The Evolution of Thought in Modern Medicine

By Jennifer Marcenelle

For years, medical experts believed that SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) reduced depressive symptoms by improving the distribution of serotonin in the brain. New research, however, suggests no relationship between serotonin levels and depression. Experts now support an emerging theory: SSRIs reduce depressive symptoms by reducing inflammation throughout the body, since lowered inflammation is directly linked to reduced depressive symptoms.

After decades as a Cardiovascular ICU and ER Nurse, I can attest that such industry-wide paradigm shifts are not unique. Over the years, I observed what I considered systemic failures due to the medical industry’s reductionist approach, prompting me to become a Board-Certified Holistic Health Practitioner. This holistic view allows me to address seemingly disparate concerns, including how persistent mental and physical ailments affect productivity and success across a business. My Employee Assistance Program (EAP)™ aligns team members and organizations toward greater synergy.

As a Board-Certified Holistic Nurse and Holistic Health Practitioner, I guide clients in taking an active role in their health and healing journeys, helping them navigate a healthcare environment that often falls short. A fundamental first step in empowering organizations is understanding how mainstream medical paradigms can inadvertently hinder care and, in turn, impact professional life.

Our Overreliance on the Medical Industry

We’ve been conditioned to accept medical recommendations at face value—but it doesn’t always work. U.S. government data shows that Black women are three to four times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes, even when controlling for socioeconomic status and education.

Disparities have increased over the past century, despite advances in medical care. Doctors often miss critical markers or symptoms—sometimes due to negligence, sometimes due to protocol limitations. Studies repeatedly show that when individual circumstances are overlooked, patients are likely to receive inappropriate care.

Consequently, many people follow a physician’s guidance until it fails, prompting second opinions, independent research, and years of frustration. Conventional medicine is often treated as absolute truth, but it is human and fallible.

The current medical system relies heavily on reductionism, the philosophical idea that:

“All higher-level phenomena (social, mental, medical) can, in principle, be explained at a lower level (biology, chemistry, physics).”

This has shaped biomedical understanding of health as merely the absence of disease, prompting physicians to treat body systems in isolation. Holistic medicine, however, emphasizes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, considering the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit.

SSRIs as an Example

SSRIs were developed to treat brain-based chemical imbalances, reinforcing the reductionist view. Millions of prescriptions followed, alongside medications aimed at supplementing “deficient” brains.

Today, research suggests SSRIs may work by reducing systemic inflammation, highlighting the importance of considering the whole-body system rather than focusing solely on the brain. While medicine is increasingly integrating holistic concepts, structural changes in the industry are slow, underscoring the need for patients and organizations to understand medical paradigms and biases.

Human Civilization up to the Age of Enlightenment

Historically, healers often doubled as spiritual guides, providing care based on experience, knowledge, and spiritual beliefs. Treatments were holistic but limited in scope due to available remedies like herbs and natural supplements.

As societies evolved, medicine became more structured and sophisticated, allowing for centralized physician training. For example, the term “Rx” derives from Latin, meaning “to take,” indicating a considered choice of treatment based on a patient’s history.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Age of Enlightenment brought intellectual movements emphasizing reason, humanity, nature, and God. Thinkers and philosophers challenged existing cultural and religious frameworks, paving the way for new approaches to science and medicine.

Sir Isaac Newton introduced a mechanistic universe governed by predictable laws. This Newtonian framework profoundly influenced society and medicine, fostering the scientific method: knowledge through observation, rational inquiry, and reproducible results.

This thinking naturally led to a reductionist medical approach, isolating organ systems and training specialists to focus on one part of the body. While this approach produced antibiotics, vaccines, and advanced procedures, it also narrowed medical focus, often treating symptoms rather than root causes.

Recent Evolutions in Medical Thought

Today, technology allows researchers to analyze complex health data at scale, enabling a more holistic view of patients as integrated physical, mental, and spiritual beings.

Modern holistic healers combine Newtonian mechanics with quantum physics, which explains and predicts interactions at the atomic and subatomic levels. Holistic medicine is not opposed to conventional medicine; rather, it evolves it, integrating reductionist insights with quantum-informed understanding of interconnected human systems.

This combined approach offers highly reliable guidance while addressing areas where reductionism alone falls short.

Holistic Living Support

As a Board-Certified Holistic Healer, I integrate reductionist methods when appropriate, while evaluating underlying causes that may be addressed without invasive interventions.

Holistic healing is gaining recognition nationally and at state levels, spreading across the U.S. like the Enlightenment once spread through Europe. For second opinions on personal or professional health challenges, I provide evidence-based holistic approaches and technologies that improve relationships, productivity, and general functioning.

My company, Burn Bright Today, LLC, was awarded Best Wellness Center in Tomball in 2022 and 2023, including the rare Hall of Fame Award for two consecutive years. Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) addresses burnout and workplace stress using holistic medicine—cheaper, faster, and more effectively than conventional approaches alone. My current practice is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, under Ann Arbor Holistic Living Support.

By working with all team members, observing the workplace environment, and developing custom treatment plans, we improve company-wide job satisfaction, productivity, and harmony. Learn more about the Burn Bright Way™ and schedule a free consultation by visiting my website.

References

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• Fitzgerald R. J. (2009). Medication errors: the importance of an accurate drug history. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 67(6), 671–675. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2125.2009.03424.x

• Howell E. A. (2018). Reducing Disparities in Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 61(2), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1097/GRF.0000000000000349

• Mann, A. (2022 March). What is Quantum Mechanics? LiveScience.com. https://www.livescience.com/33816-quantum-mechanics-explanation.html

• PR Newswire. Naturopathic Medicine is Growing in U.S. Medical Centers of Excellence. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/naturopathic-medicine-is-growing-in-us-medical-centers-of-excellence-300601605.html

• Nix, E. (2014, May 7). Where did the Rx symbol come from? History.com. https://www.history.com/news/where-did-the-rx-symbol-come-from

• Physics: Newtonian Physics. Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/science-magazines/physics-newtonian-physics

• Tynan, R. J., et al. (2012). A comparative examination of the anti-inflammatory effects of SSRI and SNRI antidepressants on LPS-stimulated microglia. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 26(3), 469–479. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22251606/

• Rhodes, P., et al. (2023, April 6). History of Medicine. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/history-of-medicine

• University of Illinois at Chicago. (2010, July 19). Physicians can perform poorly when patients need special care, study suggests. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100719174905.htm