When it comes to wellness, there are so many things to consider. While wellness is the optimum state of health for a person, it’s important to note that it’s inclusive of more than just physical health. A holistic approach to wellness is a more balanced and whole approach.

What is Holistic Wellness?

Holistic wellness is an approach used to address the whole person, in mind, body, and spirit. That means addressing a person’s physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and financial health.

Why is Holistic Wellness Important?

A holistic approach to wellness is important because it helps to look at the underlying cause of problems from a total body perspective, not just from one or two single perspectives. For instance, a person with a specific health issue could continue to get prescribed treatment for this condition, with no success at curing it. Holistic wellness will help get to the root of the problem. This root cause of the issue could be stress, poor food choices, lack of exercise, etc. When the root problem is discovered, the patient needs treatment for that. Treating  the root problem will prevent the issue from recurring.

Components of Holistic Wellness

Sometimes it’s important to know the whole person when getting to the root of a problem. There are six areas of considerations when it comes to Holistic Wellness:

Physical Health

It goes without saying how important our physical being is. When it comes to health, this is the area most people tend to put all of their focus. Physical health pertains to cardiovascular ability, strength, flexibility, exercise, and diet.

Emotional Health

Our emotional health can easily get overlooked, but it’s just as important as our physical health. That’s because our emotional health can affect our physical health if it is not checked regularly. Our emotional health refers to our daily moods and emotions.

Mental Health

Some people assume mental and emotional health are the same. Our mental health refers to our cognitive abilities that affect how our brain functions. Our mental health can overlap with our physical and emotional health. Our mental health is about understanding how and why our brain works the way it does. And di you know that your mental health and gut health (a component of physical health) are heavily linked? So chances are if you have some sort of issue with your gut health, you likely have a struggle with your mental health.

Social Health

Social health pertains to the connection and support system that a person has with their family, friends, peers, and community. Holistic wellness can help to encourage healthy connections by educating individuals on what healthy boundaries are and how to incorporate this into current relationships. Holistic wellness can also offer effective ways to communicate with others.

Spiritual Health

Spiritual health encompasses how you’re connecting with your inner soul and the world around you. Spiritual health utilizes a person’s faith and religion, but it also incorporates nature, meditation, and service. Having peace with oneself is crucial to overall wellness. Spiritual health is a very personal experience, but the right counselors and coaches can help you strengthen your spiritual health. 

Financial Health

Money is a huge stress factor for many people. Our finances can influence so much in our lives — self-esteem, relationships, physical well-being. Holistic wellness counselors can offer budget strategies and explore emotional reasons behind bad financial habits, such as overspending.

Holistic Wellness vs. Traditional Medicine

Holistic wellness causes us to look at all of our interconnected parts — social, physical, spiritual, emotional, mental and financial. When any one of these parts is dysfunctional, it could cause problems in any of the other parts, which affects our whole self. Thus, holistic wellness looks at all aspects of ourselves. Whereas, allopathic (or western) medicine focuses on treatment for the aspect that is most obvious to the naked eye or what’s easiest to detect from pain we feel. Allopathic medicine does not take all of those essential parts into consideration.

Holistic Therapeutic Best Practices

The best way to ensure you are in a state of holistic wellness is to focus on all aspects of yourself. Some ways you can do this are:

• Exercise regularly
• Sleep well
• Practice yoga, meditate, or pray
• Eat healthy
• Engage in therapy/counseling/mindset coaching
• Get a massage
• Lead an active lifestyle
• Make time for self-care

Conclusion

If you’re feeling off or unbalanced, think about the different aspects of your life that could be most impacted. Consider all of the components of holistic wellness. Sometimes conditions like chronic inflammation, fatigue, anxiety, and depression can be more interconnected than you think.