Often times you will hear the phrase “Holistic Care”. What does that mean though? Holistic, although complex in theory, simply means “whole”. The whole self. This will often refer to 4 pillars of self. The first, physical body, including movement, nutrition, medical needs, sleep schedule, skin care and so on essentially in perpetuity. Remember I said “complex”? Well, the lists in each pillar can be endless based on each person’s scenerio in needs, wishes and wants. The next pillar, mental health including mental stimulation, continuously learning of something new each day for brain health, dementia care, memory “jogging” etc. The third pillar emotional support, connection or stability. This can be taking care of past trauma, PTSD, family dynamics, and ongoing grief coaching for losses not easily processed. The fourth is spiritual health. This can be administered through spiritual or religious counseling, meditation, and intertwined often together with the three other pillars. Often, treating one pillar draws upon the other pillars for a so-called team effort.
“Treating all four pillars of holistic care leads to longer, healthier and happier quality of life. ”
So why do so many people miss the mark on holistic care? Experience in medical care usually leads to one reason. Medical Coverage. People look to doctors for care when they are suffering an ailment. Doctors are bound to provide care based on time of visits and follow medical guidelines for each diagnosis. Medical coverage rarely includes excellent mental health care or assessing emotional needs. Reaching out to spiritual religious couseling is not always free or available without judgement (leading to further stressors).
For example, a woman has recurring headaches and decides it is resulting in feeling nauseas and missing social events with her friends. She makes an apointment to see a doctor. For the sake of arguments here, her physician takes her seriously and prescribes a medication. It doesn’t seem to work and she follows back up with her doctor. He orders tests based on physical complaints, maybe bloodwork, maybe even an MRI. Nothing shows significantly wrong pathologically so she is told it is probably stress and to try to relax more and sent on her way to find alternate solutions. What physicians do not normally include in assessment is an evaluation of stressors. Perhaps she recently moved out of her home and downsized for retirement. Maybe her favorite companion cat passed away and she is grieving the loss. Perhaps she can not afford the same nutritious food she was used to eating. (I like to include a 5th pillar of financial stability as well).
Holistic care spends time evaluating the needs, wishes and lifestyle goals of an individual and aims to connect the four pillars of our “self” to treat as a whole. Yes, physical health of our body is critical, but many times no less critical that the emotional and spiritual health of our soul. Any disfunction in a pillar and the other pillars suffer. Holistic care aims to treat all the pillars, hopefully in unison.
When Pillars Support Each Other
The beauty of holistic care is they are almost always connected to one another. Emotional grief that lasts too long can lead to mental depression which can lead to many physical ailments. What if working through or on processing grief can make us feel physically better in turn creating a clearer mind? What if seeking spiritual counseling and guidance helps us emotionally work towards being motivated to be more active in the community, creating better physical health and better emotional connections leading to mental stimulation? What if just realizing that taking time for yourself each day with a small meditation practice, just gets you started on a new path? Holistic care isn’t just a hippie term coined for the monks of Tibet. It’s for everyone. We all can benefit with better overall quality of life and health using the combined pillars.
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