The Meaning of Health
A healer from the Chinese, Indian, or Native American traditions would give very
different opinions about the meaning of health from those given by a Western
physician. The Western view of health, in the past, was often described as the
absence of disease or other abnormal conditions. That definition expanded to
include the view that health is not a static condition; the body undergoes constant
change and adaptation to both internal and external challenges. The majority of
conventional medical practitioners would define health as a state of well-being.
They may disagree, however, about who determines well-being—the health profes-
sional or the individual.
Those practicing alternative medicine describe health as a condition of wholeness,
balance, and harmony of the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Health is not a con-
crete goal to be achieved; rather, it is a lifelong process that represents growth
toward potential, an inner feeling of aliveness. Physical aspects include the optimal
functioning of all body systems. Emotional aspects include the ability to feel and
express the entire range of human emotions. Mental aspects include feelings of self-
worth, a positive identity, a sense of accomplishment, and the ability to appreciate
and create. Spiritual health is experienced within the self, with others, and as a part
of society. Self-related components are the development of moral values and finding
a meaningful purpose in life. Spiritual factors relating to others include the search
for meaning through relationships and the feeling of connectedness with others and
with an external power often identified as God or the divine source. Societal aspects
of spiritual health can be understood as a common humanity and a belief in the
fundamental sacredness and unity of all life. These beliefs motivate people toward
truth and a sense of fairness and justice to all members of society. The World Health
Organization (WHO) states, “the existing definition of health should include the
spiritual aspect and that health care should be in the hands of those who are fully
aware of and sympathetic to the spiritual dimension.”
The Healing Process
The curative process is another example of divergent viewpoints. Conventional med-
icine promotes the view that external treatments—drugs, surgery, radiation—cure
people, and practitioners are trained to fix or repair broken parts. The focus is on
the disease process or abnormal conditions.
Alternative practitioners look at conditions that block the life force and keep it from
flowing freely through the body. Healing occurs when balance and harmony are
restored. The focus is on the health potential of the person rather than the disease
problem. The cure model and the healing model are presented with greater detail in
Chapter 2, “How Does Alternative Medicine Work?”
CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE ALL ABOUT? 11
