Vitalism is an empirical science and therapeutic strategy within herbalism. It has a focus on nutrition to promote life force efficiency. **Main Principles:** - Life force is not separate from the tissues. - Acute symptoms are the life force's best attempt to heal the body. - Life force acts on well digested food to construct, maintain, and promote the evolution of the individual. Like in [[06- Permanent Notes/Humoral Medicine]], if there is acute disease, purging and/or fasting may be important. - Life force is believed to circulate through the body and psyche. Normalization of circulation is important. - Therapies that suppress or weaken the life force should be avoided. # What is Vitalism vs Reductionism? - **Vitalist:** Looks at the organism and says the center of everything (life) is a central unified non-material vital force which animates and keeps everything alive. Symptoms are not mistakes they are purifying processes. Stress depresses the vital force. - **Reductionist:** Sees life and the human body as a big collective of biochemical and cellular level processes. Focuses on the cellular level as the center of everything (life. ## Healing Crisis A healing crisis is when there has been an recent increase in the vital force. The body begins going through housekeeping and processing trauma, having emotional upset, irritability etc. Usually accompanied by discharge such as, emotional discharge (grief, anger, crying etc.) or physically they get low grade fevers, runny nose, diarrhea etc. 4-7 days is the duration. Once it passes they are have an established level of vitality. One of the places it can appear is in the skin. A disease is the opposite, its a decrease in the vital force. # What is the vital force? ## Sources: - [[Vitalist Treatment of Acute Symptoms]]