Alternative Medicine is Holistic, Western Medicine is Reductionist
The major difference between alternative medicine, or what I'll call holistic health, and Western medicine, is in approach.
A Western doctor, or MD, sees his duty as searching out disease, diagnosing it, and treating it. If he does that correctly and effectively, he's done his job. Most often, this means the doctor prescribing a pharmaceutical drug or a surgical procedure to remedy the situation. The patients is passive in all of this.
A holistic health practitioner sees her duty as an educator and a facilitator. She feels that the body can heal itself, and it doesn't necessarily need outside influences (drugs, surgery) to heal from an illness or to prevent an illness. In holistic health, the patient is an active participant.
This is the best and the worst thing about holistic health! The patient is actively involved in the healing process. Everything you know about your body says that this is the right approach. It makes so much sense. That's the good part. The bad thing about this is that it is HARD WORK for the patient. In most cases, the patient must make changes to their lifestyle. Change your diet, do more exercise, stop using sugar, do these stretches, stop negative thoughts, meditate twice a day, etc.
Making lifestyle changes is immensely difficult. The only time it's easy is when you are faced with a life-threatening disease. When you find out you have lung cancer, it's pretty easy to quit smoking. However, it's far too late by that time. Lifestyle changes need to come before the illness becomes manifest.
Let's examine one of the big differences between holistic health and Western medicine: holism versus reductionism.
Holistic versus Reductionist
This is a major shift in perspective. Taking a holistic perspective means that you cannot understand a single problem with a single part of the human body without looking at the whole person. We use the short-hand "mind, body, spirit" to refer to the whole person.
This is not how a Western doctor is taught to see a patient. He sees the patient as the disease. "This is an epileptic," it is not a whole person who has epilepsy. He feels that he can administer a drug or perform a surgery that will cure a person's liver without making any difference to the rest of the person. Of course, this is never possible, so when the inevitable "complications" arise, the Western doctor deals with those one at a time, often causing additional problems for the person, whether in body, mind or spirit.
Even those three parts of the person are treated by separate people in Western society. The body is the domain of the medical doctor. The mind is the domain of the psychiatrist. Spirit is left to the priest, rabbi or pastor. There is no overlap in roles, except for referrals from one to the other. In our bodies, of course, there is tremendous overlap. A loss of connection to God or the universe will cause no end of mental and physical problems. Mental stress causes many physical diseases, as we well know. Who can coordinate between these in the Western system? No one. Problems falling "through the cracks" between mind, body and spirit is a common failure of Western medicine.
A holistic practitioner understands the interconnections between mind, body and spirit. They work on the connections, and, although the practitioner may not be an expert in all three, they focus on the overlaps rather than ignoring them.
In my opinion, a holistic approach is better in almost every case for almost every person. Understanding the linkages between mind, body and spirit is essential to understanding how to stay well and how to heal. Western medicine can play a part within the scope of holistic health by offering emergency solutions to problems that arise quickly and need to be fixed immediately.
Daryl Kulak is the author of Health Insurance Off the Grid, a book that explores how a combination of holistic health and the new Health Savings Account (HSA) can make an enormous difference in the budget and health of the self-employed.
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting
More Alternative Information:
Related Articles
Bladder Infections
"If you let that fiery wise blood just sit there in your belly, great granddaughter," admonishes Grandmother Growth, "you'll get the urge to quench that heat. You'll get a tickle, a twinge, an urgent call.
Chelation and Clathration
Chelating is the process of removing toxic materials, metals and minerals from the body by use of certain chelating agents. These are substances that bond with the toxic materials resulting in capsulation of those toxic materials within the chelating agent that then flashes away through the natural excretory process of cleaning the body waste.
Jesus Diet - Lifestyle Changes That Will Boost Your Energy
Drawing on the inspiration of loaves, fish, and wine, a doctor from Florida has published a self-help manual called "What would Jesus Eat?". After the launch of this unique book, Jesus officially joined the US fight against fat.
