About Homeopathy
By Erika Price, DIHom, DHM, BIHF (U.K.).
Homeopathic
Self-Sufficiency
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Origins * The
Classical Homeopathic Approach Prescribing
Remedies * Homeopathic Remedies
Homeopathy
and Conventional Medicine
Origins
Samuel Hahnemann, a brilliant German medical
doctor and chemist, developed the science of homeopathy at the end
of the 18th century. He was responding, in part, to his concern
that more people were dying from medical treatments than from
their diseases. Hahnemann believed that the purpose of medical
therapy should be to restore health quickly, gently and
permanently in the least harmful manner without toxic side-affects
or the suppression of symptoms which would only return. His work
and principles have been carried on and developed by many
dedicated homeopaths right to the present day. Homeopathy now
rests on the firm foundation of Hahnemann’s work and some 200
years of well-documented, successful healing experience.
Hahnemann’s guiding principles still apply today in the practice
of classical homeopathy, but his criteria are otherwise rarely met
despite all the improvements and advances in so-called modern
medicine.
The True Classical Homeopathic Approach to Cure
Fundamental to classical homeopathy is the view
that we are each a synergistic whole, every part of our wholistic
being effecting every other part. It is the combination of all
symptoms and how they are experienced by the individual which
should be addressed in attempting to cure that person and their
disorders. When someone has a health problem, it is the whole
person that has the problem. The problem does not exist in
isolation from the person. They can’t simply put the problem in a
box and forget it. Therefore, when attempting to cure that person
it is the whole person that should be considered, not simply what
is thought to be a disordered part of the person. This is the
wholistic approach of classical homeopathy.This is in contrast to the conventional
approach to disease which often oversimplifies it as one isolated
symptom or group of symptoms, as a problem affecting only one part
or aspect of the body and person. The “sloppy approach”
to homeopathy is guilty of the same practice.Classical Homeopathy, by contrast, prescribes
remedies on a constitutional basis, treating the entire
individual, their symptoms and modalities. To arrive at the
correctly chosen remedy for a chronic disorder, the detailed case
of all aspects of the individual must be taken. The true classical
homeopath delves into the broad collection of symptoms and
peculiarities of the individual, their entire mental, emotional
and physical make-up. This requires an in-depth sense of the
patient, a keen sensitivity to them which is able to grasp their
gestalt, that totality of the person and the matching remedies
which transcends the mere sum of their parts. This is the art of
finding the homeopathic constitutional remedy for the most
effective and lasting cure.This classical approach obviously requires an
appropriate amount of time for each individual, frequently
involving patient visits in excess of an hour and a number of
hours of work afterward for the homeopath to deeply study all
aspects of the case. It is impossible to practice classical
homeopathy on the assembly line basis that is so characteristic of
today’s “health industry.” It is not in harmony with the
demands of today’s kind of economy, and so it can be difficult to
find a real classical practitioner.
drawing by Erika Price
Prescribing Remedies
Having closely studied the whole case of
the individual, correctly chosen homeopathic remedies are
selected on the basis of “the law of similars” and
the principle of “curing like with like.” These
principles go all the way back to Hippocrates, the father of
physicians. They state that any substance which, in large
doses, can cause a set of specific symptoms in a healthy
person can, in small doses, cure those same symptoms in an
unhealthy person.Just as the symptomatology of each person
is highly complex and individual, so is the symptomatology
associated with each substance or remedy. To choose the
right remedy the homeopath must grasp
the individual complexities of both the person and
the possible remedies and discover the right match between
them. This is the surest and safest way to affect a genuine
and lasting cure and it is the most thoroughly wholistic
approach
The Homeopathic Remedy
The safe, wholistic science of homeopathy utilizes a special
method of dilution and succussion to produce natural remedies that
are made from plants, minerals, or animal substances (e.g. snake
or bee venoms) in potentized infinitesimal doses. This process,
developed by Samuel Hahnemann, dilutes out any vestige of harmful
elements from the original substance and energizes it through the
process of succussion. Succussion of the diluted substance entails
banging it vigorously with impact 100 times. This captures and
transmits the energy of the original substance into the diluted
neutral matter (water and alcohol). Through this process, the
energy of the original substance is retained, and each series of
dilutions and succussions produces a more powerful and deeper
acting medicine which is released as kinetic energy without
toxicity. Because the remedies consist of the tiniest micro-doses,
they are completely non-toxic, without side-effects, and are the
safest form of medical treatment. Nothing could be safer, more
natural or gentle.Unlike many conventional drugs, homeopathic remedies do not and
can not mask or suppress symptoms, a dangerous practice which can
bring temporary relief at the expense of the patient’s vitality
and future health. Instead, homeopathic remedies gently coax the
patient back to a healthy state by stimulating the body’s own
defense systems to go to the root of the problem and heal itself.
Our natural systems are self-healing and self-regulating. The
remedies simply stimulate those natural processes. When it is
pushed out of balance by disease, toxicity, foreign influences or
lack of proper nurturing, the system needs help to bring itself
back to its natural healthy state. The right homeopathic remedy
can do this.
Homeopathy &
Conventional Medicine
Conventional allopathic medical therapies have made great strides
in many areas of diagnosis and treatment. But they have also
underestimated the harm to health caused by their widespread use
of toxic drugs. Too often conventional medicine, in the process of
killing the disease, causes damage and life threatening iatrogenic
disorders (those induced by medical treatment) to their patients.
In addition to the use of unhealthy drugs, there is widespread
careless or inappropriate prescribing and over-prescribing.We live in a drug dependent society in which most of the
drugging is with orthodox drugs. Antibiotics for acne and Valium
and Prozac for everything else? If we were to “just say no to
drugs,” some of the biggest transnational corporations on the
planet would go out of business. Conventional drugging has become
so pandemic and dangerous that the very conventional World Health
Organization only recently issued a world-wide emergency alert
against the indiscriminate use of antibiotics and the grave
hazards they pose to public health around the world. “Health
care,” medicine, and medical studies and research are all a
part of a world-wide multi-billion dollar big business.
Unfortunately, its profit interests are not necessarily and always
in harmony with individual health. This should always be taken
into account when evaluating health care options and
decisions.Homeopathy is not always at odds with commercial medicine,
however. There are times when it and some of its drugs or surgery
are necessary. In these cases, homeopathic medicines can be used
in conjunction with conventional medicine and to compliment it.
Homeopathic remedies can greatly ease the pain and stress inherent
in many drug and surgical therapies, reduce their
“side-effects,” and hasten a quick recovery. Homeopathic
remedies assist the body’s natural healing energies and can bring
quicker, deeper, and more permanent recovery.
Copyright
© Erika Price, DHM. 2000
