How Holistic Healing Can Improve Your Health and Well-Being

There are a wide range of conditions, both with a sudden onset and chronic in nature, that someone can be diagnosed with. Some of the more debilitating, life-altering conditions are ones that negatively affect a person’s quality of life day in and day out.

While traditional Western medicine approaches, known as allopathic medicine, is an acceptable option for some looking to heal their minds and bodies, others find that alternative health care, like holistic healing, is what works best for them.

So, what is this form of natural healing, also described as holistic medicine, and what types of conditions is it best suited for? Continue reading, where we’ll unpack the answers to these questions and more. We’ll also touch on how the many different alternative health modalities offered here at A Living Well Center in Greensboro, NC can improve your mental and physical wellbeing.

What Is Holistic Healing?

The word “holistic” refers to treating a person’s entire body as compared to treating one specific ailment. Holistic health practitioners like myself, Vickie Barkley, RN, MSN, NP, RTT, may receive advanced training in a diverse array of complementary medicine or natural healing modalities during our careers that we believe have the strongest potential of preventing certain medical diagnoses or improving a patient’s prognosis by addressing areas of improvement within their mind, body, or spirit.

Holistic Healing

Why Is Holistic Healing Often Called Complementary Medicine or Alternative Health Care?

If you research “holistic healing,” you’ll find that it’s often described as either alternative health care or complementary medicine. Why is that? That’s often done to distinguish this type of natural healing from allopathic medicine, the latter of which the National Cancer Institute defines as the approach of using conventional medication like prescription drugs or surgical interventions used by pharmacists, doctors, and other traditional medical professionals to treat diseases and other health symptoms.

Another study, published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), describes these treatment options as follows:

  • Allopathic health care as being a Western or conventional approach to medicine
  • A complementary medicinal or holistic approach is one where a patient blends the use of allopathic and alternative medicine
  • Alternative medicine refers to a situation whereby a patient uses healing or treating modalities other than what would be prescribed or offered by a medical doctor

My job here is not to convince you whether to choose allopathic over alternative medicine or to follow a complementary health care approach. That’s only something that you or your medical professionals can decide what is best for you.

What Types of Conditions Can Complementary and Alternative Medicine Help With?

In my years as an alternative health practitioner, I’ve helped clients with a wide range of presenting concerns, some of which include health problems like

  • Stress management issues resulting in high cortisol levels
  • Anxiety or panic attacks
  • Low self-worth or self-esteem issues
  • Depression
  • Chain smoking or vaping (smoking cessation)
  • Sports performance issues
  • Sleep issues like insomnia
  • Allergies
  • Substance abuse issues, such as alcoholism or drug addictions
  • Infertility
  • Test anxiety
  • Weight loss (using the gastric bypass hypnosis approach)
  • Chronic conditions and associated discomfort or pain

The list above is only a brief overview of conditions I’ve assisted my clients with at my holistic health care practice in Greensboro over the years. So, I encourage you to reach out to me to schedule a discovery call to find out if I can assist you if you have concerns you’d like to address.

As you’re likely aware, different conditions seldom occur in a vacuum, meaning problems often aren’t isolated, but instead, have a grander adverse mind-body effect. This is one of the great benefits associated with pursuing alternative therapies like the ones we describe below. They have the potential of calming your central nervous system naturally in a way that conventional medicine cannot, thus creating a proper balance in your body necessary for improved immune system function and overall health benefits.

These complementary therapies, which will discuss more clearly in the next section, have the potential of improving upon what they’ve already seen outwardly manifested in their bodies and thoughts as well as what they haven’t yet noticed.

Natural Healing Approaches Used at A Living Well Center

As mentioned above, different alternative medical systems use distinct approaches to tackle the disrupted energy flow necessary for whole-body wellness. Types of holistic or alternative medicine modalities I am certified in and use with clients at my holistic healing practice in Greensboro include:

Just like some traditional medicinal approaches take time to take effect, so too can the natural healing process using the modalities above. While some patients may find that they experience improvement after only one session at A Living Well Center, it’s not uncommon for my clients to require multiple sessions to see notable improvements or lock in lasting change.

Are Holistic Medicine Approaches Scientifically Proven To Be Effective?

A common question I find that individuals considering seeing holistic practitioners in Greensboro like myself often have is about the efficacy of the treatment modalities we use. Just like allopathic treatment options, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approaches don’t always impact individuals similarly.

However, if you research scientific literature to learn more about the effectiveness of certain holistic treatment options, you’ll quickly find studies such as:

  • A Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment one from 2014 cited by the American Psychological Association, which champions holistic medicine as a way to enhance more traditional substance abuse treatment options like therapy
  • A 2013 Complementary Therapies in Medicine study that detailed how certain holistic treatment options during the recovery process have proven to be effective at reducing a later relapse of symptoms

Many holistic medicine practitioners like myself are encouraged by the fact that federal agencies like the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and aforementioned NCI are investing time and money in researching the benefits patients with a wide range of diseases or debilitating conditions may derive from pursuing conventional treatment options versus alternative therapeutic approaches. Many of these studies are additionally focused on identifying specific, measurable outcomes associated with different CAM treatment options.

It should be noted that the NCI claims that an integrated medicine approach that involves a combination of CAM and conventional medicinal approaches has been shown to be particularly effective at positively impacting cancer patients’ physical and emotional health and spiritual wellbeing, for example.

Where You Can Try a Holistic Healing Approach to Mental and Physical Health

Your arrival on my website means that you likely find yourself dealing with unwanted physical ailments that often are associated with a disease or mental, emotional, or behavioral health concerns that you’d like to address. There’s also a strong likelihood that you’ve tried more traditional approaches to treatment with limited success. A body-based therapy like hypnosis and RTT, BEST, SCIO, or NAET, as offered at A Living Well Center in Greensboro, may be just what you need to truly get better.

The complementary alternative medicine approach I employ in my holistic healing office aims to use energy therapy to help get the body’s systems working properly. My experience is that this is what’s key to aiding the human body along on its self-healing journey necessary for improving your mindset, reducing pain, helping with stress relief, and helping with other health issues.

Natural healing is a whole-person approach that can significantly impact your overall wellness, independently or in conjunction with lifestyle changes like a healthy diet or exercise, and when used alone or to supplement Western medicine. So, if you’re seeking optimal wellness, email or call me or simply visit my scheduling page to pick a date and time for us to chat.