HOLISTIC MEDICINE: HISTORY, WHAT IT STUDIES, APPLICATIONS - ECONOMÍA - 2024

The Holistic medicine is a discipline that involves alternative treatments for the healing of body, mind and spirit, with a focus on the lifestyle of the individual. Holistic medicine specialists diagnose and recommend treatments in a different way than traditional medicine, concentrating not only on curing the disease, but on a comprehensive approach to the problem.

This type of care does not exclude traditional medicine in its treatments, since it incorporates both disciplines, taking the best of both to achieve optimal patient health in aspects beyond the physical.

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Holistic medicine requires that the patient be involved in their own healing, and although its detractors insist on cataloging it as pseudoscience, it is gaining more and more followers among those who seek a treatment that links the emotional being with their physical state.

History of holistic medicine

The name Holistic Medicine has its roots in the word holism, which in turn comes from the Greek hólos and means “all” or “entirely”.

In this way, the discipline is then understood as the medicine that attends the entire human being, taking into account all the elements that compose it.

From Hippocrates to the present day

Holistic medicine is not a new doctrine. Evidence of its existence reveals its presence in the world more than five thousand years ago, long before the medicine we know today as traditional became the standard of healthcare.

Hippocrates (460 BC-370 BC) known as the father of medicine, was one of the pioneers in promoting self-healing of the body and the Roman poet Juvenal (60 AD-128 AD).) preached the famous phrase “a healthy mind in a healthy body”, examples of a culture devoted to the indivisible union of the body with the spirit.

Also since ancient times, both in China and India, they practiced holistic health through therapies with herbal medicines, one of the regular treatments that holistic medicine currently uses.

Historians claim that physicians in our era began to pay less attention to holistic medicine after discovering that germs were the cause of a large number of diseases.

Eventually, medical care focused only on the symptoms and physical conditions of the patient and this discipline became the solution to all problems.

The return of holistic medicine

A new holistic wave emerged at the end of the 1960s, when movements against the disproportionate use of strong drugs for the treatment of diseases were created, manifesting an interest in returning to nature.

This trend gained importance to the point of holding meetings such as the First National Holistic Health Conference, held in California, United States, in 1975; in addition to the creation of organizations such as the Holistic Medical Association founded in 1978 and the American Association of Holistic Nurses in 1981.

What does holistic medicine study?

The philosophy of holistic medicine says that it is possible to obtain optimal health by properly balancing all aspects of the human being, since the elements that make up the being are united and in this way must be treated.

That is why, when diagnosing a patient, holistic doctors study aspects such as: physical, nutritional, emotional, environmental, spiritual state, in addition to the aforementioned lifestyle.

Holistic medicine conceives a disease not as an isolated event, but as a symptom of a dysfunction that affects the person as a whole being.

This discipline operates in a way in which doctor and patient work together to achieve optimal solutions, hence the importance of a good attitude and open collaboration on the part of the person receiving treatment.

Holistic Medicine Principles

- All people innately possess internal powers of healing.

- The patient is a person, not a disease.

- Treatment includes curing the cause of the conflict, not just the disease.

- A single medical professional may not be sufficient for patient care, but a multidisciplinary team that approaches from different angles in search of the root of the problem.

Holistic Medicine Applications

Holistic medicine is used for the healing of diseases and chronic ailments, through natural treatments that are applied to the patient, depending on their condition; without ruling out the use of drugs or surgery, used by traditional medicine.

Here are some of the treatments applied as part of holistic medicine:

- Psychological attention

- Nutritional care

- Physical therapy

- Massage therapy

- Meditation

- Chiropractic Medicine

- Herbal medicine

- Naturopathy

- Aromatherapy

- Philotherapy

- Flower therapy

- Homeopathy

- Acupuncture

- Music therapy

- Biomolecular therapies

- Graphology

- Megavitamin therapy

- Shiatsu

- Yoga

Types of treatments

The treatments applied in holistic medicine are very diverse and it is possible that in the future new research will lead to the inclusion of other methods of healing.

To group them, organizations such as the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States, catalog the treatments according to their type:

Comprehensive composite systems

Which include treatments such as homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture, among others.

Biological therapies

Methods involving herbs, foods, and vitamins are grouped into this category.

Handling and body-based methods

They are treatments that require contact or movement of the body, among these are chiropractic, reflexology or massages.

Approaches to the mind and body

This type of treatment includes mind control techniques such as yoga, meditation or music therapy.

Therapies based on energies

They are used for treatments related to reiki, tai chi, therapies, flowers, etc.

Holistic medicine in animals

Holistic medicine is currently not only reserved for man. The practice has spread to the care of pets, which receive treatments similar to those of humans.

Formal medical knowledge is also present, in this case veterinary, in conjunction with alternative treatments linked to holistic medicine.

Pets receive from their veterinarians trained in holistic medicine, flower therapy, reiki, acupuncture, homeopathy, just to name a few.

Some holistic veterinarians even make home visits to learn about the animal's environment and how it socializes with other pets or humans.

As a prevention method

Holistic medicine promotes not only healing but also the prevention of diseases, through a lifestyle that guarantees the happiness of the patient and as a consequence a healthier body, endowed with adequate nutrition and frequent physical exercise.

Specialists also recommend that patients manage stress and impose an emotional intelligence with a spirit of strength and determination that allows to achieve true healing.

References

1. Jennie Rothenberg Gritz. (2015). The evolution of alternative medicine. Taken from theatlantic.com
2. Chuaxin Wang. (2017). What is Holistic Medicine ?. Taken from amcollege.edu
3. American Holistic Association. (2019). Principles of Holistic Medicine. Taken from ahha.org
4. Castle Craig Hospital. The history of Holistic Medicine. (2019). Taken from castlecraighospitalç
5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2019). Holistic Medicine. Taken from britannica.com
6. A short history of Holistic Medicine. (2019). Taken from medicineworld.org