Homoeopathy is based on nature’s law of cure namely “Similia similibus” means “Like cures like.” Unlike modern system of healing, Homoeopathy doesn’t just drive out a particular symptom, rather it cures from within. The concept of disease in Homoeopathy is that an individual falls ill when the whole system gets disturbed. Hence, the aim is not to cure a particular organ but to rejuvenate the system from within. Thus, this method of healing ensures lasting and permanent cure.
Homoeopathic medicines are prepared by soaking vegetables, animals, minerals, chemicals etc in a solution of alcohol. Known as Mother Tincture, this solution is later subjected to a special mode of preparation called potentisation. This process ensures that the medicines contain only the dynamic curative power and not any original crude substance. These medicines work as dynamic agents and by influencing body’s energy.
Various allergic diseases such as Asthmatic Bronchitis which are rampant due to soaring pollution level can be treated effectively through Homoeopathy. It also provides great relief to those affected with dermatological ailments including Urticaria, Eczema and Contact Dermatitis.
So often on taking down a detailed case history these states can be traced back to some life changing event, something a person never fully got over or recovered from. They may stem from an unhappy childhood, a broken family or a traumatic experience. Emotional problems frequently relate to an unhappy marriage or a difficult partner, divorce, death of a child, parent or loved one. Depression can be caused by a host of reasons. Maybe it was the result of a failure in the mind of the patient, or betrayal by a husband or wife leaving them for someone else. Panic attacks often date back to a terrible shock or fright.
Causation can nearly always be found for every negative mental or emotional state but the homoeopathic practitioner must individualize the case to find the curative remedy in the Homoeopathic Repertory and Materia Medica. Take for example Anticipatory Anxiety. There are 72 homoeopathic medicines listed under the rubric ‘Ailments from Anticipatory Anxiety’ (i.e. shaking, sweating, rushing to the loo, stammering, etc.) In order to ascertain exactly the correct one for the patient, not only does the homoeopath have to find out the way the person behaves but more importantly, precisely which situation triggers the anxiety.
It could be fear of being late for an appointment creating this state in which case one would have to look in the Repertory under: ‘Anxiety – anticipation from – an engagement’ which show the main remedies to be Argentum Nitricum, Arsenicum, Gelsemium, Lycopodium, Medorrhinum. But each one would be anxious in a different way for a different reason! Each remedy has a whole picture which fits a certain type of person or state and this must be individually matched to the patient. It could be Anticipatory Anxiety before an exam (Aethusa, Carcinosin, Cuprum, Gelsemium, Silica, Thuja) or maybe before giving a speech or talk in front of an audience or perhaps an actor or singer about to go on stage (Coca, Gelsemium, Ignatia, Kali Phos, Lachesis, Lycopodium, Phosph. Acid). Then again it could be anticipatory anxiety before going to the dentist or doctor (Phosphorus, Stramonium).
This gives some idea about how precise the homoeopathic prescription must be to heal and clear negative fears and emotions we all feel but in serious conditions can become chronic states that can last a lifetime if left untreated. Over time, a negative state of mind will affect the body and eventually cause physical problems. For serious mental and emotional conditions, psychiatrists are happy to dole out tranquillizers and antidepressants. These do not treat the root cause of the problem but merely put a lid on them where they are forever festering beneath.
The materia medica lists homoeopathic medicines alphabetically. It describes all symptoms — mental, emotional physical — for each one. Different personality types go together with different remedies. For example Calcarea Carbonica types tend to be overweight, blond and timid. Pulsatilla types are also blonds, clingey, shy and tearful. Phosphorus people can be dark, redhaired or fair and are excitable and dreamy. Lycopodiums are bossy and intellectual.
What are the most common states we see in our Society today? Anger, depression, fear, anxiety, jealousy, blame and guilt.
Anger – there are hundreds of homoeopathic medicines for this and it is necessary to discover exactly what makes the patient angry in order to find the correct homoeopathic medicine.
