A Beginner’s Guide to Homeopathy

Imagine standing in front of your medical chest—bottles, pills, and syrups lined up—some of them being very familiar brands since your kindergarten days, others you got hooked to during High School and the latest addi(c)tion to your sleep disorders or chronic constipation. You wonder if there could be a day without drugs, therapies or side-effects – a healing protocol that is gentle on body – and of course the pocket! That’s where homeopathy steps in: a centuries-old natural system of medicine that aims to treat the person, not just the symptoms –  as uniquely as the person experiences the disease.

For people who have never tried homeopathy, or have only heard sceptic views about it, this article present the science behind homeopathy, what makes it unique and the underlying principles of disease and cure.

In these blog series, we’ll take a relaxed stroll together through the basics of homeopathy, diverse portfolio of 8000 plus remedies sourced from the wonderful world around us, a first aid kit we can always depend upon and  the insights behind mapping the drug picture with a unique disease picture. We shall share anecdotes of how patients discover more of themselves and root cause of their ailments during homeopathic consultations – most of which can be scheduled from the comfort of your homes. (Book an introductory session today) Whether you’re dealing with a pesky headache or seeking overall wellness, you’ll find friendly advice and tips tailored just for you. Your UNIQUE path to a healthier, happier YOU starts right here!

So what exactly is homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a natural healing protocol that believes that diseases are dynamic, not material. The material organism functions solely by means of the immaterial wesen – the life force – known as the vital force.  Diseases appear when this vital force is deranged.

The underlying principles of Homeopathic cure are as follows:

• Like Cures Like – A substance in its crude form that produces certain symptoms in a healthy individual, cures a sick person representing those very symptoms, when the substance is administered in an infinitesimal, albeit potentised form. This requires the disease profile to be closely matched with the drug profile, in identifying the right remedy for a patient. So when a patient complains about skin rashes worse with warmth, with a burning sensation accompanied with a lot of restlessness – their remedy is uniquely mapped to this experience, as against another patient who has itchy rashes, that are scratched until it bleeds, the eruptions themselves oozing a discharge, leaving an ugly scar and a depressing feeling with the patient. The prescription for each patient is determined on the basis of the similarity of disease symptoms with the remedy picture.
• Totality of Symptoms – Having a headache is not a good enough input to prescribe in homeopathy. There are more than 900 different ways to describe a headache, for a homeopath! One patient may be debilitated and angry with a pressing headache, while the other may lose appetite or be depressed with a throbbing pain. Therefore, Classical Homeopathy does not offer either an off-the-shelf Headache pill, that any or all can take, nor a remedy for affected organs like head, heart, bone, skin, kidney, eye, ear or stomach. Rather, it aggregates ALL the symptoms felt by an individual in experiencing the disease, such as their diet, sleep pattern, factors that help or aggravate, fears, dreams, digestion etc. and puts together a Unique Patient Profile that is matched with the most similar drug profile. It is the aggregated symptoms across individual events and pathologies, that sums up the disease and remedy profile – unique to each patient.
• Minimal Dose – Contrary to conventional school of medicine, where a greater physical quantity of curative agent is required to bring about a greater control over the disease, homeopathy requires the minimal dose to be administered to leverage the maximum curative power of the remedy. In homeopathy, the minimal dose spurs the vital force, a large dose inhibits the vital force, and a very large dose annihilates the vital force. Homeopathic remedies are therefore delivered in ultra-high dilutions of the raw source matter, preserving just its essence, beyond its physical form. The smaller the dose, more powerful and effective is it, in the process of cure. It is like the whispers in the corridors being more powerful than loud speeches from the podiums!
• Direction of Cure – The final principle of homeopathic cure is the Direction of Cure, namely, the symptoms that appear first are last to vanish. So if a patient notices rashes, styes or eczema on the skin, the root cause possible lies somewhere deep within – in the digestive system, a mental / emotional disorder or blood circulation. Only when the cure starts happening from within, would the rash that was the first external symptom to be noticed, would disappear last, once the disorder within has been addressed.

A Registered Homeopath carries the skill and experience to aggregate the symptoms of the patient in mining a remedy as unique to their disease picture, thereby not just providing relief, but cure from the deranged state.

What’s Unique about Homeopathy

Homeopathy differs from alternate protocols of medication in following ways that are unique:

• It treats the individual, not the disease – Homeopathy does not offer medicine for body parts or specific ailment. It instead studies the patient and offer a cure for the patient. The underlying principle being that the patient is uniquely pre-disposed to develop certain optimal conditions for certain kind of disorders to thrive. These conditions are themselves inherited genetically, or develop over a period of time, as a result of mental/emotional response to life events or scenarios around the patient.  
• Less is more – Contrary to alternate medical formats, the remedy contains virtually no physical trace of the source from which a remedy is obtained – rather a mere signal of the source, that is matched with the patient profile. The greater the dilution of the raw source, more potent and effective is the remedy. Thus, the remedy by itself carries minimal risk or side effects often experienced in heavy dosing in alternate medicine.
• Strange, Rare and Peculiar Symptoms – Homeopathic diagnosis and remedies depend a lot on symptoms that are unique to each patient – often very unusual and characteristic of the underlying disease. These could range from feeling that blood has turned into ice, feeling as if a hot rod were thrust under the foot, hearing voices of birds or dreams of dead relatives chasing you for money. No symptom is trivial and no emotion irrelevant, in homeopathy. These SRP symptoms are indeed the gold mine for a homeopath, guiding them to the disease picture, and eventually to the remedy.
• It’s affordable – Homeopathic medication doesn’t require expensive tests, diagnostics, surgical interventions or hospital stays – even for morbid conditions. Most remedies cost less than $20 and easily last for several months. The patient is virtually paying for the practitioner’s expertise, than the medicines or accessories.
• It’s non-interfering – Patients can continue their alternate protocols. Homeopathic medication does not require you to stop any current treatment plan. It even works on improving the patient’s vitality and their response to existing medications. It does not conflict with or command stopping any other therapy.

Who should try Homeopathy

If you have never taken a homeopathic remedy, you could start off  with advice from a qualified Homeopath for Common Disorders like headache, cold, fever, insect bite, injury, sleep disorders or indigestion. It also comes in handy for both Acute and Chronic ailments.

If you have been on medication for a long time, but your ailment keeps recurring, homeopathy is worth trying in addressing the root cause of the disease. Homeopathy can also be of help in enduring the side effects of an existing medication, boosting your vital force and reducing the dependence or increasing the efficacy of an existing dose. Finally, if you are experiencing severe mental/emotional distress, nightmares or fears, homeopathy can help you regain your confidence, overcome the fears and regain emotional balance. Homeopathy has proven to be useful even in terminal diseases, where, even though it may not be able to prolong life, but it can certainly alleviate the quality of life as a palliative protocol.

Still have doubts? Feel free to browse through the Frequently Asked Questions and become comfortable with the unknown.

Coming Up Next: Now that you have a fair idea about homeopathy, we shall have some fun running through the ABC of Homeopathy  – an alphabetic listing of key terms and jargons for you to enjoy. Stay Tuned!