Treating Homoeopathically is very different to Herbal Medicine. The two often cause a confusion for those looking for natural solutions and remedies for healing. And the symptom is viewed very differently in the two approaches to healing too.
Most people have a hard time understanding the concept of Homeopathy as it is not like “taking a herb” for an particular ailment that has a particular symptom. We naturally look for “things” to treat ailments. This is the traditional approach to healing with plants (as well as pharmaceuticals too). The action and property of the “substance” effects the body in a particular way. Homeopathy is so very different. Remedies are not for the “disease”. They are for the person. And this is where we confuse the two healing modalities have different paths of reason.
Let’s take a scenario where 10 people who have “caught” a virus, a flu, going through the community and neighbourhood. There are “main” symptoms that are common to all the inflicted such as a fever, cough, congestion and body aches. Looking at these symptoms, we can easily find herbal remedies to reduce symptoms and improve the condition especially when we look at the actions, energies and elements of the herbs. (see “how to create a personalized herbal formula”) However, in Homeopathy, these “symptoms” are not useful in finding a remedy. What is useful is observing the person suffering and what is unique to that person. It could be the emotional response. It could be “things” that improve or worsen the symptoms such as “heat” makes worse or “cold liquids” improves. It could be a particular symptom that is very unique like a “rash on left side of body” or “wakefulness in the evening”. You are looking for “strange, rare and peculiar” responses of the person who has the “flu”. With this investigation and information (the “unique” expressions), you search for the homeopathic remedy. And that leads us down another corridor of investigation and another concept that is different – the “remedy”
Homeopathic remedies are not herbs. They are dilluted versions of herbs and the more dilluted, the more powerful it is considered. So, you can’t take “more” to increase the response or “less” to lessen the response. It doesn’t work like that. And, as with finding the “correct” remedy, the dosage is very, very important too. As the dose “triggers” the unique expression of the person, finding the correct dosage is important.
A Homeopathic remedy if taken in its’ crude form (the mother tincture) it would actually cause the symptom experienced. Let me explain this with an example: ff you had a red, itchy and inflamed rash, you might consider Rhus Toxicodendron (Poison Ivy) as a remedy. If you used Rhus Tox as a herb (mother tincture), it would cause an red, itchy, inflamed rash. This is where science of Isopathic Remedies. There are two remedy categories; sarcodes and nosodes. Sarcodes are remedies prepared from individual healthy organs or tissues, as well as from isolated bodily substances of human or animal origin. Nosodes are basically remedies from diseased tissues.
Homeopathy works on the “Law of Similars” …you treat the person with a remedy that would cause the symptom and find the correct dose. The philosophy behind this concept is that when you take a remedy that holds the energetic foot print of the symptom, the body is triggered towards healing.
I have been trained and practice Constitutional Homeopath. This really is the “bread and butter”, so to speak, of homeopathy as Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of the principals of homeopathy, practiced it. Constitutional homeopathy means finding and taking a remedy that helps your whole being, helping to heal your chronic condition.
The word “Constitutional” is known as a “government” descrition. A dictionary tells us it is the “physical character of the body as to strength, health, etc. He has a strong constitution.” The medical definition is “the aggregate of a person’s physical and psychological characteristics.” The archaic definition, but one that still works in homeopathy is a “character or condition of mind; disposition; temperament.” I recall a person who once told me that she knew people who drank alcohol their entire lives and live to a ripe old age. Some do and some don’t. Some don’t have that type of constitution.
Constitutional Homeopathy address ALL the chronic symptoms you have as a WHOLE. They might be mental and emotional, such as bad dreams at night, easy to anger, sadness, anxiety when you speak in public, etc. They can also be physical, such as cold hands and feet, excessive perspiration, monthly menstrual cramps, etc. Some symptoms encompass the mental, emotional and physical planes. These might include eating too much chocolate (or fill in the food you are currently obsessed with), biting your nails, etc. As you can see, it is hard to separate some of the symptoms into one camp or the other. Suffice it to say, they are all related if they are all packaged together in one body.
So when someone comes in and says that they would really like a remedy for their heart palpitations, but they can live with the cold hands and feet, homoeopathically you can not just help one of those symptoms. It’s all or nothing in homeopathy.
Sometimes a constitutional remedy can also help acute illnesses. If you feel like you are coming down with something, but just have common symptoms, such as a slight runny nose, or feeling a bit tired, a dose or two of your constitutional remedy in a low potency (30c or 30x) can often help ward off the symptoms and prevent them from developing further. Another time that it is helpful is at the end of an illness. When you just can’t quite shake your current symptoms, but they are common symptoms, a dose of your constitutional remedy can provide resolution.
It seems like the constitutional remedy is really useful for many circumstances, and it is. But sometimes, it doesn’t work. This often means retaking the current case and offering a remedy that is more particular. If you have a clear symptom picture pointing to a different remedy, you need to switch, even if it is temporary. Disease doesn’t happen over night and as you heal, layers also appear. So, for example, if you have rheumatoid arthritis, you may have one remedy to take on a daily basis, and another to keep on hand for when you have flare ups, especially if you have a history of flare ups being quite different than how you feel on a day to day basis. The goal in this situation is to not have flare ups, and to heal gradually. This is why it is very important that entering a Homeopathic relationship is an ongoing relationship.
A common question people ask about their constitutional remedy is, “do I need to take this the rest of my life?” The answer is, “maybe”. Some people get over whatever is ailing them in short order and they never need another dose or another remedy. Other people need to re-dose their remedy from time to time (if it is a remedy that is taken occasionally rather than daily). But if you need to retake a remedy every six months, only occasionally seeing the homeopath for perhaps a stronger dose, that is much easier and better than a daily medication that costs thousands of dollars each year.
Another frequent question is, how do you know what remedy to give? Constitutional Homeopathy requires, in most instances, a fairly long intake appointment and follow-up connections with your practitioner. You will be asked about your chief complaint and other things as well, such as dreams, foods you like or dislike, what it was like growing up, etc. Then the homeopath looks for a story that matches a remedy, out of 5000 remedies. Sometimes the correct remedy is really obvious. Other times it is not, and it becomes like solving a puzzle. Each subsequent appointment brings additional pieces to the puzzle.
I am very excited to offer this service to the local community and, it is a process where we will become intimate in the homeopathic walk.