Homeopathy for Psychological Problems by Louise Mclean Throughout all the discussions and media attacks on homeopathy during the last few years, one thing has never been mentioned and that is the extraordinary effectiveness of homeopathic medicines to treat symptoms relating to psychological problems. These include emotional states such as grief, fright, anguish, anger, indignation, guilt, remorse, disappointed love, homesickness, jealousy. In addition to these, homeopathy can also successfully treat negative states of mind such as depression, fear, anxiety, shock, panic attacks, phobias and anticipatory anxiety. So very often on taking down a detailed case history these states can be traced back to some life changing event, something they never fully recovered from. They may stem from an unhappy upbringing with oppressive parents and an unsupportive family. Emotional problems frequently relate to an unhappy marriage or a difficult partner, divorce, death of a child or loved one. Depression can be caused by a host of reasons and is considered to be anger turned inwards. Maybe it was the result of a failed career in the mind of the client, or betrayal by a husband or wife going off with someone else. Panic attacks can date back to some terrible shock or fright in the patient’s life. Nearly always a causation can be found for every negative mental or emotional state but the homeopathic practitioner MUST individualise the case to find the curative remedy. Take for example Anticipatory Anxiety. There are 72 homeopathic medicines listed under the rubric ‘Ailments from Anticipatory Anxiety’ (i.e. shaking, sweating, rushing to the loo, stammering, etc.) In order to ascertain exactly the correct one for the patient, not only does the homeopath have to find out the way the person behaves but more importantly, precisely which situation triggers the anxiety. It could be fear of being late for an appointment creating this state in which case one would have to look in the Repertory under: ‘Anxiety – anticipation from - an engagement’ which show the main remedies to be Argentum Nitricum, Arsenicum, Gelsemium, Lycopodium, Medorrhinum. But each one would be anxious in a different way for a different reason! It could be Anticipatory Anxiety before an exam (Aethusa, Carcinosin, Cuprum, Gelsemium, Silica, Thuja) or maybe before giving a speech or talk in front of an audience or perhaps of an actor or singer about to go on the stage (Coca, Gelsemium, Ignatia, Kali Phos, Lachesis, Lycopodium, Phosph. Acid). Then again it could be anticipatory anxiety before going to the dentist or doctor (Phosphorus, Stramonium). This gives some idea about how precise the homeopathic prescription must be to target the fears and emotions we all feel but which can become chronic conditions that can last a lifetime if left untreated. For serious mental and emotional conditions, psychiatrists are happy to dole out tranquillisers and antidepressants. These do NOT treat the root cause of the problem but merely put a lid on them where they are forever festering beneath. As long ago as the 5th century BC, Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, said there were two laws of healing – the Law of Opposites (orthodox medicine) and the Law of Similars (Homeopathy). The healing properties of every homeopathic medicine are collated during what is known as a Proving. With every new medicine to be tested, a chosen number of people are given the 30c potency and told to take it every day until they start to develop symptoms that they never had before. They must record all these symptoms meticulously which will go into a database. Symptoms that are experienced by all the Provers are noted as being the main symptoms of the remedy in the Proving. Finally these are written up in the Materia Medica under the new remedy and then it can be given to a person who is ill suffering from these symptoms. It is as though the homeopath paints a full picture of the patient taking down the details of his/her mental, emotional and physical symptoms and then finding the homeopathic medicine that most closely fits. In a large material dose, this medicine would create the symptoms which need to be cured, but a small potentised dose will stimulate the mind/body to come back into BALANCE, through like for like. What are the most common states we see in our Society today? Anger, depression, fear, anxiety, jealousy. Anger – there are hundreds of homeopathic medicines for this and it is necessary to discover exactly what makes the patient angry in order to find the correct homeopathic medicine. Depression - Again, what CAUSED the depression? Maybe it was a number things but can be one main thing that needs to addressed. Also counselling is very important alongside homeopathic treatment so the causations can be brought to light and sorted out in the mind. Fear and Anxiety have many known causes and must be dealt with similarly. Grief is common in our world for many reasons. The main grief remedies are Natrum Muriaticum given to people who internalise their grief, can become bitter and do not want to discuss it. Ignatia is more for the acute stage of grief, the person who slams the door, cries hysterically and tells everyone to leave them alone. There is Phosphoric Acid for grief where the person becomes more and more exhausted to the point where they become indifferent to everything around them. The remedy Staphysagria is also for grief and nearly always in relation to disappointed love. Phosphorus is a grief remedy but they are very sympathetic people who are much more open to talking about their problems. Again this is only 5 out of at least 70 remedies listed under Grief. The whole state of mind/emotions and body must be recorded in order to find the remedy that most closely fits. In the homeopathic repertory, under the rubric, ‘jealousy’ over 30 remedies are listed. The main ones are Lachesis, a competitive, ambitious and talkative personality type; Hyoscyamus, the suspicous type of person and Nux Vomica, an ambitious, efficient and fiery type. The choice of remedy to be taken in any of the above states should only be given by an experienced and fully qualified homeopathic practitioner. Reading a self help book or thumbing through the literature in the health shop is highly unlikely to help you find the homeopathic medicine you need to cure you. The reason for this is that there are in fact 4,000 homeopathic medicine, although about 100 are most commonly used (known as Polychrests). Also only homeopathic pharmacies stock the higher potencies such as the 200c, 1000c (1M) or 10,000 (10M) potencies which tend to be used to treat mental and emotional states. You will not be able to buy them anywhere else. Decisions are made by the homeopath about how long your remedy/potency is likely to be working and when you need to come back. High potencies can work for months before another consultation is necessary, making homeopathy good value for money. Your homeopath will also be likely to see other remedies you are going to need further on in the treatment. There is a very clear methodology of treatment that needs to be adhered to for complete cure. Very often people can slowly be weaned off their pharmaceutical drugs as cure progresses but it is much easier to treat them if they are not taking any at all. This essay is a very simple introduction to the use of homeopathic medicine for psychological disorders and was written to show that there really is another choice than an addiction to anti-depressants and tranquillisers and a genuinely better way for people who want to avoid them. |