What can you do if your previous attempts at therapy simply weren’t enough and you still have symptoms? Alternative therapies can complement psychiatric medications and what you do in traditional settings. In some cases, they may work independently.
What should you consider? Here are eight types of alternative therapies and why you should try them.
Alternative Therapies and Holistic Wellness
Alternative therapies can complement or replace traditional modalities because they operate on principles of holistic wellness. Holistic treatments consider the entire person and all of the factors that contribute to dis-ease — including stress, poor diet and even your socioeconomic situation.
For example, a traditional psychiatrist may look at depression as a biochemical imbalance in the brain and prescribe an antidepressant to ease your symptoms. A holistic practitioner digs deeper — what caused the imbalance in the first place? Occasionally, it arises from spontaneous biological quirks, but typically, lasting negative feelings develop after periods of prolonged stress or traumatic life experiences that you see no way to escape.
If your depression stems from a paycheck insufficient to meet your basic needs, an antidepressant won’t help you much. While a pill may or may not help you think more clearly about your situation, it alone won’t help you improve it. However, financial and career counseling that teaches you an attainable path out of poverty would be much more effective than popping a Prozac.
8 Alternative Therapies You Should Try — and Why
You have dozens of options for alternative therapies, depending on your mental and physical health needs. Here are eight of the most popular alternative therapies, what people often use them for and how you can benefit.
1. Ayurveda
Ayurveda may be the world’s oldest holistic health system. It originated in India over 3,000 years ago and remains in use today — so it must be effective.
You can visit an Ayurvedic health practitioner if you have the means. However, it’s also simple to integrate some Ayurvedic practices into your daily routine. For example, trikatu, an immune-boosting remedy so effective researchers investigated it for treating COVID-19, consists only of black pepper, Indian long pepper and ginger. Add a pinch of all three to your morning coffee grounds to bolster your defenses against the coming cold and flu season.
2. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is another Eastern alternative therapy with thousands of years to support its use. Although Eastern practitioners claim it works by manipulating the flow of chi or vital energy, Western minds believe that the needles stimulate your nervous system and alter pain perception. Those with a fear of sharp things can try acupressure, which uses similar acupoints but uses your thumb or another blunt object to stimulate the area without breaking the skin.
3. Diet Therapy
Everything you eat affects your chemistry, and doctors have successfully treated disease through dietary changes. For example, physicians developed the original keto diet to fight against epilepsy, and recent research shows it controls seizures.
Those susceptible to Type 2 diabetes can lower their risk through dietary changes and may never develop the condition with the right meal plan. Additionally, uncovering food sensitivities can take a long, frustrating process of multiple elimination diets but can transform your life once you discover the offending substance. You can work with a nutritionist or practice mindful eating and track how you feel after certain meals to find out what works best for you.
4. Herbal Medicine
Herbs have a long history of easing symptoms of mental and physical disease. For example, even the conservative military supports the use of St. John’s Wort as an antidepressant, and chamomile and lavender have long-standing reputations for quelling anxiety. The catechins in green tea can reduce triglyceride levels and raise HDL or “good” cholesterol while gently increasing energy without all the caffeine of coffee.
In general, you should work with a licensed herbalist when trying specific cures. However, you can safely try some herbal remedies DIY style. For example, putting a bit of diluted oregano oil on your bandage acts as a potent antimicrobial and may speed wound healing.
5. Yoga
Any form of physical movement improves your health, but yoga is unique in that it incorporates your mind and spirit. The combination of holding tough poses while breathing deeply to instill a sense of calm helps you develop impulse control and resilience — it’s gentle training in how to endure life’s inevitable discomforts.
Yoga can also provide trauma survivors with a powerful way to reclaim agency over their bodies. Although your brain processes the input, the nerves that experience trauma lie all over your body, where they can trap it and manifest it as physical pain. Lovingly breathing into defensive tight spots builds awareness of them while gradually retraining the messages your nervous system sends to your brain from such movements, giving you back your freedom.
6. Meditation
Several types of meditation exist, and regular participation can result in improvements to your mental and physical health. For example, practicing meditation can lower your blood pressure while easing anxiety and depression.
Finding the right type is key, as the wrong kind can make your mental health symptoms worse. For example, mindfulness meditation requires tuning into your sensations in the present moment. However, if you have chronic pain, focusing on how you feel in the moment might make you feel more hopeless. In such cases, a guided or focused meditation that diverts your attention to something outside the ache may work more effectively.
7. Art and Music Therapy
Here’s an alternative therapy that you can engage in without much guidance or fear of negative impacts. Art and music therapy lets you process difficult emotions, and you don’t have to be Picasso or Taylor Swift to benefit. You might rage-throw paint at a blank canvas like an angry Jackson Pollock or crank the tunes and dance like a wild creature in your living room — whatever helps you release the toxic mind-gunk inside bringing you down.
Sometimes, it’s easier to vent without words. Try drawing your current mood or downloading a free synthesizer app to melodically express yourself.
8. Financial Counseling
Regardless of how you feel about the economic system, life without money is tough and traumatic. It also prevents you from getting the traditional health care you may need, especially in America, which remains the only country without universal coverage despite paying twice per capita for care than comparable nations.
However, there are plenty of places to get free financial advice. Your bank or credit union is a good place to start. They may refer you elsewhere, as groups like The Foundation for Financial Planning and Advisors Give Back also offer help for no charge.
Alternative Therapies to Try
Alternative therapies may work in conjunction with traditional modalities. In some cases, they may even replace them. In many, they enhance the care you already receive by offering a more holistic approach.
Give the eight alternative therapies above a try. Doing so may improve your overall health.