The importance of a Holistic Approach to Health and Wellbeing
Have you had those experiences when you have been feeling just great, you are full of energy, you are achieving exactly what you want and you feel you can take on the world?
Have you also experienced the opposite, you wake up feeling groggy, you have a stressful day and your body feels heavy tired and you just don't feel well at all?
So why is this?
If you look at many systems of medicine from around the world, they work on a “Holistic Approach” with the strong belief that our mind and body are intrinsically linked, so when we feel good our body feels good and vice versa!
What do we mean by "Holistic Approach"
If you look in the dictionary, holistic is defined as "the belief that parts of something are intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole."
If we then look further into this definition from a medical viewpoint, holistic is "characterised by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of the disease."
Consult your GP
Now, if you are concerned about anything to do with your health and wellbeing, its very important to first go to your GP and get everything checked out.
One of the worst things people do, is go searching online for the cause of their symptoms and within minutes have then “self diagnosed” all kinds of conditions.
For some people, their GP will give them the all clear physically and so there isn’t anything physical that requires intervention, others there will of course be medical intervention required.
The Complementary approach
The important factor to hold in mind is that Holistic approaches work complementary to medical intervention and can in many cases actually support the success of medicines taken because the person is feeling a lot better in themselves mentally and emotionally.
When we work holistically, we are looking at the person as a whole, mentally, emotionally and physically and approaching well being from all these angles. When people are taking medication, then there are many studies showing how the release of endorphins can accelerate the healing process - a great example of this is the film “Patch Adams” where Robin Williams plays the role of a doctor who uses laughter to support his patients in being a good state of mind.
My personal approach
Holistic approaches cover a huge range of techniques, the main models I work with are NLP, Hypnosis and Time Line Therapy®, Huna, Meditation, Diet and Lifestyle approaches and there is a massive range of models/approaches you can chose from
Tips to support your wellbeing
Some easy tips to support your wellbeing from a Holistic Approach are:
- Be kind to yourself. We are our own worst critic and it's important to recognise your daily achievements as this makes you feel good
- Drink at least 2 litres of water a day, get into the habit of sipping throughout the day
- Eat well with foods lower in carbohydrates. High levels of sugars in our diet isn't good for our mind or body
- Do things you love
- Find a career you love
- Spend time with people who make you laugh
More from Claire
To gain more insights you can listen into my weekly radio show
The Health Inspector
105FM and online www.calonfm.com
Wednesday's 5 - 6 pm
and find out more at my website
