Holism is approximately the big picture; it relates to the idea that nothing happens in vacuum pressure. When seeking answers to an issue, holism puts the focus on the ‘whole’ as opposed to the parts.
The English Oxford Dictionaries define holism:
The theory that parts of a whole are in intimate interconnection, such that they can not exist independently of the complete, or cannot be understood regardless of the whole, which is thus regarded as higher than the sum of its parts.
And when holism is about health:
The treating of the complete person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease.
Another way to think about holism is to apply the analogy of systems both natural and manmade (i.e. an ecosystem a health system, a family system, a solar system, etc.).
A system is really a complex ‘whole’ with an obvious boundary; there is an outside and an inside. The content inside a system (for instance: weather, animals, and plants) is made up of interrelated, interdependent parts that directly reflect the overall context, within that they exist, (for example: an ecosystem).
Whenever the complete of anything produces an outcome greater than any of its parts could accomplish, individually, we call that synergy, (for instance: a thunderstorm, the music of an orchestra).
The contrary to holism, reductionism, instead analyzes something by its component parts.
Holistic Health: Treating the Whole Person
The traditional approach of the medical system has taught us to identify health from a reductionist perspective. We visit the doctor to get some specific part of our body fixed because it has stopped functioning well and could be causing us pain.
Millions of people get excellent results using the medical-model. The only real problem is that this model considers, almost exclusively, just the fitness of the body. And when it involves mental health, the normal solution is to prescribe antidepressant medicine.
Why is this an issue? We humans are complex beings. We have minds, emotions and a soul, the non-public, intangible relationship to a macro reality beyond ourselves. Also, who we are, is constantly influenced within the contexts of family, community, country and world.
alien labs disposable to health and wellness addresses the reality of these multiple interrelated and interdependent parts that make us who we are. The malaise of anybody of them can directly (and negatively), affect the health of other areas of our life.
For this reason alone, the first focus of holistic care is on the person and not the issue or disease. Stress, anxiety, and depression, for example, often end up translating to a physical symptom. It’s all connected.
In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national survey, in September, 2017, The American Psychiatric Association reported that antidepressant use had gone from 1 in 50 people 30 years back to at least one 1 of 9 between your years 2011 and 2014, and now in 2018.
This is clear proof the rise in mood disorders for Americans.
Why the increased use? As mentioned, nothing happens in vacuum pressure and so assessing one’s lifestyle regarding home, relationships, finances, work, etc. becomes a critical task to find out their impact. The bottom-line would be to find the root cause (s) and set up a restorative plan.
Cannabis and Holistic Health
The medicinal use of cannabis is a world aside from its recreational use. Oftentimes, the lower the amount of THC used in any medicinal formulation, the higher the desired effect. The word is: Start low; go slow. Treatment is never one-size-fits-all because the current interplay of someone’s body, mind and soul are of primary consideration.
Historically, the whole of the ancient cannabis plant was useful for a beneficial impact on a person’s overall, general condition, far beyond mere symptom control. This makes it a perfect match to the holistic method of health.
Not unlike the complexity of the individual in context of our various lifestyles, cannabis a complex plant of the plant kingdom. It’s effectiveness being an overall tonic is due to the actual fact of cannabis containing approximately 100 molecular compounds, with THC and CBD most researched and understood.
When the whole of the cannabis plant can be used as medicine it offers a synergistic or ‘entourage’ effect which makes up about why the therapeutic usage of cannabis brings relief to a wide variety of conditions.
In this way therapeutic cannabis use stands in stark contrast to traditional medicine that typically isolates plant compounds and manufactures them in pharmaceuticals to focus on one symptom or bodily system.
I believe that increasing numbers of people are discerning the difference between the medical and holistic types of health. Each has its time and place. When discovering the many great things about medicinal cannabis, our your overal wellness, lifestyle and broader culture can transform for the better.
Susan is a 2018 graduate of the Holistic Cannabis Academy with over 45 years of personal involvement in the spectrum of wellness modalities. Her mission today is to intervene in the noise of modern life and help people identify and remove stressors that trigger their dis-ease while providing strategies towards a living experience of inner calmness, contentment and inspiration.