The term “holistic” is often associated with unscientific alternative medicine, but there is in fact a holistic way of approaching health that understands the mind and body of the patient as a unified whole. That is what “holistic” means: considering the complete individual, the entire person as a unity rather than viewing them as a collection of independent systems. Although the understanding of the person is based on a modern, scientific approach to medicine, the holistic perspective on healthcare considers those many systems to be interdependent and the health of the overall person dependent on all of those systems working as they are supposed to with one another. Anything that affects the mind, body, or wellbeing of the person can influence health.
One important feature of a holistic approach to health care is that the doctor will focus on the patient’s lifestyle and make suggestions for changes in lifestyle if that can help the patient’s overall health. The most prevalent example is probably exercise and diet, which can have myriad effects on health. Non-holistic healthcare providers might treat symptoms that arise because of the effects of weight or lack of exercise, but a holistic doctor will appreciate that those symptoms will continuously return if the underlying issues are not treated. Doctors who practice holistic healthcare will often prescribe changes in diet or exercise regimens that will attempt to treat the whole person.
A holistic healthcare practice understands that human beings have innate healing abilities that can emerge when the mind and spirit are appropriately healthy. This means paying attention to emotional and mental well-being as well as physical, as people who suffer from depression or sleep disorders related to emotional turbulence may have a harder time recovering from physical issues than otherwise emotionally healthy people. A holistic doctor will seek to treat mental and spiritual problems through many different means. This may even include working on relationships with family and friends in order to create a more emotionally supportive environment that will help with physical healing.
The primary feature of holistic healthcare is that it serves the person, not the disease. Health is a feature of an entire human being, including mind and wellbeing, not merely individuated systems within the biology of the human creature. At Internal Medicine, Lipids, and Wellness Practice in Fort Myers, Dr. Kordonowy is part of a team that provides holistic healthcare. Dr. Kordonowy believes in a patient seeing his or her doctor periodically to assess his/her present level of wellness and potential risk for future disease is an important investment for themselves.
If you have any questions about what holistic healthcare can do for you, be sure to contact Dr. Kordonowy today at (239) 362-3005, extension 200 or click here. Dr. Kordonowy is a concierge, patient membership physician, and provides direct primary care services.
