Holistic medicine is a topic that continues to interest me while studying wellness. I recently
discussed this topic through the history lens and now will attempt to examine it through the
social science lens. i How does holistic medicine impact how we interact and behavior with
others? When you look at your population and your surroundings it can impact how you view
things and how you handle stress. i “Hobfoll’s (1989) COR theory is a widely used, resource-
based theory for explaining the process and effects of stress. COR theory posits that individuals
desire to conserve valued resources, which can include objects (e.g., house, car), personal
characteristics (e.g., self-esteem, resilience), conditions (e.g., seniority, managerial status), or
energies (e.g., time, money).” (Probst, T.M. Sinclair, R.R., Sears, L.E., Gailey, N.J., Black, K.J.
& Cheung, J.H. (2018) i If you don’t have these valued resources it can cause stress in your life. i
So how does this connect with holistic medicine? i In order to feel supported and successful
people need to feel well and connected to the things around them. This might mean that you are
spending your energy and money on natural remedies for your ailments and stress. i This might
help you with self esteem and resilience when you find more natural ways to handle stress. i This
can then create a society/population of people that you find yourself absorbed in.
When you are able to look at a topic through more than one lens you can see how it connects to
all the lenses and will help you balance your and better understand overall wellness. i When you
look at holistic medicine there is history in this topic, there are economic benefits in this topic,
there is society that believes in this way to manage stress and you can connect all these pieces. It
is really important when studying any topic of wellness to be able to see it and analyze it from all
lenses.
Probst, T. M., Sinclair, R. R., Sears, L. E., Gailey, N. J., Black, K. J., & Cheung, J. H. (2018).
Economic stress and well-being: Does population health context matter? Journal of Applied
Psychology, 103(9), 959–979. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1037/apl0000309
