What Type of Holistic Health Person Are You?
I think it is helpful to think about health from the perspective of wherever you are now. No one can jump completely into holistic health right from the start, so it is worthwhile trying to understand what you think about it now, and then charting a path forward. Try to categorize yourself into one of these mindsets, and then see if the advice I give makes sense for you.
A. The Hooked
You or someone in your health plan depends heavily on a steady stream of drugs supplied to keep certain symptoms under control. These symptoms are usually related to a chronic, long-term, "incurable" disease.
You are probably stuck with your current health situation. Plus, if you ever are laid off or decide to quit, you will have to become an employee of another company and participate in another group plan. If you wish to become an independent contractor, insurance companies will almost certainly want to leave your chronic (read: expensive!) condition out of the contract. They can do this if you are only insuring yourself (and family) but they cannot do it under a group plan, so stick with the group plan (i.e. always be an employee of somebody).
You may already be thinking that chronic diseases are better handled with holistic healthcare treatments than with Western medicine. But you should probably experiment while still inside your current healthplan, because, in your situation, one false move with your medications could mean big problems. Researching holistic health isn't going to cost you anything, and it may give you hope to resolving the chronic issues. Of course, you need to be careful of any herbal <--> drug interactions. Check for information on the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Website and DEFINITELY talk to an MD or DO before any herbs you are considering on top of the existing medications. Try to find an MD or DO who is open-minded to herbs and other alternative therapies.
B. The Employee
Like "The Hooked," you are in a situation where you are being supplied with something that seems to be limiting your options. You probably cannot just drop the insurance that your employer provides you with day-to-day and go with a high-deductible plan like I've done myself. Since your employer is paying for it, it seems "free." Of course, it isn't. Every dollar they pay for your health insurance is a dollar that they are not paying you in salary. But, nevertheless, you don't have a choice in the matter.
My first idea is for you to discuss your holistic health preferences with your human resources manager. If they hear enough people complaining that the health insurance package does not cover certain practices, they might take steps to do something about it. Some insurance companies are better than others in coverage of holistic health practices.
Next, you might experiment with holistic health practices using your own money (i.e. out-of-pocket). Remember, every dollar you spend on your own health is an investment, just like putting money into a mutual fund. You may not see results right away in better health, increased energy or relief from symptoms, but overall you are doing the right thing by investing in your health.
Establish a small monthly budget of what you will spend. Perhaps $80 a month is all you want to spend. That will allow you to try one appointment per month with a different type of practitioner (maybe two). Use your own intuition to guide you to the right practice and the right practitioner. And if you get tired of working as an employee of a big company, go out on your own and discover the joys of being "the Free Agent."
C. The Free Agent
You are self-employed, either on your own or in a very small company (2-5 people). You probably don't see your company growing very large over time, because you are happy with where you are, free of a lot of the corporate B.S.. You have a wide range of healthcare options open to you. Normal healthcare, like what "The Employee" enjoys, is probably prohibitively expensive to you. Your small company will likely have to shell out $500 or more per month just to have basic coverage for you and your spouse (families would be even more!). And don't forget rates are going up 10-30% per year, every year.
You are probably a prime candidate for creating a holistic healthcare plan. My first idea for you is to set your deductibles on your healthcare plan as high as you can stomach, probably between $2,500-10,000 per person per benefit period (usually one year). This sounds ridiculously high, but consider the following. The way that health insurance premiums work, even if you have to use an entire $2,500 deductible every year, you will still break even (or better) compared to paying a much higher premium and getting lower deductibles. (At deductible levels higher than $2,500, you probably will not break even if you have to use the entire deductible amount every year.) You will have to do this calculation yourself on each individual policy. Also, certain insurance companies are known for having better rates at the high deductible levels, while other companies are better on the low deductible policies.
Another note, on insurance shopping. Insurance agents get a much higher commission for selling low deductible policies, so they may try to pressure you or guilt you into those types of policies. If this happens, run, don't walk, away from that agent. Find another agent who will keep your needs foremost in mind. They are out there, I've found one that I use and am happy with.
Once you have your insurance in place, take the money you save (probably $300-400 per month) on insurance and put it into a bank account which you reserve for health spending. If you see yourself still going to the MDs and DOs for diagnosis and treatment, use a Medical Savings Account (MSA). If you think you will be using mostly holistic treatments, use an ordinary bank account. Then start experimenting with holistic treatments, learning and using them as often as your budget and time allow.
D. The Novice
You are interested in what you've heard about holistic health, but you feel like you know nothing and you don't know where to start. You are a bit overwhelmed by all the practices you've heard of and hesitant to try any of them for fear of being "ripped off" or getting into a type of treatment that is embarrassing or too strange.
Try to learn what you can through passive methods first, until you get enough courage to try a holistic health treatment. At first, invest nothing but your time. Borrow books from the library using the keyword searches "alternative medicine." You will not believe how many books you'll find. Our local library has seventy-two items under the topic "alternative medicine." Choose authors like Richard Gerber, James Gordon, Larry Dossey and Norm Shealy first., or use your gut feeling to decide the best books for you.
Amazon.com or your local metaphysical bookstore will be your best bets.
Once you have built up your own knowledge, begin to search for practitioners in the practices you've chosen to begin with. Set up a budget for your holistic health experimentation, based on your bank account balance from your insurance savings. Visit Website directories, health food stores, and coffee shops in the artsy parts of your town. Ask who the practitioners are in your chosen practices. If you have a lot of trouble finding someone, you may have to choose another practice. Some practices have huge numbers of practitioners while others have a small community.
