Holism is about the big picture; it pertains to the idea that nothing happens in a vacuum. When seeking answers to an issue, holism puts the focus on the ‘whole’ rather than the parts.
The English Oxford Dictionaries define holism:
The theory that parts of a whole are in intimate interconnection, such that they can not exist independently of the whole, or cannot be understood regardless of the whole, which is thus regarded as greater than the sum of its parts.
And when holism is approximately health:
The treating of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease.
Another way to think about holism is to apply the analogy of systems both natural and manmade (i.e. an ecosystem a health system, a family group system, a solar system, etc.).
A system is really a complex ‘whole’ with an obvious boundary; there is an outside and an inside. The content inside a system (for instance: weather, animals, and plants) comprises of interrelated, interdependent parts that directly reflect the entire context, within which they exist, (for example: an ecosystem).
Whenever the complete of anything produces an outcome higher than some of its parts could accomplish, individually, we call that synergy, (for example: a thunderstorm, the music of an orchestra).
The contrary to holism, reductionism, instead analyzes something by its component parts.
Holistic Health: Treating the Whole Person
The traditional approach of the medical system has taught us to identify health from a reductionist perspective. We go to the doctor to obtain some specific part of our body fixed because it has stopped functioning well and could be causing us pain.
Millions of people get positive results using the medical-model. The only real problem is that this model considers, almost exclusively, just the health of the body. And when it comes to mental health, the typical solution would be to prescribe antidepressant medicine.
Why is this an issue? We humans are complex beings. We’ve minds, emotions and a soul, the non-public, intangible relationship to a macro reality beyond ourselves. Also, who we are, is constantly influenced within the contexts of family, community, country and world.
A holistic approach to health and fitness addresses the reality of these multiple interrelated and interdependent parts which make us who we have been. The malaise of anybody of them can directly (and negatively), affect the health of other areas of our life.
For this reason alone, the initial focus of holistic care is on the individual and not the issue or disease. Stress, anxiety, and depression, for instance, often end up translating to a physical symptom. It’s all connected.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national survey, in September, 2017, The American Psychiatric Association reported that antidepressant use had gone from 1 in 50 people 30 years back to at least one 1 of 9 between the years 2011 and 2014, and now in 2018.
This is clear evidence of the rise in mood disorders for Americans.
Why the increased use? As mentioned, nothing happens in vacuum pressure and so assessing one’s lifestyle regarding home, relationships, finances, work, etc. becomes a crucial task to find out their impact. The bottom-line is to find the real cause (s) and set up a restorative plan.
Cannabis and Holistic Health
The medicinal use of cannabis is a world aside from its recreational use. Oftentimes, the lower the quantity of THC used in any medicinal formulation, the greater the desired effect. The saying is: Start low; go slow. Treatment is never one-size-fits-all because the current interplay of someone’s body, mind and soul are of primary consideration.
Historically, the whole of the ancient cannabis plant was used for a beneficial impact on a person’s overall, general condition, far beyond mere symptom control. This makes it a perfect match to the holistic approach to health.
Not unlike the complexity of the individual in context of our various lifestyles, cannabis a complex plant of the plant kingdom. It’s effectiveness being an overall tonic has to do with the fact of cannabis containing approximately 100 molecular compounds, with THC and CBD most researched and understood.
Once resin dispensary deals of the cannabis plant is used as medicine it provides a synergistic or ‘entourage’ effect which accounts for why the therapeutic use of cannabis brings relief to a wide selection of conditions.
In this way therapeutic cannabis use stands in stark contrast to traditional medicine that typically isolates plant compounds and manufactures them in pharmaceuticals to target one symptom or bodily system.
I believe that more and more people are discerning the difference between the medical and holistic models of health. Each has its time and place. When discovering the many great things about medicinal cannabis, our overall wellness, lifestyle and broader culture can transform for the higher.
Susan is a 2018 graduate of the Holistic Cannabis Academy with over 45 years of personal involvement in the spectral range of wellness modalities. Her mission today would be to intervene in the noise of modern life and help people identify and remove stressors that trigger their dis-ease while providing strategies towards a full time income experience of inner calmness, contentment and inspiration.