Homeopathy, Symptoms… and the art of Tuning in!
Let’s start with the word ‘Symptom!’
The Oxford learner’s dictionary describes it as follows: a physical or mental feature which is regarded as indicating a condition of disease, particularly such a feature that is apparent to the patient.
We use this word a lot in Homeopathy. In fact, it is a crucial part of practise. We also understand the meaning of ‘Disease’ to be quite literally ‘Dis – Ease’…a symptom is usually, eventually, something uncomfortable.
Symptoms are the way our bodies talk to us…
Quite often we are not able to notice until they worsen to another level; we are too busy with other things and not really wanting our bodies to fail us in any way!
Today our lifestyle is typically such that we speed through the hours, days and years and find it hard to slow down.
Homeopathy understands this… and is very much our friend, especially at times when things go a bit wrong for us! During an appointment, we can at last slow down for a little while and get to understand what the symptoms are telling us and what may therefore be the root cause!
Homeopathy gives the time and this is so valuable.
I often refer to things being ‘out of balance’ and this is what I am wanting to talk about this month.
In fact, I am hoping that many of you are able to be somewhere quiet, calm and restful… even if just for a few minutes… on holiday perhaps, as you read this?
HERE ARE SOME TYPICAL TYPES OF SYMPTOMS…
We are more familiar with symptoms of:
- The skin (acne, rashes)
- The lungs (breathing trouble)
- The heart (palpitations, angina)
- The gut (bloating, nausea, diarrhoea and constipation)
- The head (headache, hair loss)
- The Oesophageal tract (indigestion, hiccups)
- The muscles and bones (strains, breakages, bruising)
- The Nervous system (neuralgia, degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, MS, MND)
- The Mind (anxiety, depression, grief, emotional over-reactions)
…But Homeopathy does not suppress these symptoms. (As much as we would like them to disappear as fast as they come!)
INSTEAD it helps us notice them, understand and learn about them… and in context with when they first arrived and what makes them better or worse. And THEN we can work on improving them.
Remedies bring the body back into balance… naturally and without chemical interference.
There is no toxicity in the remedies, neither are they addictive or have side effects.
It’s actually as simple as that!
Conventional medicine is often too quickly prescribed and without the time to have broad enough discussions to understand if there may be anything underlying that also needs treating and may be the root cause.
The medication may enable the symptoms to disappear or lessen… and sometimes very quickly (especially with Steroid based treatment) …but it will push the symptoms back within the body only to generally return at some point again, often sooner rather than later – so another prescription is given.
There isn’t always the attention given to how each individual may have differing varieties of symptoms within the umbrella named diagnosis (such as tonsilitis, eczema, constipation, Parkinson’s disease) and that the typical drug(s) used may therefore not be enough to incorporate them for that individual, in the way Homeopathic remedies make this match.
The action and ingredients of the medicine may also cause a disturbance somewhere else in the body, thus leading to another health condition. An example I often see in my practice is a prescription of the Contraceptive pill that is later discovered to be a cause to some new developing symptoms such as Thyroid imbalance, mood change, infertility – and it may have been prescribed originally for teenage acne!
The Law of Cure:
Another interesting point to recognise about the way homeopathy heals is that it works according to the Law of Cure… known also as the Direction of Cure… whereby healing starts from the inside and works its way out, downwards and to the extremities of the body.
So again, we actually prefer it when symptoms are on the outer part of the body as they are closer to the route out and of less severity than those symptoms that we cannot see and may therefore miss, going on internally and around our key organs, without which our health is more compromised.
For example: Skin conditions often relate to a compromised liver which is struggling to manage eliminating unwanted toxins from the body. They may also relate to poor gut health again whereby digestion and bowel function is not effective enough to work in balance with a healthy gut, and again, toxicity builds up.
So… please do really tune into your symptoms!
Consider the following:
- When did they first start?
- What else was going on in your life at that time or recently before?
- What makes them better or worse?
- How do they present?
- Were there any other changes at that time… such as medication, external or environmental substances such as air conditioning, weather, food, exposure to chemicals?
- Trauma… is there any unresolved trauma? This may be deep rooted but unable to remain buried any more and therefore needs attention and the right support.
In a homeopathic appointment these areas are considered and we may also create a timeline where it becomes easier to get back to the root cause and work with the altered system, bringing it back into balance gently, thoroughly and at the right pace for each individual body.
The benefits of calm breathing, meditation or relaxing exercise / practices is that we can get to tune in to our bodies and therefore we notice things… so why not give this a try?
Summer is well under way in the UK and I do hope this brings you some time to rest, relax and TUNE IN!
For those in a Winter climate this is also a perfect time to snuggle up in a quiet, warm, hibernating-type spot and TUNE IN too!
I hope this makes sense… please do get in touch if you have any questions.
You know where to find me!
Warmest Wishes,
Ali x
Ali Lomax
LCHE
R.Hom.Int