Cleansing Your Elimination Organs to Achieve Good Health
Benefits of Cleansing Your Elimination OrgansColon cleansing, kidney cleansing, and liver cleansing routines are key elements to an overall body cleansing and detoxification plan. Proper cleansing of toxins from these important elimination organs frees up your body's resources to more effectively fight disease.
Isnt It Time For WHOLISTIC Medicine?
I posted a story the other day on one of my blogs - the headline reads: "Antidepressant drugs quadruple risk of suicides, research shows".SighI mean, c'mon.
Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally - Cholesterol Through The Mouth
If you have high cholesterol, you should educate yourself about the natural options that are available to you, to help lower your cholesterol, before diving head first into taking prescription medications?which are generally loaded with side effects, some of which can be dangerous and even fatal.There are various options available to you, to help lower your cholesterol naturally and reduce or eliminate your risk of heart disease.
Application Methods For Aromatherapys Essential Oils
BATH:Add 10-12 drops of a single oil or a blend to 1/2 Cup Epsom Salts or baking soda - or 5 drops to 1 TBSP of Epsom Salts or baking soda. Pour it into a hot bath while it is filling.
Acid Reflux and Heartburn Natural Remedies Part I
Here is a list of natural remedies that you can use when you have acid reflux or heartburn. No need to use antacids, which have unwanted side effects and contain aluminum, which has been associated with senility and Alzheimer's disease.
Strong Drugstore Laxatives - Use With Caution
Osmotic chemicals - Saline CartherticsThese chemicals are salts and other compounds that activate secretions of water from your colon walls and into your colon, which are absorbed by the fecal matter. This softens the fecal matter and promotes a bowel movement.
How the Subconscious Reasons When It Communicates With You About Pain Relief
The subconscious is a strange creature. It doesn't know what day it is, and can't add two and two.
What Is Reflexology?
For the Reflexologist, the feet are a microcosm of the human body and every organ and body part is represented in the feet. Where there are two organs in the body they will be represented on both feet, e.
Alternative Medicine
Alternative Medicine is the use of natural therapy and medicines to restore and maintain health. Dating back to 420 B.
Ginseng: Root of Immortality
Translated to mean man root in Chinese, the name ginseng premises on the belief that the roots, with their attached limbs, resemble a human being. Due to its perceived kinship with the gods, the Chinese named it the root of immortality.
Reiki Energy Balance
Here's a simple exercise that anyone can do, even if they haven't been 'attuned' to Reiki. It requires a basic knowledge of channeling Reiki energy, the positions of the 7 primary chakras and a willingness to spend some time making someone else feel good.
How to Sense Low Levels of Asbestos in Your Daily Environment. (Part II)
Most people find it difficult to believe that a tiny dust material, too small to see, can cause such havoc with the human body. As a construction worker, I may have an advantage in identifying the materials which shed this residue, but this also tends to make me more vulnerable to it's effects.
Fraicheur DAgrume (Citrus Fruits): Freshness in a Bottle
Citrus oils are perhaps one of the more popular essential oils for perfumery. They provide a fresh, invigorating and stimulating aroma that is indispensable in fragrances.
Stuttering Treatment, Stammering Treatment
There are many different treatments for people who stutter/stammer. In this article I will describe some of the experiences and types of stuttering or stammering therapy people experiment with.
Keeping Well When Monsoon Dwells
First showers of monsoon are heartily welcomed by everyone after experiencing the scorching heat of summer. But monsoons reduce the immunity of our body and make us susceptible to many diseases which are commonly associated with this season.
YARROW TEA (Achillea Millefolium)
An amazing tea that can help with colds and flu, and also help you see in pure colour. Yarrow has an ancient history.
How To Use Senna For Constipation Relief
It is known that Egyptians used senna tea to relieve constipation. This tea is used for medium and chronic conditions of constipation.