Holistic Health: A Different Type of Patient Experience
A patient -- let’s call her Sally -- came into my office complaining of fatigue and uncontrolled weight gain was ruining her life. She felt helpless to be able to stop eating her favorite foods.
Sally was a type 2 diabetic who was having trouble focusing at work and noticed that she was yelling more at her family recently. She was having trouble sleeping and was desperate to get her health back. She came to me to help her figure out how to eat better.
The first thing I did was listen to her, I mean really listen to identify how to best help her. She shared that she use to love to exercise but stopped because she was too busy.
So even though Sally came in to talk about food we started her treatment with an exercise plan to help her relieve stress, help lower her blood sugars, help her sleep and give her back a sense of control over her routine. I also recommended a deep breathing exercise and a few foundational supplements for sleep and blood sugar.
Two weeks later Sally felt improved, she was sleeping better, she was more focused at work and she had lost three pounds. She was also more ready to address her food issues because she was seeing success.
Over the next three months we cleaned up her diet and got her blood sugars close to normal. She was happier and more connected to her family. She felt transformed.
How was she successful? I took a holistic approach to help her! We looked at healing all the areas of her life not just changing her diet. She saw changes in all areas and that motivated her to continue with the program and integrate healthy behaviors into her life.
What is Holistic Health?
According to the American Holistic Medical Association, “Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses care of the whole person - body, mind, and spirit. The practice of holistic medicine integrates conventional and complementary therapies to promote optimal health, and prevent and treat disease by addressing contributing factors.”
Patients are looking for ways to feel better and transform their health. Holistic medicine does that because it taps into people’s desires for their life instead of an expectation that they should change just to be healthy. It works because people want to integrate conventional and complementary methods that work and make them feel better.
Live Vibrantly,
Dr. Dae
Dr. Daemon Jones
Dr. Dae's website: www.HealthyDaes.org
Dr. Dae's Bio:
Dr. Daemon Jones is your diabetes reversal, hormones, metabolism and weight loss expert. Dr. Dae is a naturopathic doctor who treats patients all over the country using Skype and phone visits. Visit her or schedule a free consultation at her website, www.HealthyDaes.org/
Sources:
"Holistic Medicine: What It Is, Treatments, Philosophy, and More." WebMD - Better information. Better health.. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 July 2013.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/what-is-holistic-medicine
"About Holistic Medicine." American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA). N.p., n.d. Web. 9 July 2013.
http://www.holisticmedicine.org/content.asp?contentid=2
Reviewed July 9, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith