Why we need Wholistic Wellbeing
Over a century ago, Thomas Edison, concerned about the state of medicine, wrote that “the doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” These days, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to deeply affect our wellbeing, his ideas feel more relevant than ever.
When I started suffering symptoms of burnout in my forties, I began focusing more on my physical needs and mental health. I chose Wholistic Wellbeing because it made me into a more resilient, satisfied, livelier human being.
I also realized that personal wellbeing was not only about physical health but also about emotional stability, financial safety, and a stronger connection, not only to my community of family and friends, but also to the planet. It became clear that to be truly healthy and content, we must attain a feeling of wholeness necessary to our overall wellbeing. Wholistic Wellbeing makes you feel better; it is about becoming a better person, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
I care deeply about the future of humanity and our planet, without which we cannot sustain any form of personal wellbeing. An article in The Times of India predicts that approximately seven million people may have to be displaced from parts of Mumbai and Chennai if global temperatures rise by no more than 2°C. Can you imagine the impact that would have on the wellbeing of people, not just on the local communities, but also on the lands and cities to which they move?
The climate crisis is fast becoming one of the essential causes of our wellbeing crisis, deeply affecting anxiety levels and raising concerns about the longevity of life on Planet Earth, as we continue to accelerate the destruction of already vulnerable ecosystems. If we don’t act urgently on the climate crisis, with a genuine plan that everyone can follow rather than quick fixes like buying an electric car or reducing our meat intake (both of which entail a certain level of privilege), our children and grandchildren will not be able to apply the tenets of Wholistic Wellbeing to their lives. Instead, they will be struggling with the basics of day-to-day existence, having to navigate a dangerous world in which “more frequent and intense drought, storms, heatwaves, and rising sea levels” become the norm, according to WWF.
Fortunately, the world is waking up to the qualities and benefits of wholistic health: my ambition is to help people see how their own health and that of the planet exist closely in tandem. By worsening the mental health crisis in an unprecedented way, the pandemic has upended the world and the way we view and understand health, and therein highlighted the need to exchange a curative, disease-management approach for one that is more preventative and focused on optimizing wellbeing. With Wholistic Wellbeing, I hope to democratize this view of the world with a strong focus on interconnection: within ourselves, our families, our communities, our societies, and ultimately our ecosystems. We cannot care for ourselves without caring for others or the planet.
I invite you to join me on my wellbeing journey. Let’s challenge the old paradigm of curative healthcare and create a healthy society emphasizing prevention. So much human suffering can be avoided if we manage this properly. Time to embrace Wholistic Wellbeing.
