Aug. 18, 2026

89 I Illness, Disease and the Whole Person (Part 1)

Check out the full series on Youtube - Roots of Care Series

Overview:

We explore the limitations of mechanistic models in medicine and emphasize the importance of seeing patients as whole beings shaped by history, context, land, and community. Through candid conversation among clinicians trained in somatic experiencing, compassionate inquiry, and research with Indigenous communities, we reflect on how social determinants, trauma, and systemic violence contribute to disease and impact the patient experience. We discuss the value and complexity of diagnosis—how it can be both validating and reductive—and address how healing is fostered through relationship, safety, and the recognition of environmental, emotional, and intergenerational influences on health. By sharing personal stories and practical challenges, we highlight the need for culturally responsive, holistic care and the ongoing journey to create safer, more healing spaces within healthcare.

Three Takeaways:

1. The Mechanistic Model of Medicine Can Miss the Person

Raj , Sophia, and Rachel emphasized how current medical practice often treats bodies like machines—focusing exclusively on metrics like LDL or blood pressure instead of the broader context of a person's life. As Rachel points out, this oversimplifies health and neglects relationship, humanity, and the underlying reasons behind conditions such as hypertension

2. Holistic Health: Mind, Body, Spirit, and Environment Are Inseparable Lonnie highlighted the Indigenous worldview where physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and environmental well-being are seen as interconnected. Assigning an ICD code for social determinants of health is a step, but true health can't exist if, for example, someone lives in a toxic dump or feels consistently invalidated in life

3. Diagnosis as Identity: The Double-Edged Sword Sophia Malik described the complex relationship people can have with diagnostic labels. Many feel validated by finally having a diagnosis—especially after years of dismissal—but there's a risk of merging identity with illness (e.g., "I am depression" or "I am ADHD"), which can perpetuate suffering and overlook other dimensions of the self.

Guests

Sophia Malik, MD, MPH — Family physician and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (https://drsophiamalik.substack.com)
Rachel Weiner, MD, MPH — Family physician
Lonnie A. Nelson, PhD — Clinical psychologist; researcher in Native health

Resources mentioned

Books

About Roots of Care A series on whole-person, trauma-informed, and community-centered primary care, produced as part of the Healthcare for Humans podcast.

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