The unitary vision of holistic medicine

In holistic medicine a disorder is not considered a situation of weakness or discomfort, something that must be eradicated and quickly, and the person does not exhaust himself in the disease. The individual is considered an agglomeration of physical and emotional parts with which he presents himself to the world and is inserted into a reality that is not made up of watertight compartments, but rather is constituted as a network where the connection points are human beings, with their souls, their stories, their energy exchanges. All the principles of holism are based on this basic assumption.

The disease in holistic medicine

The doctor, alchemist and founder of the iatrochemistry Paracelso (1493-1541) maintained that the origin of the diseases was to be found in the human being, in the sense that the manifestation of the physical disorder always has a previous internal genesis, often of a psychic or emotional nature . This assumption also applies to holistic medicine according to which the person is a set of parts that simultaneously tend to balance and the disease is a harmonious state that has altered. The cure is therefore aimed at restoring this alteration. In the holistic perspective the body is a whole and the organs are not isolated parts but systems that, in addition to being in simultaneous relationship, are also correlated to the social, psychic, emotional and spiritual dimension of the person. The first and ultimate goal of holistic medicine is the maintenance of this all-encompassing unit. Stress, frenzy, fear, worries and tension are factors that tend to disrupt individual harmony; Paavo Airola, a Finnish doctor among the major supporters of holistic medicine, also includes exogenous poisons coming from the air, from polluted food and water, from toxic drugs, from excess alcohol and food fats, and from lack of exercise, rest and relaxation.

Keywords: prevention and self-healing

The holistic approach to health focuses on the choice of a lifestyle that can prevent diseases. Each individual is different, and therefore this choice takes forms and involves different times. Edgard Cayce, considered by many to be the father of holistic medicine, believed that being in the world means being responsible for his health in a vigilant and constant way. If the state of health is in any case altered and the symptom has already manifested itself, it means that the body has revealed its request, its discomfort unheard. In that case, the doctor who has adopted a holistic approach will not leave his patient at the mercy of doubts and medicines, but will guide him through the long course of treatment and stimulate him to self-healing, through listening, becoming aware, and moments of reflection on the experiences that preceded the pathological state.