WOMEN’S BODIES: HOLISM, HOMEOPATHY, HYPNOTHERAPY AND NATUROPATHY
Holism
This is a belief that the body, intellect, emotions and spirit, as well as our relations with our families, society, the politics that influence our lives, our environment and the world are interconnected in promoting health and that none can be viewed in isolation.
It seems to me that holistic health care has become a bit of a bandwagon. The idea isn’t new (though the use of the word ‘holism’ in health care is): the philosophy that the whole is more than just the sum of its parts goes back a long way. People have always known that if the soul is unhappy, the body also ails. I hope that all health-care personnel would approach everyone as whole people whose health is influenced by everything in and around their lives.
Homeopathy
This therapy is based on several beliefs: that ‘like cures like’ or ‘what it can cause, it can cure’; that the more dilute a remedy is, the better it works; that people have an energy field that must be matched with the earth’s magnetic field to maintain health; that their treatments can make symptoms worse before they improve and can make old and different symptoms flare up to be healed; that during a cure, symptoms move from the inside to the outside of the body and from ‘more important to less important’ body systems.
It is very hard for someone (like myself) who is trained in conventional biology to understand homeopathic beliefs. But many people have great faith in the therapy, and a few studies have shown that in some cases it has produced benefits that could not be accounted for by placebo effect.
Homeopathic remedies are made from many substances, though mostly from plants. They are widely available in health-food shops and some pharmacies and: need not be prescribed by a homeopath. Because of their dilution, it’s unlikely that self-medication would be unsafe.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapists use the state of mind between wakefulness and sleep. After inducing this trance-like state, the therapist attempts to influence a patient’s mind to improve health. Practitioners view the trance as a healing state that allows the mind and body to achieve changes that aren’t possible with full consciousness.
Hypnotherapy has been followed by physical healing, relief of some types of pain, and insight into present difficulties and past events that may be influencing health. Some orthodox health practitioners remain sceptical about hypnotherapy, in spite of its proven effectiveness in bringing about improvement in health, especially in phobias and physical symptoms associated with stress and anxiety.
Naturopathy
Naturopaths aim to help the body cure itself of disease. Like orthodox practitioners, they know that many illnesses occur when our natural resistance is reduced. While orthodox treatment concentrates on finding and eliminating the cause of illness, naturopaths concentrate on restoring resistance.
These days naturopaths often use a variety of alternative therapies as well as diet, exercise, relaxation and breathing techniques. They also encourage a natural’ lifestyle and positive attitudes to mental and physical health. Naturopathy forms a very good complement to orthodox health care.
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