We define wellness as the optimum
state of health for a person. Wellness is when the physical, mental and
spiritual states of a person are in harmony with each other and are perfectly
balanced. It is an ongoing journey and one that, according to circumstances,
will change and can change you. This is also called holistic health. Holistic
means ‘of the whole’. It is not only about the physical health or mental
health, but includes the health of all parts of the body.
What is the importance of
holistic health?
Very often, a person is sick and
medicine is at a loss to define what the problem is. For example, a person
could have psoriasis and the doctor could keep treating the patient with
topical medication and oral medication. But it doesn’t always get cured with
doses of medication, or it may recur again in some cases. In such cases, one
needs to find the reason for the psoriasis. Very often, doctors have found that
the underlying cause of the psoriasis is stress, where the patient would need a
holistic treatment. They need not only the medication for their current
symptoms, but they also need to de-stress which is a state of mind and not of
the body. Holistic health tries to determine the underlying cause of problems
and tries to treat the problem as a whole.
How is holistic health
applied?
Let us take a simple case of
alcoholism to explain how holistic wellness works. The physical results of
alcoholism are liver damage, fatigue, cancer, kidney damage, unproductiveness,
etc. But when approaching this problem from a holistic point of view, the
person who is treating the patient will approach the problem in two ways.
The first one would be treating the
physical problems that have risen out of alcoholism. The second part is delving
deeper into the person’s life and trying to find out why the person turned to
alcohol in the first place. It could be due to trauma, marital problems, loss
of a job, etc. The doctor will try and get help for the patient by encouraging
them to join support groups.
The spiritual aspect of this journey
will be addressed too. A change to a healthy lifestyle, yoga, alternative medicine
therapies are all recommended for holistic
treatment. By working holistically, there are two advantages. The
patient starts feeling better, and secondly there is less chance for a
reoccurrence of the illness.
What are the different ways
that we can practice an optimum state of wellness?
The best way to ensure that you are
in a state of holistic wellness is to make sure that all the three aspects –
physical, mental and spiritual wellness – are equally addressed. Some ways that
you can ensure that you are on the path to holistic wellness are:
- Exercise regularly
- Sleep well
- Eat healthy and nutritious food
- Stop all kinds of substance abuse
- Lead an active lifestyle
- Make your life more organized, so your stress level becomes less
- Take some time out of your day for yourself, every day. It makes a big difference
- Try and make your environment stress-free or at least try and lessen the stress in your life
- Meditate regularly
- Be productive
By following these small tips you can ensure holistic
wellness!
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