Holistic health is not itself a method of treatment, but is an approach to how treatment should be applied. Holistic concepts of health and fitness view achieving and maintaining good health as requiring more than just taking care of the various singular components that make up the physical body, additionally incorporating aspects such as emotional and spiritual well-being.
The goal is a wellness that encompasses the entire person, rather than just the lack of physical pain or disease. This means that not feeling sick, does not necessary mean you are well, just that you are between well and sick.
When symptoms develop, it is often long after the cause of the symptoms occurred. It is often used in contrast to the medical model that focuses on treating symptoms and syndromes without attempting to address functioning beyond the absence of disease, the Holistic approach focuses on the cause.