What is the difference between alternative medicine and holistic health

In fact, these two concepts are not of the same dimension at all - alternative therapy is a collection of non-traditional mainstream medical methods that are based on conventional Western medicine treatment, and belongs to the category of "tools"; while holistic health is a care concept and practice framework that treats people as a unified whole of body, mind, society and soul, which is the "underlying logic". This is the core difference between the two.

When I first entered the industry, I often confused the two. It was not until I met many visitors who took a detour that I gradually understood them clearly. For example, a girl who suffered from migraines for three years came to me last year and said that she had tried aromatherapy and auricular pressure beans from several companies, all of which were given to her according to fixed formulas for migraines. It relieved her headaches for two weeks, but relapsed immediately when she worked overtime and stayed up late. She originally thought that these alternative therapies were IQ taxes. Later, when we evaluated her, we discovered that each of her headache attacks was related to the mood swings before and after her menstrual period, the straightening of the cervical spine caused by long-term desk work, and even the long-term ambivalence of living with her parents. Later, the plan we gave her included alternative therapies such as aromatic massage to relieve her shoulders and neck, and also asked her to regularly find a psychological counselor to sort out family relationships, and do cervical spine exercises for 10 minutes every day. We also specifically reminded her to take painkillers when the pain was severe, and not to take it hard. After more than two months of adjustment, her attack frequency dropped by 70%. You see, when we used aromatherapy and auricular acupuncture alone earlier, we were just using alternative therapy tools. We did not use the overall health idea at all, and naturally could not solve the root problem.

Nowadays, many people in the industry confuse these two concepts, and even deliberately bundle them in marketing, saying that as long as they use alternative therapies such as acupuncture, essential oils, and bone setting, they are doing overall health. In fact, they are not at all. Many practitioners of alternative therapies still adhere to the idea of ​​"symptomatic treatment". The logic of prescribing painkillers for headaches and antidiarrheals for diarrhea is the same as in conventional Western medicine. The only difference is that the tools they use are different. On the other hand, the practice of overall health does not exclude conventional medical methods at all. I have an old client with type 2 diabetes. When we provide him with overall health management, we never let him stop the metformin prescribed by the doctor privately. We only take the medicine according to the doctor's instructions. On the basis of this, we helped him adjust his diet to suit his knee condition, combined with low-intensity exercise suitable for his knee condition, and taught him to use mindfulness breathing to regulate the anxiety caused by the disease. His glycosylated hemoglobin has been stable for almost a year, and even his attending doctor feels that he is in good condition. This whole plan includes conventional medical treatment and alternative therapies, but the core is to treat him as a complete person, rather than just focusing on blood sugar levels. This is the core of overall health.

Of course, there is a lot of controversy about alternative therapies in the industry now. The effectiveness of many methods still lacks sufficient large-scale evidence-based evidence. Whether you are trying alternative therapies or doing overall health management, you must find compliant and qualified practitioners. Don't blindly believe in the sayings that "whole health means not using Western medicine" and "alternative therapies can cure all diseases". If there are real organic problems, go to a regular hospital for investigation first, and don't delay treatment.