Holistic medicine is the buzz word for the new medicine in this country which understands wellness and illness as mind, body and spirit. It also understands healing rather than fixing. It's not about just some newer tricks in our medicine bag. It is not about some apparent hocus pocus and waving our hands over the body in healing touch, or praying for recovery. It's also not about just being kinder, more respectful and gentler with the humanity of suffering people. It includes all of that, but it's more. In many ways it's thousands of years old.
The eastern medical arts have always understood mind, body and spirit to be inseparable aspects of the one being. In our culture we think it's news. Native Americans have been there for centuries. For that matter, it wasn't long ago that it was news that the mind and body were connected with one another.
Now, holistic medicine is about human beings supporting, educating and counseling people suffering in mind. body and spirit. It openly acknowledges that all three aspects of the human being inevitably are affected with suffering, different aspects emphasized depending upon the inbalance.
So it is more than acupuncture needles, yoga exercises, healing prayers, biofeedback machines or drums. It is about a new of conceptualizing ourselves as human beings in our wellness and illness and about taking primary responsibility for ourselves in our own healing.
We learn all we can about ourselves, we cultivate our minds, bodies and spirits and rebuild purpose, meaning and hope. The serenity prayer, the golden rule and a loving faith keep us growing.
Cancer and Depression
The diagnosis of cancer easily sounds like a death sentence when delivered by the grim faced and somber physician. Initial shock gives way to combinations of fear, sadness and anger. This adjustment reaction needs to ride out its course and will do so safely when there's a spiritual belief in possibilities and loving friends and family immediately at hand.
It can, however, go on to become a frank medical depression or major depression, at that point it begins to be debilitating in the day in and day out set of symptoms such as loss of appetite, energy, pleasures, sleep, concentration, along with a sense of hopelessness, uselessness and futility.
It is very important to make this diagnosis however difficult it is in the face of the so-called understandable sadness of cancer and some of the medical symptoms of the cancer itself or the anti-cancer medications. Appropriate counseling and anti-depressant medication can be essentially life saving to such patients and can also make possible the kind of emotional and spiritual counseling that is so crucial to contending successfully with the cancer experience.
HEADACHE
All of us have had headaches from time to time. In fact, stress so commonly produces headaches that it's become a cultural expression for worry. However, fifteen to twenty percent of our population suffers terrible headaches called migraine, women more often than men. These one-sided, sometimes two-sided, throbbing headaches associated with nausea, difficulty concentrating, moodiness, sensitivity to light and sound seem to be handled only by going into a dark room and going to sleep.
Millions of dollars of productivity are lost each year and tons of analgesics are ingested for migraine relief. In fact, when Tylenol, aspirin or other seemingly benign pain pills are taken on a daily basis, they result in rebound headaches which worsens the matter and produces a chronic daily headache on the top of the migraine syndrome.
Thankfully, treatment is available that begins with low dose tricyclic anti-depressants or beta blockers and, failing those, Depakote or calan, a calcium channel blocker. Complimentary procedures such as acupuncture, massage therapy, meditative arts, biofeedback and stress management are all helpful as are identifying the dietary environmental triggers that often precipitate the migraine attack. Anti-depressants have little impact unless there is depression present. All in all, the treatment of migraines these days is quite hopeful
CIVILITY
Manners and civility were actively taught and cultivated. They were considered essential for civilized existence of people with one another. In this past century, however, there has been a loss of etiquette and mannerlyness for many reasons. Perhaps some of it relates to an association with proper behavior and class stratification. Other reasons might relate to the daily assault from the media of violence, crudeness, crassness.
Certainly, the vulgar tastelessness of much of tv's fare together with the emphasis on commercials rather than show content, helps to dilute meaning and content. Our society in general is litigious and filled with professional victims. They scapegoat, blame and pass the buck as a way of life. They sue at the drop of a hat. While this may be good for the torte system, it certainly undermines taking personal responsibility for oneself. This, of course, would include ones' conduct in social interactions. Whatever all the reasons for the loss of civility, it can be safely said that it is costing us greatly.
Dignity, graciousness and attentiveness to the niceties are a way of validating and supporting one another. Being nice or kindly is a gift, not just a ploy. This is not about charm school, but rather about being charming. Such graciousness facilitates a positive and affirming relatedness with one another. It reflects a sense of goodness in all of us. These are essentially spiritual concepts of universal love, acceptance and compassion.
Perhaps one of the reasons it is so lacking in our culture is a collective demoralization or dispiritedness. If we can recognize that, we can cultivate our spirituality in meditation and prayer so that our relationships can be what all the great religions of the world have always described. That is, the golden rule with it's generosity and kindness of heart can resume it's place as the foundation for our health and collective well being.