What is Homeopathy?
Out of all the complementary therapies, Homeopathy may well be the least known or the least understood one, and definitely the one that may be harder to relate to. So, let us have a look at what Homeopathy is and how it works.
Homeopathy is a gentle and non-invasive form of therapy that uses the tremendous ability that the body has to self-heal and regenerate. This exceptional power that our bodies have can be seen inaction after injuries (cuts, wounds, grazes, broken bones, etc.) and infections(colds, coughs, stomach bugs, etc.), when we see the skin and bones healing, and we get over the bug and recover even without the help of medication. Sometimes, though, the body gets stuck in a state of not being well or it takes a long time to overcome the illness: it is at these times that it needs a helping hand. Homeopathy comes to the rescue: by working at the energetic level, it taps into this self-healing ability of the body, and it ‘nudges ’it into doing its thing and getting on with the healing process. The body is stimulated through the use of homeopathic remedies, which give it the impulse that it needs to activate or intensify its own healing powers, overcome the illness and restore itself to health.
Each remedy has its own unique properties and healing abilities, and the way a homeopathic remedy is chosen is based on one of the core principles ofHomeopathy, the famous ‘like cures like’. In its most basic form, this is the notion that a plant (or mineral or animal product) that causes a specific set of symptoms in a healthy person can, in a much-diluted state, cure similar symptoms in a sick person. So, for example, if you were experiencing a rash on your skin that was painful, burning, or itching, and there were small, raised welts on it, too, very similar to the rash caused by contact with a stinging nettle, then a remedy made from a highly diluted form of nettles (Urtica Urens) would be a well indicated match for those symptoms. Or still, if because of a cold or hay fever, you were experiencing streaming, watery eyes, a clear nasal discharge that irritated your upper lip, along with sneezing and a tickly cough, a remedy made from onions (Allium Cepa) would be a good match for those symptoms and would alleviate them.
Therefore, symptoms have a very important role to play in Homeopathy, as they guide the homeopath towards a specific remedy: using a metaphor, they can be viewed as a warning light on the dashboard of a car, revealing what needs attention inside the engine or wheels or electrical system of that car. Simply turning off that light, hence making it go away, does not solve the issue, it simply takes away the warning: this is a rather sobering thought when we consider the action of over-the-counter medications such as antiacids for the stomach, or antihistamines for allergic reactions, or antipyretics for fevers, which only suppress the symptoms they are given for, but do not address the issue that causes them.
Let us now turn to homeopathic remedies: what are they exactly? In their most common form, remedies come as a small sucrose pillule doused with the medicating solution. This is obtained from an original source (derived mostly from the vegetable, mineral and animal kingdoms) by extraction, repeatedly diluted in water and vigorously shaken until the desired potency is achieved. Due to the extremely diluted nature of the remedies, the original material is no longer present in the solution, but the water has retained a ‘memory’ of its structure and energy, and because of the vigorous shaking, this energy and its healing properties have been intensified. The more diluted it is, the stronger the remedy is: this is the opposite thinking of conventional medicine, where potency usually increases with concentration.
The absence of any trace of the original substance has a series of consequences. Firstly, even poisons can be used as a base for homeopathic remedies, so that their great healing powers can be harvested and used safely. Secondly, not having achemical composition, homeopathic remedies do not cause dependency and do not have any of the side effects that are often seen with conventional medicines. This makes them safe to use and suited to all ages and stages of life. Thirdly, because they act at the energetic level, nudging the body into its self-healing action, only a minimum amount is given, that which is enough to activate the body. In this sense, then, the remedies are similar to a key that unlocks the body’s self-healing powers that for whichever reason got stuck, and they are not, crucially, that power itself. We each have that within ourselves.
The individual is at the core of the homeopathic treatment: in a homeopathic consultation, all the symptoms that that individual is experiencing are explored in depth, so that the most indicated remedy for that person can be identified. Homeopathy does not focus on the condition itself, but the patient who is experiencing that condition in their own, unique way. This is what makes Homeopathy a highly individualised treatment, and detailed information about the symptoms themselves, but also around the person’s general characteristics, emotions and mental state, such as body temperature, temperament, food and drink likes and dislikes, fears, etc., are all taken into account to identify the remedy that best matches them as a whole. This means that there is no single remedy for a headache, for example, because the headache sufferer with a sharp and localised pain in the right temple, who is irritable and hot and prefers ice-cold drinks will need a different remedy from another headache sufferer, for whom the pain is dull and mainly localised in the occiput, and who is cold, has a despairing outlook on life and only drinks hot beverages.
Homeopathy has a lot to offer, for both physical and mental/emotional issues, helping the body break free from stagnant situations that may have their cause in the recent or even distant past, and find a renewed balance. We still do not know the exact science behind how Homeopathy works: but we know that it can, and it is able to bring healing on a very deep and holistic basis.
