Have you or someone in your family experienced anxiety or depression? Do you feel sad or anxious despite prescription antidepressants and tranquilizers? Would you be interested in a more natural or holistic treatment option? Do you feel ready to get to the cause of your health problems? A holistic approach to healing looks into the complex nature of conditions such as addiction, anxiety, and depression, using a variety of alternative techniques that focus on both the mind and body.
As humanity continues to evolve, the search for holistic and alternative approaches to enhance health and well-being has infused every aspect of our culture and society. We are witnessing a remarkable renewal of interest in alternative healing techniques. For instance, according to a UCLA study, more than 60 U.S. hospitals have adopted Reiki as part of their patient services, as Reiki sessions cause patients to heal faster and with less pain. Alternative medicine is gaining acceptance as a meaningful and cost-effective way to improve patient care.
It is the nature of life to continually reach for more transformative solutions to the endless challenges that arise. In our modern, information age, everyone has access to an enormous amount of facts, data, and opinions on any subject of interest. People facing challenges with their physical, mental, or emotional health are no longer depending solely upon their physicians for advice on the management of their illness.
What Is Alternative Healing?
The term “alternative therapy” refers to any health treatment not standard in Western medical practice. When used alongside standard medical practices, alternative approaches are commonly referred to by medical practitioners as “complementary” medicine.
Alternative treatments combined with conventional Western medicine help to provide supportive and life-changing opportunities for people who are sensitive to medications, or cannot afford big expensive surgeries. More than that, alternative treatments focus on prevention and treating underlying problems, not just their symptoms. Even Western medical practitioners are starting to suggest natural alternative treatments as well.
To better understand alternative healing and what it encompasses, it is best to know some of the key categories of the various treatments. They include the following:
Energy Healing
This involves the use of energy to heal the body by energizing its cells, and is based upon the theory that energy flows into, through, and then out of the human body through several energy centers known as chakras. The goal with this therapy is to create a balance of energy within the individual in order to reduce anxiety and pain and induce healing on every aspect of the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional bodies. Some examples might be Reiki, Theta Healing, Marconics, and Reconnective Healing.
Natural Products and Remedies
This involves the use of plant-based or natural materials to cure individuals of specific ailments, or to prevent the ailments from occurring in the first place. The most common and popular variations are Aromatherapy through essential oils and herbal remedies through Herbalism, Ayurvedic medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Homeopathy, and Naturopathy.
Mind and Body Practices
These involve the psychological, behavioral, social, and spiritual approaches to intervention or treatment of an individual. These are spiritual practices in order to manifest wisdom, compassion, authentic wellness, and gratitude for the benefit of all beings. The most well-known examples are yoga, and the practices of Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and loving-kindness meditation (metta), mindfulness (conscious awareness), and Breathwork.
Body-Based Therapy
This category focuses on movement and physical touch to relieve individuals from sickness, soreness, or pain. Massage therapy, Acupressure, Rolfing, Percussion Therapy and Chiropractic care are often used to help address imbalances in the body.
Alternative Medicine Techniques
These are entire systems of theory, study and practice that typically cover the non-Western medical approach or the non-conventional therapeutic approach, such as Acupuncture, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT), and Past Life Regression Therapy.
Using Alternative Approaches to Healing
There are many variations of alternative healing modalities. Researchers continue to examine their combined benefits for a variety of patients and conditions, including cancer.
Because alternative healing techniques work with the body’s natural self-healing capabilities, it actually enhances biological healing to speed up the recovery process. It also means that the body’s own internal environment is maintained during recovery rather than damaged (sometimes permanently), which doctors say antibiotics do to the body. In the case of Western antibiotics, the individual often feels “off” in their stomach after dealing with the healing that antibiotics cause. It turns out that their stomach then has to heal as well.
What many people do not know is that alternative therapies are powerful enough to stimulate glands to re-balance hormones by re-initiating hormone production. Hormones play an enormous role in signaling the body to increase or reduce biological processes.
People can have allergies to anything, especially medications, food, and even herbal remedies. Yet there are generally fewer problems with alternative practices than with pharmaceuticals because ingesting the man-made substances are not part of the experience, and therefore it is easier for the body to heal. Alternative remedies means that there is little potential for side-effects and allergies. These techniques do work as the body is meant to operate, and that is where alternative healing has advantages over Western medicine.
A Focus on Prevention
Western medicine is primarily focused on managing symptoms once they appear. Alternative healing aims to treat the root cause of a condition so your body can get back to doing its natural processes automatically—and, in many instances, can help as a preventative. The philosophy behind alternative healing is rooted in balance and equilibrium.
Conventional medicine usually comes into play once a person becomes sick, as Western medicine was developed to address acute symptoms and trauma. However, alternative healing techniques are designed to keep your illness from occurring.
There are practitioners that treat patients with a blend of Western medicine and alternative healing, which can give the patient a well-rounded and educational experience.
Individualized Attention
Again, alternative healing modalities are centered around whole-body care, which means holistic practitioners give more attention to their patients. As you may know, physical pain can also affect a person emotionally. It’s important for that aspect of treatment to be addressed as well. With alternative practices, if a person has a serious condition, the practitioner will focus on everything.
Many traditional doctors have too many patients, not enough time, and are primarily focused on insurance payments. On the contrary, an alternative practitioner will provide more personal time with individuals and have different payment structures to be supportive of individual needs.
Enhances Your Quality of Life
Western medicine works well for getting rid of pain at the moment, but once it subsides, the pain returns. Alternative therapies aim to ensure the source of the pain is addressed. Therefore, you’re not living your life relying on medication or going through a rollercoaster of feeling well and not feeling well.
Alternative healing techniques provide reassurance and make a person feel better about their treatment. If you know something is good, then you feel confident about it. Recipients of alternative healing techniques know they will be completely cared for and treated properly.
You only get one body, and it’s essential you treat it right. When it comes to your long-term health, alternative healing techniques can be the difference between managing your symptoms or eliminating your symptoms altogether (without side-effects) so you can get back to your normal life.
