Holistic Healing: More Than Just Talk Therapy
When people hear the word healing, their minds often jump to one thing: talk therapy. And while I believe deeply in the value of good, healthy conversations with trained professionals, I also know this—healing is bigger than words. True healing is holistic. It’s physical. It’s spiritual. It’s emotional. It’s all of you, working together toward wholeness.
I’ve met so many people desperate to “get healthy” who focus only on one area—maybe they start a diet, or commit to daily prayer, or finally schedule that counseling appointment. But here’s the truth: if your mind, body, and spirit aren’t all on board, you’re only doing part of the work.
The Body Remembers What the Mind Tries to Forget
One of the most powerful (and painful) truths I’ve learned is that trauma doesn’t disappear just because we stop talking about it. In fact, the opposite is often true. For those of us who grew up in homes where “we don’t talk about that” was the unspoken rule, our pain often found another place to live—inside our bodies.
Headaches. Stomach issues. Chronic fatigue. Unexplained aches and pains. These can all be the body’s way of carrying what the heart and mind haven’t been allowed to process. Even small unresolved hurts—left unacknowledged—can grow into something much larger, showing up in physical symptoms years later.
Healing Is a Full-Body Function
Processing hurt, pain, and trauma is not just a mental exercise—it’s a full-body function. Your nervous system plays a role. Your muscles carry tension. Your heart rate and breathing patterns can shift based on what you’ve experienced, even if you can’t consciously connect the dots. That’s why true healing means paying attention to all parts of yourself.
Holistic healing might include:
Spiritual work: Prayer, scripture, worship, and community support
Emotional work: Therapy, journaling, grief processing, and safe conversations
Physical work: Movement, nutrition, rest, and learning how to calm your body’s stress response
When we address all three, we give ourselves the best possible chance to heal deeply and completely.
The Courage to Begin
The work isn’t always comfortable. In fact, it can be downright exhausting to open the boxes we’ve tucked away in our hearts. But I believe God created us to live in wholeness—not just survive, but thrive. That means caring for our bodies, our minds, and our spirits with intention.
If you’re carrying something heavy, maybe today is your first step toward putting it down. Not by rushing through it, but by inviting God and trusted people into the process—and letting your whole self finally breathe again.