Approaching Your Health Holistically

APPROACHING YOUR HEALTH HOLISTICALLY - PT. 1

Dr. Greg and Lyn Chappell

Many patients come into our office with the desire of wanting some of this "holistic stuff". The vast majority of them don't have a clue as to what that means but intuitively have been led there for some reason..

To set the stage for opening a discussion on the application of a holistic approach to health we must consider the context through which we view health in our lives, ie., your basic philosophy of and attitude toward health, and then how a holistic approach would be applied within it. This month we will examine two basic contextual models of health: mechanism and vitalism and their historical perspectives. Then next month we will look at a holistic application within each of them.

Our underlying attitudes and philosophical orientations in life are created from the stories we develop based on our history, cultural orientation, family environment, and personal experiences and choices. Of particular influence is that of authoritative figures (legislators, teachers, doctors, lawyers, the clergy) who are in places of power and control. This influence often becomes established as the norm through acceptance and then habituation or through legislation. To act contrary to and defy this accepted norm is to be a cultural revolutionary. As an example, try telling your parents or pediatrician that you are not going to immunize your child and see how well you are accepted into the fold.

As to the dominant attitudes in health care, it is facinating to take a look at historical perspectives as to how we got to where we are today. The prevaling system of sickness and disease care (as differentiated from "health" care) has it's roots in decisions that were made several hundred years ago. To make a long story short, Rene Descartes, a seventeenth century philosopher, made a deal with the church that the body would be the province of medical doctors and the mind would go to the church.

This was the basic mind-body split which, combined with the scientific community's embodying Cartesian and Newtonian physics (the universe is composed of pieces to be manipulated with little consideration for the interplay of a guiding intelligence), has brought us to the current culturally accepted "mechanistic" model of treating the body.

Then, in the early 1900's, politics played it's role in solidifying the mechanistic model as it's proponents got legislation passed stating that only research coming from the mechanists would be considered valid. This practice remains entrenched in today's research world as our tax dollars (allocation for research purposes is often politically controlled by special interest groups and those in conflict of interest situations) and funding directly from pharmaceutical companies are targeted for the "cure" as opposed to prevention. Unfortunately, it doesn't "pay" to help people truly get healthy and learn to stay that way. (Read Candice Pert's, "Molecules Of Emotion")

Over time, our stories that have come out of this mechanistic philosophical orientation and the research that suports it has reinforced our learning to distrust our body and feelings, fragment our mind-body-spirit relationship, and relinquish our power to outside authorities: physicians for the body, therapists for the mind and the clergy for the spirit. This is the basis of our generally accepted health care system throughout the last century.

The basic constructs underlying this philosophy is that the body is a physical machine that will break down over time. Authority and responsibility are placed with the physician to diagnose and "cure" these breakdowns by treating with drugs and surgical proceedures. Disease is seen as a consequence of a breakdown in the machine. There is a focus on early detection and intervention (as opposed to prevention ), and the primary criteria for accessing this system is symptom relief.

The other option is to view yourself from the vitalistic perspective. This orientation holds that we are vital energy systems within which there is an inherrent, innate intelligence that constantly strives to adapt to the forces of nature creating a state of maximum life expression. The key is to remove interferences to this expression. Therfore, we have an active role in this process. The quality of this expression is relative to the quality of our lifestyle and the thoughts we think. The cell biologists are stating that our genes, which we used to view as static determiners of who we are, can change their expression based on our consciousness and how we think about things. Through this model, we can now see ourselves as dynamic, vitalistic organisms, not just machines.

The basic constructs of vitalism is that the body is a self-regulating, self-healing organism. It is dynamic and constantly changing with apparent capacity for continued expansion and capabilities over time. The focus is on healing rather than curing and in creating and maintaining a state of wellbeing and not just a disease-free status.. This process is set up in a dynamic between the individual and the practitioner or a network of practitioners with emphasis on assessing and removing physical/chemical/mental/emotional/spiritual interferences to the person's ability to strive toward their maximum potential. There is no separation between the body-mind-spirit; they are considered one interactive, interdependent system.

In reality, there is no "one" truth - only that which is true for you. It is interesting to see how people are choosing to express their own truth and not be held hostage by cultural norms any more. According to the Journal Of The American Medical Association, since the early 90's, there are now more visits to the so called "alternatives" each year than to medical doctors. This is not in lieu of but in conjunction with medicine. Medical practices are now being observed more for what they are very good at - crisis care. The vitalistic practices are being utilized more for prevention and wellness. People's consciousness is changing and their choices are altering the face of health care. Alternative has now become the "mainstream" and vitalism is gaining steam.

Take a look at the stories you've been living by and next month we will move into a discussion of the application of a holistic approach within these philosophical orientations.