Once you begin experimenting, you're on your way. Look at the money you're spending as an investment in your wellness, in achieving your goal of attaining "optimal health."
E. The Peeper
You're interested in what you hear about holistic health, but you are not ready to make any kind of commitment to jumping in as a client. You'd really just like to "peek through the fence" at what is happening.
If this is where you are at right now, don't feel bad. Accept that it is your current view and take some steps to enhance your "peeking."
First, don't be afraid to ask your friends if they've ever tried any holistic health practices. You may have to use all the code-words for holistic health - alternative medicine, complementary medicine, integrative medicine, etc. You will definitely be surprised at the stories your friends can tell you.
Secondly, keep your eyes open for advertisements in the local, free newspapers around town. Holistic health providers often place ads in these papers because they can do so quite cheaply and the audience is close to their target.
Third, listen for conferences going on in your town or surrounding area that may attract people knowledgeable about holistic health. A "psychic fair" may not be your interest, but such a venue will undoubtedly have people who know a great deal about holistic health practices. You can ignore the psychics if you want to.
F. The Medical Doctor
You are an MD or DO who has a current practice in Western medicine. You hear somethings about "alternative medicine" from your patients and the media, but you may tend to discount it or you simply don't have time to do the proper research to sort the good from the bad.
The MDs and DOs hold the key to changing the current disease-care system into a holistic healthcare system. I ask each MD and DO to take a note when a patient mentions an herbal remedy or holistic health treatment (rolfing, massage, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc.) that they had success with and do a small amount of research on it later. You might be surprised what you'll find about these topics in the British Medical Journal, JAMA, the New England Journal of Medicine, and other specialty, peer-reviewed publications like Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Many holistic health practices are being scientifically proven in double-blind, placebo-driven studies.
It is my view, which I know is not shared by all MDs and DOs, that holistic healthcare will overtake the Western medical system in North America. The statistics show a tremendous increase in holistic health services provided in the U.S. just since 1990, as reported by Harvard Medical School. Americans have spent more out-of-pocket money on holistic healthcare services than they have on Western medicine. If the health insurance system breaks down or if the current trends simply continue unabated, holistic health will become more and more of a force, even if just in terms of sheer dollars spent. The MDs and DOs who are sitting at the forefront of holistic health (and there are many of them) will be the best positioned to do the most good for their patients and to make the most money, even as HMOs, PPOs, health insurance carriers and other beasts of disease-care may fade away. I believe MDs and DOs will play a huge role in this transition.
G. The Newtonian Skeptic
You are a skeptic of all this alternative nonsense. You feel that it is not based in hard science and is the playground of people with nothing better to do.
This is quite a popular opinion in North America, but unfortunately it is quite outdated. The "science" that does not agree with holistic health is Newtonian science, created in the Seventeenth century. Later science discoveries, like relativity and quantum psychics, are very much in tune with alternative medicine. Chaos and complexity science are even more so. In addition, alternative remedies of all kinds are being tested using the scientific method (double-blind placebo-driven studies) and are often proving effective. Although, as with drug tests, the scientific method has its own issues and therefore the results are sometimes spotty and inconclusive.
Frankly, I am not sure what to say to the skeptic. Usually, a skeptic of holistic health practices is also a skeptic of many other things in life, so it is probably not useful for me to try to convince you of your error in judgement in this one respect. It is probably best for you to continue playing the useful role of the skeptic, pointing out the bad elements of holistic health and allowing others to work on resolving those bad elements. The only sad part of being a skeptic is that you are often left behind when the transition reaches an inevitable stage that everyone else can see except the skeptic.
H. The Happy Pointer
You do not see holistic health treatments as applicable to yourself, but you enjoy pointing other people towards holistic remedies that might help them. I feel this type of person can be very helpful, as long as they are well-informed enough to be offering advice to others. Be prepared to get great joy from referring someone to an appropriate holistic health practice, but be equally prepared to get great blame when something doesn't work out as planned. And consider holistic health for yourself. The best way to learn about it is as a client first, and a "happy pointer" second.
I. The Last Resortist
You don't see holistic health as a primary, or even secondary option. You are a fan of Western medicine and all its modern marvels. However, when Western medicine fails you, say for a certain acute condition or a long-standing chronic illness, you feel like you have to turn to alternatives.
Although you see holistic health only as a last resort, it may still help you to research different treatments beforehand in case you need them. Depending on your level of medical knowledge or motivation, you may want to pick up an occasional copy of Alternative Medicine magazine and just browse through it, or to delve deeper into the Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.
J. The Holistic Health Phreak
You have all but given up on Western medicine and declared yourself a follower of holistic health, damn all the roadblocks. You are likely to use Western medicine if your appendix bursts, or to reset a broken bone, but for anything else, you go holistic. You hang out at yoga studios and you get bodywork done regularly. For prevention or treatment of any chronic disease (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, HIV, stress, etc.) you would never even think about going to a hospital.
For whatever reason, you've become an extreme convert to holistic health. If this describes your mindset, you should probably change your health insurance to have the highest possible deductibles (but still 80-100% co-insurance), and use the money you save toward your holistic practices. You should set up a separate bank account for this saved money and withdraw from it to pay for your holistic services. Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) probably won't help you, unless you just want to use it as a retirement account. This is because MSAs have many restrictions on what you can do with the money you withdraw from the account, and holistic health remedies are not among them (except acupuncture).
6:45:31 PM 
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