02/19/2026
While biomedicine is a powerful model for understanding our bodies and how they work (or dont work), it can also limit us. In conventional medicine, disease is often framed as:
- a pathogen (bacteria, virus)
- a malfunctioning organ
- a molecular error
Traditional and holistic medical models are more likely to see health as a dynamic balance of body, mind, history and environment. In this way, illness becomes framed as:
- a patttern of imbalance
- an adaptive response
- a process unfolding over time