What is Homeopathy?
A nice woman came to see me because of her worsening gastrointestinal reflux problem. After a two-hour visit, in which she described in great detail the history of this problem (how it makes her feel and affects her life, as well as talking about her other health concerns such as her history, stresses, worries, sleep patterns, appetite, fears, likes and dislikes), I designed a homeopathic treatment plan that matched, exactly, the areas of concern this patient described to me. I also suggested some simple and basic changes in eating habits for her to try.
Six weeks later, this very pleased patient returned to my office. She told me she had only experienced two minor incidents of what had formerly been daily reflux discomfort. She also described how she was sleeping much better, feeling calmer, happier and more energetic than she had been in many years. She mentioned she has a friend who also suffers from gastric reflux and asked if I could send the same homeopathic remedy with her for her friend. I explained to the nice patient that the remedy I designed for her was not likely to be of any use to her friend.
This is the crux of the issue. Homeopathy treats the individual, not the disease. It is an individualized system of medicine; treating the person not the symptoms. My patient’s friend almost certainly would need a different homeopathic remedy than she did, although they both suffered with the same medical diagnosis.
Homeopathy cures by treating the central disturbance in the person, not by eliminating symptoms. In other words, the remedy did not reduce the amount or the strength of the acid in her stomach. It also did not directly strengthen the esophageal opening into the stomach to prevent the reflux. What the homeopathic remedy did accomplish was to stimulate and strengthen her body’s own healing ability. This in turn, allowed her body to do what it was designed to do, heal itself. Previous to her treatment, her body was “stuck” in the process of trying to heal itself, and was unsuccessful. It created the reflux as a sign that something was wrong. The treatment merely allowed the body to become “unstuck.”
Homeopathy is based on the principle that “like cures like.” This means the same substance that can cause a symptom in a healthy person can cure a similar symptom in a sick person. Homeopathy means cure by similar substance. The reason my patient’s friend would probably need a different homeopathic remedy for her reflux disease is very simple - she is a different person.
Homeopathy recognizes that each person manifests illness in unique and slightly different ways. This is why two people with the same illness will not necessarily receive the same remedy. For example, a patient suffering from a cold with a stuffed-up nose, dry eyes and thirst would receive a different homeopathic remedy than a patient suffering from a runny nose, no thirst and watery eyes.
Homeopathy regards symptoms as the guideposts to the correct treatment. Symptoms are viewed as the body’s attempt to restore itself to balance. A homeopath will choose a remedy that supports the symptoms, rather than opposing them or suppressing them as conventional medicine does, i.e. ANTIbiotic, ANTIhypertensive, ANTacid or cough suppressant.
All symptoms represent the body’s attempt to restore itself to health. All living organisms, even a plant, have this innate ability to self-heal. There are times when this process stalls or when the organism is too weak to completely restore health. However, homeopathy always encourages movement in the direction of a cure. Hence, if producing a cough is the best answer the body can find at that moment in time to the deal with the various stresses of life, we do not want to suppress that cough. This can only drive the attempt to rebalance to a deeper and more dangerous level.
Instead, a homeopath will give a very dilute substance that can cause a similar cough when given to a healthy person. When this happens, the body’s attempt to heal by producing the cough is helped, not thwarted. The individual is strengthened and becomes more able to work through the problem, thus restoring health through a natural and gentle process. This is how the Law of Similars works and this is what we know as the art and science of Homeopathy. It is a system of medicine that has been around for over 200 years and is well respected and widely used throughout the world.
If you would like more information or would like to consult a local Coachella Valley homeopath, please contact Dr. Nancy Mazur at (760) 778 8737.
