Why Managing Symptoms Isn't the Same as Healing: Rethinking the Way We approach health
In a recent community chat, I witnessed something that stirred something deep within me. A member shared they were struggling with a specific health challenge, one that many others in the group also experienced. What followed was a flood of well-meaning advice: suggestions ranging from injections and medications to external aids and symptom relief tools.
What struck me most wasn’t the variety of responses, but rather what was missing.
Nobody asked why.
Nobody explored the root cause.
Nobody asked what the body was trying to communicate through the pain.
Are We Treating the Messenger Instead of the Message?
It’s a pattern we see time and time again in modern wellness culture: discomfort arises, and our first instinct is to silence it.
Pain? Take this pill.
Inflammation? Try this injection.
Discomfort? Ice it, brace it, numb it.
We’ve become so accustomed to symptom management that we’ve forgotten to get curious about why the symptom showed up in the first place. In many spaces, both conventional and even some alternative forums, healing is often reduced to managing the condition. But management is not healing.
The Cultural Conditioning of "Living With It"
We’ve been taught that some things are “just how it is now.”
That if pain is chronic, we simply need to find a way to live with it.
That the best we can hope for is a lifelong management plan, often involving medications, injections, or other external supports.
But what if… healing wasn’t about fixing, but about listening?
What if your body’s discomfort is a message, asking you to go deeper within? To release what is in the way of the body healing itself?
The Holistic Perspective: Healing Is Multifaceted
As a Holistic Herbalist and Energy Healer, I see the body as more than a machine of muscles and bones. The physical form is deeply influenced by our emotions, our energetic field, our beliefs, and even our ancestral patterns.
So when a condition arises, I ask:
What emotional stress or trauma might be stored in this area?
What limiting belief is holding energetic tension in the body?
Are there underlying nutritional deficiencies which are impacting the body?
How are we moving, breathing, and resting?
What patterns of thought or behaviour could be contributing to imbalance?
These are the questions that support true transformation, not just temporary relief.
The Cost of Ignoring Root Cause
When we only manage symptoms, we risk:
Recurring pain and chronic inflammation.
Emotional stagnation, as the body continues to carry unprocessed stress.
Energetic depletion, because we’re not aligning with the body’s deeper wisdom.
Over time, this can lead to more serious dis-ease, because the root has never been addressed. Like cutting the top off a weed and expecting it not to grow back, we end up in a never-ending loop of suppression.
So, What Are the Alternatives?
If you're tired of chasing symptoms and ready to move toward true healing, consider these approaches:
1. Functional Movement & Gentle Somatic Practices
Instead of avoiding movement, explore mindful strengthening and stretching, fascia release, and trauma-informed bodywork that invites safety and mobility back into the body.
2. Herbal & Mineral Support
Work with herbs, vitamin and mineral-rich fuel to support the tissues, reduce inflammation, and address underlying deficiencies. This includes nervines for the nervous system, adaptogens for stress, and anti-inflammatories that work synergistically with your body.
3. Reiki & Energy Healing
Emotional and Energetic imbalances often manifest physically. Reiki can help release blocked energy and restore the flow of life force (Chi), helping the body re-balance itself.
4. Emotional & Ancestral Healing
Unresolved emotions or inherited patterns can store tension and pain in specific areas of the body. Through inner child healing, breathwork, or ancestral clearing, we access layers of healing rarely addressed in conventional approaches.
5. Lifestyle Alignment
How we live, move, eat, sleep, and think is the foundation of wellness. Small, consistent shifts in our daily rituals can create long-term resilience and vitality.
What If There Is No Magic Pill?
What if the deeper truth is that healing is a lifestyle?
Not a quick fix.
Not a one-size-fits-all solution.
But a journey of reconnection with the self.
You may need ongoing care, but that care doesn’t have to come from external dependency. It can come from inner alignment, from learning how to partner with your body rather than trying to silence it.
You Are Not Broken.
Your body is not betraying you.
It is communicating with you.
When we stop chasing symptoms and start asking why, we open ourselves to deeper layers of healing, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
So the next time you're offered only symptom management, pause.
Ask yourself:
“What is my body really asking for?”
Let’s move from management to empowerment. From band-aids to root cause healing. From surviving… to thriving.
If this resonates with you, explore my offerings in energy healing, herbal remedies, and holistic mentoring.
Let’s work together to uncover the why and support your return to wholeness.