Is Holistic Medicine For You? READ THIS:
UPDATE!
Chelsea will be at The Society Garden on December 8th, 2018 to do a class on holistic medicines! Her class will sell out for sure, and last time she had elderberry syrup for sale as well. I bought some from her and my family and I have been taking it regularly to help prevent the flu and other colds.
Love to all y’all – Molly
Original post, January 2016:
I go to Roasted Cafe quite a bit, and because of that I’ve gotten to know their owner’s wife, Chelsea. When I found out that she does some holistic medicines, well I knew that I would have questions. I’ve always had this facination with holistic medicine in general and it’s a concept that makes sense to me. Why use unnatural items if we don’t have to? So I’m really excited about this interview right here, right now:
Molly: So, tell us first what is it exactly that you do with holistic medicine? What’s the name of your business?
Holistic medicine has many different realms including but not limited to herbalism, acupuncture, aromatherapy, and counseling/meditation. For me, herbal medicine was my calling. I completed a medical herbalism program in December 2014 where we studied in depth 60 herbs native to the southern Appalachian region. We learned the actions of these herbs and how to formulate medicinal preparations of them. We studied the body systems and how specific herbs act and heal different systems. To help select certain herbs for certain issues, we studied Traditional Chinese Medicine along with fundamental substances and other energetic principles.
I have taken all that I know from being an RN and my medical herbalism course to help myself, family, and those who are interested in finding non-pharmaceutical alternatives to medicine and healing. Nature has provided us with so many medicines from the Earth, and I want to help bring those to others who may not know where to turn. I am a member of the American Botanical Council and the American Herbalist Guild where I have access to much research that has been conducted on herbal medicines. In nursing school, we were taught to practice based on evidence, so I still have that evidence-based drive in the herbal aspect. I make all of my own herbal medicine preparations and use them myself, as well as sell them to those who are interested in a natural alternative. My coworkers, friends, and family have been my biggest supporters.
I call myself The Botanical Nurse 🙂
Molly: What are some of the common misconceptions regarding this form of medicine?
Many people hope that once they start an alternative therapy, that they will receive instant relief and/or results. Herbal medicine works over time and with other lifestyle changes. Health and wellness occurs as a whole, not one individual disease process. The lifestyle changes are what is so hard, and why many do not stick with alternative therapies. Also, holistic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine calls to look deeper within the body as to WHY a disease has occurred. For example, someone may be having trouble sleeping at night so they tell their doctor. The doctor prescribes a medication to put them to sleep at night. The real issue for why they are having trouble sleeping is never addressed. Do they have stress in their life making them unable to reach a state of relaxation? Are they constant worriers and stay awake because they can’t turn their mind off? Or are they in pain or having cramps keeping them awake? Herbal medicines are to be used as a utility to achieve optimal health, not to cover up the problem. There are herbs for each type of those sleep issues by the way 🙂
Molly: You’re an RN, right? How do you find holistic medicine best works with “regular” medicine?
I have been a critical care nurse for 4 years now, and I absolutely still support conventional medicine. If it weren’t for hospitals, ERs, and ICUs like I work in, so many loved ones would die. Emergency medicine is necessary to save lives of those that have experienced motor vehicle collisions, spontaneous brain bleeds, and asthma attacks to name a few. I believe herbal and holistic medicine is more about prevention. There is not enough discussion with our doctors about what we can be doing with ourselves to help prevent things like cancer and cardiovascular disease. If someone is diagnosed with high blood pressure, it needs to be talked about what they can do on their own to manage the diagnosis before they’re just prescribed a pill. It’s easy to take a pill every day. It certainly is not easy eating right, exercising, and incorporating healing herbs in every day life.
Holistic and herbal medicine is more of a preventative type of self-care. Every day we come into contact with chemicals, substances, and hormones that alter our body’s processes. Herbal medicine used for prevention can help build the immune system to fight off these daily toxins. An example is drinking ginger or anise tea after meals to help our body digest and absorb nutrients.
Herbal medicine can also be used as a treatment modality over the long run. There are numerous studies on turmeric and how it destroys cancer cells and tumors. The studies although do not happen in a matter of 2-3 months like chemo, but over 6 months or longer. There also are less side effects than chemo; turmeric actually builds your immune system unlike chemo that destroys it.
The ultimate goal that I would love to see happen in a clinical setting is the combination of holistic and orthodox medicine. I would love to see medical doctors come together with holistic health professionals to formulate a plan of care integrating holistic medicine and orthodox medicine when needed.
So, I got to try some of Chelsea’s medication for myself. I’ve been suffering from a horrible chest cold as of late (thanks to my kids) and having troubles sleeping, thanks to be overloaded (as always). I could tell within the first day that what Chelsea made me was greatly improving my symptoms- for both my cough and my sleeping issues. And yes, you read right, what she made me. Herself. In fact she cautioned me about the labels because she had run out of the usual ones. But I actually really like that they are hand written because then I know this was something made just for me.
If you’ve got any kind of questions regarding natural medicines, this is your girl! Contact her here, by clicking this link.
Love to all y’all,
Molly
