HEALTHWATCH
Holistic medicine demystified
DR. HIRAMALINI SESHADRI
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A holistic approach to illness works better than conventional ones as patients get more than just a prescription for medicines.
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LOOK WITHIN: Much of healing comes from within. Photo: A. Roy Chowdhury
WHEN people hear that I am a Holistic Physician, they think that I have some mysterious alternative therapy up my sleeve. Thanks to increasing sub-specialisation, modern medicine is viewed as being more "patristic" than holistic.
We doctors need to realise that every body belongs to a person with a mind; and that both body and mind are animated by the spirit, which is the real power that heals. The minute the spirit departs, no doctor or medicine can help.
Therefore the first principle of holistic modern medicine is involving the mind and the spirit of the person, in the process of healing. The second principle is concentrating on promoting general health as opposed to the conventional approach of being merely anti-disease centred.
Combination approach
My own conversion to holistic medicine came due to my interest in rheumatology. The powerful drugs used to control rheumatological diseases give only temporary relief while causing new diseases due to side effects.
For example, one starts with rheumatoid arthritis but ends up with ulcers, diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, thanks to the drugs used. So appalled was I by this state of affairs, that I felt there had to be a better way.
Over the past two decades, I have found that the combination of a body-mind-soul approach coupled with improving general health on a war footing, yields long lasting benefit without the bugbear of side effects. What is more, this therapeutic strategy seems to be the best for other life-style diseases too such as diabetes, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, acidity, migraine ...
Body medicine is familiar but what is mind medicine? Put simply, your thoughts and emotions instantly translate into alterations in brain chemistry, which in turn affect your nervous controls, hormones and immune system.
Negativity maims while positivity enhances your well-being and ability to fight disease. Mind medicine decreases mental and emotional negativity and increases positivity through techniques like Mental Housekeeping and Energising. This results in better blood sugar or B.P. control despite less medication.
Soul medicine
What is Soul-medicine? The life force is the final common pathway through which all treatments work; for all our therapies are of no use to a dead man. This life force is the supreme, creative intelligence that pervades every cell of ours. Just as a watchmaker knows to repair the watch he made, this supreme intelligence within knows how to repair the body it created.
Soul medicine aims at healing by using the infinite, creative intelligence within our subconscious. All cases of faith healing in fact, come under this category. Interested readers may read The Power of Your Sub-Conscious Mind by Dr. Joseph Murphy. Even if a magic cure does not occur, soul medicine techniques definitely put one on the path to recovery. The results of double blind studies on ICU patients and cancer patients have shown the effectiveness of soul-medicine techniques. I routinely pray for my patients; with all the love I can muster; something I learnt from my teachers at C.M.C., Vellore and it works.
Coming to general health, I use the panchsheel of diet, dietary supplements, exercise, mental attitude and sleep. I draw an individualised diet, for the patient. Referring to dieticians seldom works, for the receptivity and compliance of patients are highest with their own doctors.
Of late, patients have realised that prevention is better than cure; that it is better to take antioxidants, B-vitamins, quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids and prevent ischaemic heart disease than to allow it to come on and go for by-pass surgery. Time was when quality supplements were not available in India. Today even top brands are available in India. What is more, just as insurance makes quality medicare more affordable, consumer empowering networking programmes make these premium supplements affordable for all.
Sharing knowledge
On the exercise front, it is imperative to tackle the inertia factor. The key is sharing knowledge and making exercise fun. Explain how neck and back exercises work and not just how to do them. Listening to a morning-walk CD while walking is more fun than just obeying doctor's orders. Sleep is another casualty of our times, with people working American hours, Aussie hours not to mention the disastrous effects of late night serial addictions. A healthy sleep schedule, relaxation techniques are worked out.
Little wonder that such a holistic approach to illness works far better than the conventional approach. Patients who walk out of a Holistic Medicine clinic walk out with more than just a prescription for medicines; they walk out with a prescription for positive health and the nice feeling that they have a buddy in their doctor.
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