Holistic Treatment: Importance of Treating the ‘Whole Person’

The Meaning of Holistic Treatment in Recovery

The word “holistic” is used a lot in the medical field. In fact, hospitals use it to differentiate themselves from the competition. They want you to understand that they treat more than the disease. Holistic treatment in recovery means they have different types of methods to treat the whole person.

Marketing messages often tout hospitals’ expertise by explaining how they treat the human spirit or by emphasizing a practice dedicated to mind-body integrative medicine.

The Whole Mind, Body, and Spirit

We have come to expect this from our hospitals and our doctors. Holistic treatment encompasses more than just the body; it includes the mind, the emotions and the spirit as well.

Treating the whole person is critical in the fight against any disease, including eating disorders. While this approach has been around for centuries, only recently have we seen its boost in public awareness.

Underlying Factors to Eating Disorders

We know that eating disorders are not about food, eating or weight. There are other underlying factors that contribute to this disorder. Eating disorders often stem from a lack of a sense of self, and cause individuals to feel empty and a loss of control of their life. There is also a sense of disconnectedness from the world around them.

How Holistic Treatment in Recovery Can Help

Holistic treatment and a whole-person approach is a way to address eating disorders and all the aspects associated with them. It focuses on how individuals interact with their environment and what type of impact that has on our mind, body and spirit.

The goal is to achieve maximum well being so everything is functioning together in the very best manner possible.

Individuals who suffer from an eating disorder often alienate themselves and try to hide their feelings and behaviors from those around them.

It is said that the emotional lives we live affect our physical, mental and spiritual welfare. Therefore it becomes clear that when one part or aspect of life is out of balance, others tend to follow suit. Treating the symptoms, or the outcome, will not get to the root of the problem and cheats the patient of the possibility of a full recovery.

Eating Disorders are Multifaceted and Complicated

According to The National Institute of Mental Health, researchers understand that eating disorders are caused by a complex interaction of genetic, biological and psychological, as well as social, factors. By combining:

1. Medical,
2. Nutritional,
3. Behavioral and,
4. Psychiatric care

for individuals suffering from eating disorders, patients benefit because co-occurring disorders are addressed along with the eating disorder. This prevents one issue from worsening while treating and focusing on another, making the chances of a lasting recovery improve significantly.