'Optimal Function'

by Sam Suska

During the years of study in which I formed the holistic self-care perspective on health care the most signifant progress was made from studying the conditions of the whole person in which health and vitality occurred. However, my enlightened focus on studying the whole person and the conditions and causes of health within the whole person followed years of studying the conventional medical perspective of health care.

The conventional medical health care perspective is the prevalent form of health care in modern living, not the only form of health care. But I was not aware of that important fact at the time, I was influenced by the flawed assumption that the conventional medical health care perspective was the definitive authority on health knowledge. I personally used conventional medical treatment and advice throughout my life; managed chronic symptoms when they 'needed' it and employed the suggested diet when I desired weight loss.

My own personal health deteriorated during my employment of conventional medical treatment and dietary advice; this was shocking because I had already lost 50 pounds! I used the conventional dietary advice to lose significant weight, but my overall health worsened. I was already years into studying health and personally applied the suggestions and advice from the conventional medical perspective to no real health improvement.

I pursued the study of health because I was passionate about helping people, and desired to make a career out of helping people make real improvements. Second, I truly wanted to help my mother who, at the time was dealing with serious chronic disease, which I now refer to as expressions of 'challenged function'. Finally, I wanted to help myself by eliminating the persistent health issues that plagued me.

Personal experience combined with trial and error enlightened me to the limitation of the conventional medical perspective in addressing the factors initiating my pursuit of knowledge. The conventional medical perspective of health generally focused on managing symptoms as the means of helping people; I did not view this as real improvement. My mother and I personally oberved no real improvements which inspired my pursuit of knowledge beyond conventional and into natural and holistic health care; which seemed to offer hope to make real improvements.

The conventional medical health care perspective is not the definitive authority on health knowledge; in fact this may be the newest and most radical form of health care readily available to people in history. Conventional medical care is valuable and vital, but it did not address the factories which stimulated my sincere passion to help people make real improvements. The natural and holistic perspectives of health care have been around for thousands of years with comparably safe and effective treatments.

I personally applied a multitude of natural health suggestions to myself first, and my mother following my experimentation. These suggestions were self actualized and composed of employing dietary, stress relieving and basic living principles to our lives. We finally made some real improvements with patience and persistence with lifestyle changes; my mother and I were unawaringly beginning holistic self-care.

The journey has been rewarding, not just physically (though obvious) but psychologically and spiritualy. During my completion of "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care" I have been personally reflecting on the process of 'taking control' of not just my health but my mother's health and the clients I have worked with. Sincere progress and instrumental principles were formed when the focus shifted from pursuing the knowledge influenced by the conventional medical perspective to natural and holistic health care perspectives.

The shift from studying a health care perspective that focused on studying disease and reducing the body and the disease to progressively smaller parts was monumental. The conventional medical perspective focus on 'scientific reductionism' leads to a significant understanding of the conditions of the expressions of disease, but offer no insight to the underlying conditions of the whole person. As a result, the underlying causes of disease were completely overlooked; more importantly the underlying condition and causes of health were largely unknown by the conventional medical health care perspective.

As I pursued health knowledge from the natural and holistic health care perspectives the focus shifted to increasingly more focus on health and causes of health and disease. The great deal of health knowledge from natural and holistic health care perspectives still focused on studying disease and poor health, with the key difference being the tools of treatment. The natural and holistic health care perspectives focused on safe treatments which were largely self-actualized. Whereas the conventional medical health care perspective regularly employs dangerous tests and treatments (diagnostic machines and drugs) while discouraging self-care.

A consistent theme of the health information from the conventional medical perspective is the lack of power the modern individual has over their health status. This theme irked even me from the start of my pursuit for health knowledge, even then I strongly believed in the basic scientific principle that everything has a cause. Researching and studying the natural and holistic health care perspectives enabled me to focus on my goal of helping people make real improvements. First, I would empower myself, then others (my mother next) to personally 'take control' of health by addressing the causes of this health.

The holistic health care perspective specifically impacted my research the most prominently, as it lead to my forming of the holistic self-care perspective. My focus shifted from studying the body alone and reduced to progressively smaller pieces and systems to the interactions of the mind, body and spirit. The holistic self-care perspective is built on the foundation that health is actually a status of the mind, body and spirit and is within the 'control' of nearly everyone.

The health status of the whole person is determined by the states and interactions of the mind, body and spirit. Furthermore, the states and interactions between the mind, body and spirit were largely determined by the lifestyle of the individual. So, during the years of trial and error with lifestyle suggestions and advice from a variety of natural and holistic perspectives the health status of myself, mother and motivated clients made real improvements.

Holistic self-care is the implementation and maintainance of lifestyle improvements complemented by safe, natural and effective professional treatments. Holistic self-care does not seek to treat any specific conventional medical care diagnosis. In fact, holistic self-care employs a significantly different definition of health and determination of one's health status. The holistic self-care definition of health is, the efficiency in which the whole person 'adapts' to 'stressors'.