Depression – Again, what Caused the depression? The remedy must be found that fits the causation as well as the way the depression is manifesting. Maybe it was a number of things but can be one main thing that needs to be addressed. Each homoeopathic medicine relates to different types of people and different causations. Fear and Anxiety have many causes.
Grief is common in our world for many reasons. One of the main grief remedies is Natrum Muriaticum given to people who internalize their grief, can become bitter and do not want to discuss it. Ignatia is more for the acute stage of grief, the person who slams the door, cries hysterically and tells everyone to leave them alone. There is Phosphoric Acid for grief where the person becomes progressively exhausted to the point where they become indifferent to everything around them. The remedy Staphysagria is also for grief and nearly always in relation to disappointed love and they are usually indignant types. Phosphorus is also a grief remedy and it’s used for very sympathetic people who are much more open to talking about their problems. Again this is only 5 out of at least 70 remedies listed under Grief! The whole state of mind/emotions and body must be recorded in order to find the remedy that most closely fits all the symptoms.
Turning to jealousy, there are over 30 remedies listed in the homoeopathic repertory, under this symptom (or ‘rubric’). The main ones are Lachesis, a competitive, ambitious and very talkative type; Hyoscyamus, the suspicious and obsessive type of person and Nux Vomica, an ambitious, efficient and fiery type.
People who blame and hold grudges can become sick with all manner of complaints including gall stones and heart conditions. This is a state of mind frequently found nowadays. The main homoeopathic remedy for those who are severely bitter and even revengeful is Nitric Acid. There are about 40 remedies listed but again it is necessary to find the individualized remedy.
The choice of remedy to be taken in any of the above states should only be given by an experienced and qualified homoeopathic practitioner. Reading a self help book or thumbing through the literature in the health shop is unlikely to help you find the homoeopathic medicine to cure you. There are in fact 4,000 homoeopathic medicines, although about 100 are most commonly used (known as Polycrests).
We are all energy beings. The electricity in our bodies transmits messages to all parts/systems of the body. Illness is caused when these messages are not getting through. All systems of the body are communicating with each other at all times. Water is a great conductor of electricity and it transmits the electrical current. This is how homeopathic mediums work –- by communicating a current/pattern/frequency of energy via the whole human body to jump start the body’s own inherent healing mechanisms.
Homoeopathy treats different sorts of people with distinct characters and personalities as well as different physical looks and natures. It individualizes each person treating their diverse pattern of symptoms looking at them as a whole.
Is it not true that no two people are alike? That every person is unique? This is why you could line up 20 people with asthma and they might all need a different homeopathic medicine. There are in fact about 250 homeopathic medicines for asthma but the correct one for each person must be selected taking into consideration such things as what makes the condition better or worse, what time of day it comes on, whether the person is hot or cold, worse for damp, in need of fresh air or prefer the windows closed and so on. You would be amazed at how each person’s symptoms are so different and yet all have been diagnosed with asthma.
After homeopathic treatment, careful analysis is taken of the Direction of Cure of the patient’s symptoms. Constance Hering was a converted skeptic of Homoeopathy. As a young man in Germany in the early nineteenth century, Hering had been assigned the task of reviewing Homoeopathy because his medical mentor (a fervent anti-homeopath) had been asked by a publisher to write a book exposing Homoeopathy as unworthy. Having been given this task, Hering conducted a detailed study but concluded the opposite from the requested results! He was the first to talk about the Law of Cure which says that symptoms are cured from above down, from the inside out and in the reverse order of their appearance. This has stood the test of time in clinical experience. A simple example would be after a curative remedy is given for eczema all over the body, we would see the eczema start to move down and when it is only on the ankles, we know it is nearly cured.
The other very important point about homeopathic treatment is that very often the appearance of an illness stems back to an important event in the life of the patient such as a shock, fright, loss or grief suffered by them. The homeopathic practitioner will always enquire whether there was a life changing event that severely affected the patient. It is extremely common to find that the onset of a condition coincided with a major event. The homeopath will select a remedy that corresponds to the way the patient reacted to that event, mentally, emotionally and physically in order to clear the state which caused the illness. In other words you treat the cause, to remove the effect.