5 Reasons to Go Holistic
Here’s a quick summary of the differences between Doctors and Herbalists:
Doctors see themselves as responsible for your healthcare. | Herbalists think you’re responsible for your own healthcare. |
| Doctors concentrate on the illness with the patient. | Herbalists concentrate on the patient with the illness. |
| Doctors rely heavily on diagnostic tests, even when they don’t match the presentation of symptoms. | Herbalists rely on the patient telling their story, but use tests when needed. |
| NHS Doctors don’t usually have time to get to the root cause of chronic health problems. | Herbalists spend a long time talking to and examining patients, enabling them to understand what’s happening more quickly. |
| Doctors use medications that the body can’t recognise as being natural. | Herbalists use natural plant extracts which the body recognises as food. |
| Medication often causes side effects, some of which are quite harmful. | Herbal medicine rarely has side effects. |
| Patients with multiple health problems have to take lots of different tablets. | Herbalists mix together all the medicine you need, everything you need is usually in 1 bottle. |
| Better at treating acute & emergency medical conditions. | Better at treating long term medical conditions. |
So here are a few reasons to consider holistic treatment:
1. It’s All About You.
Holistic treatments such as herbal medicine & reiki allow you to make decisions about how your treatment goes. For example, if you came to see me with lots of different health problems, I’d ask you to prioritise which ones needed addressing first, and make up your medicine accordingly. As time goes on we can reprioritise until you’re happy that we’ve done as much as we can. This approach allows patients to feel empowered in taking better control over their own healthcare, and for some it can be a life-changing experience.
2. A Fresh Pair of Eyes
Clinically trained holistic practitioners can spend much more time talking to you than your GP would. Even if you’ve been treated by a Doctor for a number of years, we can easily pick up on problems they may have missed, simply because they haven’t had time. Whilst most patients have already been given a diagnosis by the time they come to see me, this is just one of many things taken into consideration as part of the overall assessment. Holistic medicine can offer a new perspective on your health and how you receive treatment.
3. A Small Price to Pay
In the UK we’re used to having healthcare that’s free when we receive it, so the idea of paying to see a practitioner can take some getting used to. The consultation fees for herbal medicine are roughly the same as those for hairdressers, mechanics, and massage therapists, making our treatments affordable for most people. Without good health you can’t enjoy the rest of your life to the full, so it’s well worth the investment.
Most practitioners will provide concessionary rates or bartering schemes to help patients on lower incomes, and my herbal medicine workshops will show you how to treat minor illnesses at home for free, without needing to visit a chemist.
We hope that one day insurance providers will include herbal medicine as part of their private health cover.
4. First Do No Harm
Drug side effects have always been of concern to many patients, but with the wide availability of information now available on the internet, we can make more informed choices about the risks taken when using pharmaceutical drugs. Whilst there’s no question that pharmaceuticals can offer life saving drugs particularly in emergency medicine, we can’t ignore the risk of side effects when treating more chronic conditions. A well quoted article in the Journal of the American Medical Association some years ago said that side effects were the fourth biggest killer worldwide, following cancer, heart disease & stroke. That’s the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every other day. We have to bear in mind that herbs can occasionally cause side effects, they are usually minor and well monitored when under the care of a herbalist. Herbs are recognised in the same way as foods and are therefore easier for the body to metabolise without causing problems.
5. The Possibilities Are Endless
Because of the approach used by conventional medicine, it can be quite limited in terms of treatments offered. There’s a heavy reliance upon technology and medical tests, and sometimes the findings don’t support the patient’s symptom picture. Without a clear idea of what’s going on it’s difficult for Doctors to prescribe an effective treatment. Herbal medicine & reiki are not so reliant upon diagnostic tests, taking a broader view of your condition as a whole. In this way, even if we can’t fully understand what’s happening, we can still put together a treatment plan to help you back on the road to recovery. People have even recovered from quite serious illnesses using holistic treatments both with and without conventional medicine. One famous example is Louise Hay, who made a full recovery from advanced cancer without any drugs (Click here to read her story). The reasons why people become ill and sometimes don’t recover are very complex, and we can’t make any promises. However, when we work together in a holistic context we become capable of achieving a lot more, sometimes with surprising results.
