What Is Holistic Medicine?

What Is Holistic Medicine?
If summarized from several references, holistic health, or better known as holistic medicine is a type of alternative medicine that is not focused on a specific disease, but also associated with other diseases that include body and mind.

Holistic medicine according to some references :

• Holistic medicine is a system of health care which fosters a cooperative relationship among all those involved, leading towards optimal attainment of the physical, mental emotional, social and spiritual aspects of health. It emphasizes the need to look at the whole person, including analysis of physical, nutritional, environmental, emotional, social, spiritual and lifestyle values. It encompasses all stated modalities of diagnosis and treatment including drugs and surgery if no safe alternative exists. Holistic medicine focuses on education and responsibility for personal efforts to achieve balance and well being. (http://www.holisticmed.com/whatis.html)
• Holistic medicine is a form of healing that considers the whole person  _body, mind, spirit, and emotions _ in the quest for optimal health and wellness. According to the holistic medicine philosophy, one can achieve optimal health _the primary goal of holistic medicine practice _by gaining proper balance in life. Holistic medicine practitioners believe that the whole person is made up of interdependent parts and if one part is not working properly, all the other parts will be affected. In this way, if people have imbalances (physical, emotional, or spiritual) in their lives, it can negatively affect their overall health. (http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/what-is-holistic-medicine).

Types of Remedies
Holistic practitioners use a variety of treatment processes to help their patients take responsibility for their own well-being and achieve optimum health. Depending on the practitioner's training, these may include:

• Patient education on lifestyle changes and self-care to advertise wellness. This may include diet, exercise, hypnosis, relationship and spiritual therapies, and more.
• Complementary and alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, homeopathy, massage therapy, naturopathy, and more.
• Western medications and surgical procedure.

Background and conceptual basis
The holistic concept in medical practice, which is distinct from the concept in the alternative medicine, upholds that all aspects of people's needs including psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. A 2007 study said the concept was alive and well in general medicine in Sweden. Some practitioners of holistic medicine use alternative medicine exclusively, though sometimes holistic treatment can mean simply that a physician takes account of all a person's circumstances in giving treatment. Sometimes when alternative medicine is mixed with mainstream medicine the result is called "holistic" medicine, though this is more commonly termed integrative medicine. According to the American Holistic Medical Association it is believed that the spiritual element should also be taken into account when assessing a person's overall well-being. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holistic_health).

Other Terms Associated with Holistic Medicine :

1. Alternative Medicine is often used by the general public and some healthcare practitioners to refer to medical techniques which are not known or accepted by the majority "conventional" or "allopathic" medical practitioners (usually M.D.'s). Such techniques could include non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical techniques such as Medical Herbalism, Acupunture, Homeopathy, Reiki, and many others. However, the term Alternative Medicine can also refer to any experimental drug or non-drug technique that is not currently accepted by "conventional" medical practitioners. As non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical techniques become popular and accepted by large number of "conventional" practitioners, these techniques will no longer be considered Alternative Medicine. Alternative Medicine refers to techniques that are not currently accepted by "conventional" practitioners, but what is currently accepted is quickly changing. Even the definition of "conventional practitioners" is quickly changing. Therefore, techniques that are now considered part of Alternative Medicine will soon be considered part of "conventional" medicine. The terms Holistic Healing and Holistic Medicine are slightly more stable than Alternative Medicine and are therefore preferable.
2. Complementary Medicine is often used by "conventional" medical practitioners to refer to non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical techniques used as a complement to "conventional" medical treatments such as drugs and surgery. The term implies that "conventional" medicine is used as a primary tool and the non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical techniques are used as a supplement when needed. In many cases, properly chosen non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical healing techniques plus properly chosen lifestyle changes can completely and safely heal both acute and chronic illnesses. In other cases, "conventional" medicine is only needed in emergencies or when the safer non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical methods fail. In some cases "conventional" medicine will be a major part of a Holistic Healing Plan, but in some cases it is not needed at all.
3. Natural Healing usually refers to the use of non-invasive and non-pharmaceuticals techniques to help heal the patient. When most people use the term Natural Healing, they are usually referring to physical healing techniques only.