Advances in Thyroid Care

November 17, 2017

Does Caffeine Reduce Depression?

December 13, 2011

The Best Thing About Any New Adventure

October 8, 2015
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?