Everyone has a different experience with healthcare and medicine. Some people are nervous about it or feel that doctors don’t listen or can’t find answers. Others may have very good experiences with their doctors. Holistic medicine is increasingly popular for patients who want to be more involved in their healthcare. Here are some tips for incorporating holistic medicine into your life.
Integrate Alternative Medicine into Your Routine Safely
Patients are increasingly seeking chiropractic care, acupuncture and other alternative medicine options to supplement their medical care. You may choose to see a chiropractor for a subluxation or care for chronic pain. Patients may book appointments with acupuncturists for pain relief or to manage symptoms of other treatment regimens, such as chemotherapy. It’s important to integrate these treatments into your routine safely. Find reputable providers and talk to your doctor about your options before making appointments. For example, it’s inadvisable to see a chiropractor for nerve pain, but they can provide excellent joint pain relief.
Talk to a Holistic Wellness Coach
Holistic wellness coaches are health coaches trained to help you change your behavior and routines to improve your health. They may work independently from or in tandem with your doctor and medical team. Your holistic wellness coach should review your medical history, particularly any treatments and medications your doctors have prescribed for prevention or chronic conditions. He or she can then work with you to incorporate healthy lifestyle changes such as nutrition and dietary adjustments into your life or find holistic and alternative medicine providers to supplement your medical care.
Research Holistic Providers Carefully
You must research holistic providers carefully before choosing one. Many are reputable and focused on helping patients, but some may not be credible or have enough experience to meet your needs. Always talk to your doctor. If he or she doesn’t have any recommendations to give you, you can look for holistic providers together. You can also request recommendations from friends, family and peers or read reviews online. Think about how you feel and research holistic treatments that have helped people who feel the way you do. Consider which complementary or alternative therapies you and your doctor are comfortable pursuing. Talk to your doctor about what lifestyle changes may be beneficial to you and help improve your condition. When you call a provider to schedule an appointment, ask him or her questions about the practice, treatment and patient outcomes.
Understand Holistic Principles And Types of Treatment
All holistic medicine involves common principles and treatment types. You should understand them well before deciding whether holistic medicine is right for you. The principles of holistic medicine include treating a condition’s cause rather than its symptoms, working as a team to heal and treating the patient as a person rather than focusing on his or her condition. Treatment types include western medicine, alternative and complementary therapies and promoting wellness through patient education and lifestyle adaptations. The goal is to combine these treatments to improve a patient’s overall health instead of focusing on a single aspect of his or her health.
Be Involved in Your Healthcare Plan
Holistic medicine requires patients to be actively involved in their healthcare. While medication and treatments such as surgeries and physical therapy may be involved in your treatment plan, you cannot simply passive accept these treatments. If you want holistic healthcare, prepare to actively communicate with your doctors, make and stick with lifestyle and dietary changes, decide which complementary treatments are right for you and be honest with your healthcare team. If you aren’t an active participant in your own healthcare, you’re unlikely to see any improvement.
You should always be involved in your healthcare, but holistic medicine tends to require even more involvement from the patient. You need to work with your holistic provider and other doctors as a team, so you all need to understand each other and communicate well. If you don’t the treatment plans you decide on may not be successful.
