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 emphasis 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 cannot exist independently of the complete, or cannot be understood without reference to the whole, which is thus regarded as higher than the sum of the its parts.
And when holism is approximately health:
The treating of the complete person, considering 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 group system, a solar system, etc.).
A system is 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 which they exist, (for instance: an ecosystem).
Whenever the whole of anything produces an outcome higher than some 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 complete Person
The original approach of the medical system has taught us to recognize health from a reductionist perspective. We go to the doctor to obtain some specific part of our body fixed since it has stopped functioning well and could be causing us pain.
Millions of people get excellent results using the medical-model. The only problem is that model considers, almost exclusively, just the fitness of the body. And when it comes to mental health, the typical solution is to prescribe antidepressant medicine.
Why is this a problem? We humans are complex beings. We’ve minds, emotions and a soul, the personal, intangible relationship to a macro reality beyond ourselves. What’s more, who we are, is continually influenced within the contexts of family, community, country and world.
A holistic approach to health and fitness addresses the reality of these multiple interrelated and interdependent parts that make us who we have been. The malaise of anybody of them can directly (and negatively), affect the fitness of other areas of our life.
For this reason alone, the first focus of holistic care is on the individual and not the issue or disease. Stress, anxiety, and depression, for instance, often find yourself translating to a physical symptom. It’s all connected.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national survey, in September, 2017, The American Psychiatric Association reported that antidepressant use had opted from 1 in 50 people 30 years back to 1 1 of 9 between the 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 a vacuum therefore assessing one’s lifestyle regarding home, relationships, finances, work, etc. becomes a critical task to determine their impact. The bottom-line is to find the root cause (s) and set up a restorative plan.
Cannabis and Holistic Health
The medicinal usage of cannabis is a world apart from its recreational use. Oftentimes, the lower how much THC found in any medicinal formulation, the higher the desired effect. The saying 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 entire ancient cannabis plant was used 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 has to do with the fact of cannabis containing approximately 100 molecular compounds, with THC and CBD most researched and understood.
Once the whole of the cannabis plant can be used as medicine it offers a synergistic or ‘entourage’ effect which accounts for why the therapeutic usage of cannabis brings relief to a wide variety of conditions.
In this manner therapeutic cannabis use stands in stark contrast to traditional medicine that typically isolates plant compounds and manufactures them in pharmaceuticals to target one symptom or bodily system.
I believe that increasing numbers of people are discerning the difference between your medical and holistic models of health. Each has its time and place. When discovering dispensary near me about medicinal cannabis, our your overal wellness, lifestyle and broader culture can transform for the higher.
Susan is really a 2018 graduate of the Holistic Cannabis Academy with over 45 years of personal involvement in the spectral range of wellness modalities. Her mission today would be 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.
