WHAT IS HOMEOPATHY

"The basic principle of Homeopathic treatment is that the symptoms that a person experiences can be cured by a substance that would cause the same symptoms if given to a healthy person."

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Homeopathy is a system that attempts to stimulate the body to heal itself. 

All symptoms, no matter how uncomfortable they are, represent the body's attempt to restore itself to health. So instead of trying to dry up the runny nose from a cold with antihistamines, a homeopath would use a remedy that will stimulate the body to move in the direction it is already going, and, in the process, clear the runny nose!

 

It is a system that looks at individuals and not at diseases.

Each of us suffers a cold in his or her unique way. Yet conventional medicine makes the assumption that all colds are alike and offers a common series of drugs; something to dry the nose, something to bring down the fever, something to suppress the cough, something to ease the headache.

Homeopathy, on the other hand, looks for substances that will address the individual case.

The person with a beginning cold, characterized by slow onset, aching, loss of appetite, chills, and a desire to be left alone will need a different remedy than the person whose cold comes on a bit quicker and is characterized by intense sneezing, a runny nose that burns the upper lip, a desire for hot drinks, a bone chilling coldness, and a desire not to be left alone.

We characterize both as colds, but they are expressed differently, and, therefore, are in need of different homeopathic remedies.

 

How does the concept of homeopathy differ from that of conventional medicine?

Very simply, homeopathy attempts to stimulate the body to recover itself.

In conventional medical thought, health is seen simply as the absence of disease. You assume that you are healthy if there is nothing wrong with you.

To a person versed in homeopathy, health is much more than that.

A healthy person is a person who is free on all levels: physical, emotional, and mental.

Obviously, a person with a broken leg is not free, on the physical level, to move around. But on a more subtle level, a person who cannot eat certain foods or is allergic to certain materials is also experiencing a lack of freedom. It is a good emotional release to cry at a "tear jerker" movie, but someone who continues to cry for several weeks afterwards is experiencing a lack of freedom on the emotional level. Likewise, a person who cannot absorb what he has read or cannot remember day to day appointments is experiencing a restriction on the mental level.

The homeopath recognizes such limitations and attempts, through the use of the properly selected remedies, to restore the person to health and freedom.

 

An important basic difference exists between conventional medical therapy and homeopathy.

In conventional therapy, the aim often is to control the illness through regular use of medical substances. If the medication is withdrawn, however, the person returns to illness. There has been no cure.

A person who takes a pill for high blood pressure every day is not undergoing a cure but is only controlling the symptoms.

 

Homeopathy's aim is the cure:

"The complete restoration of perfect health."