As a result, health itself is not finite, permanent or beyond control of the individual; health is a dynamic status directly related to how one functions. In actuality, health is the functional ability of the whole person, consisting of mind, body and spirit. By contrast the conventional medical perspective generally defines health as "the absence of disease". This definition of health combined with the conventional medical perspective tendency to ignore underlying causes of health and disease, canl lead the individual to believe that health is beyond one's control.

Comparing the multiple perspectives on health care lead me to personally observe a universal fundamental flaw of health care; the reliance on assumptions. The basic principles, treatments and general points of view in each health care perspective were built from assumptions. For example, two differing perspectives can observe the same issue within the human body and refer to it quite differently and find completely opposing causes of the occurrence. The resulting treatments offered by the health care perspectives are based on these assumptions.

Therefore, the conventional medical perspective regularly offers treatments for the diagnosable symptoms of chronic disease. Whereas, the holistic perspective offers treatments for the underlying condition of the whole person, addressing the mind, body and spirit each. The definition of health and general outlook on health may be different, but the holistic perspective can be a powerful ally to conventional medical care.

The holistic self-care perspective itself can help anyone, regardless of present health status or employment of conventional medical care. "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care" the forthcoming book I am completing which outlines the holistic self-care perspective recommends conventional medical care for a multitude of reasons. One reason being that holistic self-care needs complementary care.

In actuality, holistic self-care itself actually is health care and many of the other modes are complementary care. This realization is logically made following the assumption that nearly each and every individual has control of their own health. Note that very few individuals (childhood illnesses, and a few more types) do not fit into this, but as a whole the large majority of modern people have this power.

The conventional medical care perspective has lead the modern public to believe that health is based on their genes, and that is beyond their control. But this assumption is dangerous and flawed, as genes are expressed within the body based on the environment they are surrounded with. The fields of nutrigenomics and epigenetics are consistently finding the expression of genes to be impacted most prominently by the lifestyle followed by the individual. This points to the influence one has over the internal environment of their own body.

The holistic self-care perspective guides the willing individual to make choices which promote the internal environment of the body in which health occurs and maintains. This state of the body occurs in the 'holistic health status' referred to as 'optimal function'. 'Optimal function' is the states of mind, body and spirit which enable the efficient 'adapting' of 'stressors'. 'Stressors' are inevitable and occur from everything the individual does, which can be classified as one of the basic functions. Therefore, the ability of the whole person to handle these 'stressors' is paramount to health, which is now being referred to as 'holistic health status'.

The mind and spirit are equally instrumental in health as well, due largely to the choices made by the individual to perform and fulfill the basic functions. The basic functions are necessary to maintain life, but the manners and sources used by the individual to perform and fulfill them can differ greatly. The resulting health of the individual, or the 'holistic health status', which can vary from 'optimal function' to 'challenged function' heavily depends on the manners and sources one uses to perform and fulfill the basic functions.

The basic functions are breathing, thinking, choosing, moving, eating, drinking, eliminating, sleeping, grooming and socializing. The manners and sources used to perform and fulfill the basic functions are largely within the control of the individual which leads to the ultimate assumption that health is within control of nearly each and every person. Holistic self-care is explained and practically outlined to the reader in the forthcoming text, "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care".

The reader will learn how to use simple and safe at practices to use at home, holistic and natural professional services and even conventional medical care to determine 'holistic health status' and reach and maintain 'optimal function'. The states of mind, body and spirit which ultimately determine 'holistic health status' are, for many people quite sensitive to the manners and sources used to perform and fulfill the basic functions.

Holistic self-care is suited to each individual because the states of mind, body and spirit are affected somewhat differently in relation to certain basic functions for everyone. But, the states of the mind, body and spirit which enable 'optimal function' are the same for each and every individual. The mind requires a state of rational thought process with a positive outlook and the spirit requires the state of peacefulness with contentment. With patience, persistence and some complementary forms of health care, nearly everyone can reach the 'optimal function' state within the body consisting of alkaline pH with adequate, balanced 'energy' flow.

The states, conditions and expressions of 'challenged function' are also explained and detailed as well to help the reader understand the capabilities and power of holistic self-care. The focus of "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care" is on improving one's health with practical lifestyle improvements complemented by multiple forms of professional care.

I have written "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care" to provide inspritation and guidance to any and all individuals who seek another viewpoint on health care and desire to 'take control' of their health. Holistic self-care can empower the motivated individual and possibly lead to real improvements which were first found by myself, then my mother and clients and hopefully the general public with my forthcoming text.

Please e-mail me at truehealthservices@gmail.com for an individual consultation or any additional information and details about the release of my text, "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care". My holistic self-care business can also be found at http://www.truehealthservices.org/ , thank you for reading and best wishes as you begin the process of empowerment.