SO WHAT IS COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE? . . photo credit @lyraandatlas . Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are treatments that fall outside of mainstream healthcare. They are therapies that fall beyond the scope of conventional medicine but may be used alongside it in the treatment of disease and ill health. . Personally I feel that there is a core difference between complementary medicine and alternative medicine. Complementary medicine is used holistically side by side conventional medicine, it does not seek to replace allopathic treatments. Alternative medicines and therapies are used in place of, instead of conventional treatments, for example using or trying a special diet to treat cancer rather than surgery, radiation or chemotherapy as recommended by a doctor. . (My practice, my work sits firmly in the Complementary camp! I do not aim to try and replace the amazing work done by our healthcare professionals). . Examples of Complementary Medicine and Holistic Therapies are: . Aromatherapy Chiropractic Medicine Herbalism Crystal Therapy Reiki Hypnotherapy Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Mindfulness Acupuncture Nutritional Therapy Yoga Reiki Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) . Within the NHS some of these therapies are now available for example Aromatherapy during labour, Mindfulness for chronic pain, Reiki in palliative care. However more often than not you will have to pay privately to see a therapist. . My vision, my dream, would be to see more cohesion between complementary medicine and conventional medicine. I believe that the two should work hand in hand and support each other. . #complementarytherapies #alternativemedicine #savethenhs #lovethenhs #conventionalmedicine #complementarymedicine #naturaltherapies #holistictherapies #massage #meditation #aromatherapy #herbalism #functionalmedicine #naturalmedicine #wellness #health #holistichealth #naturalremedies #holistic #naturalhealing #healthandwellbeing #mentalhealth #chronicpainsucks #chronicpain #essentialoils #healthy #herbalmedicine #medicine #healthylifestyle #discoverunder1k https://www.instagram.com/p/B6_XtK1AV_G/?igshid=c570zcmc0n7a