(A personal view)
It is rather easy to get confused about the nature and objectives of therapies.
For a long time now, holistic therapies have been considered as 'alternative' to orthodox medicine. In some cases desperate people have turned to the alternative where their conventional treatment with pills and surgery has failed. In some cases, apparently miraculous results have occurred.
There is one very important point that has to be remembered. The body heals itself!
All healing empowers the body to do that, even surgery restructures the body where the challenge for it has become or was made too great.
I have a scientific mind and background. Science takes the observable and builds a framework of laws and rules in order to make an effect or result predictable. The medical profession are dedicated to help us all in a predictable and controlled way. They have centuries of compiled knowledge and experience. Often drugs and pills are based on the natural remedies used for centuries.
One of the big problems for orthodox medicine is the fact we are all very different in our detailed make-up and in the way we respond to medications. Our GPs are so busy coping with droves of us going for diagnosis and treatment of such a vast and varied nature that they are unable (despite the very best intent) to focus on us individually (often until some condition has become critical).
This is where holistic therapies can be of such great assistance in our fight for continued health and well-being. There is increasing evidence that holistic therapies help the body to build it's immune system and thus help to keep it fit and respond better to medicines.
Holistic therapies are 'complementary' to orthodox medicine and should only be considered in that way. It should never be forgotten that the GP is our prime carer. The GP would no doubt welcome anything that could make the job easier and less time-consuming and even keep patients out of the surgery.
Ultimately, there can be only one Truth to life (My Philosophy of Life). Everything must come together and be complementary. The idea of something 'alternative' completely undermines the value of which it is considered alternative to. We must value all things of human experience and make use of it all in a 'complementary' way to improve our lives and the value of our existence, for the good of us all.
June
2007