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Stages of Grief

The work of grief cannot be hurried. It takes a great deal of time, usually a year
or more. It may be the purest pain you have ever known.

The following are stages of grief that are commonly experienced after a loss. You
may not experience all of these, and you may not experience them in this order. It
is important to realize, however, that what you are feeling is natural and that, with time, you will heal.

Shock
Some people experience shock after a loss, saying things like “I feel numb” and
displaying no tears or emotions. Sometimes there is denial. Gradually the
bereaved become aware of what has happened, and they are able to express their
emotions. Other people never go through a prolonged stage of shock. They are
able to express emotions immediately.
Emotional Release
At some point a person begins to feel and to hurt. It is very important not to
suppress your feelings. Suppressed feelings often surface at a later time in
unhealthy ways. Shared feelings are a gift, and bring a closeness to all involved.
Preoccupation with the Deceased or the Crisis
Despite efforts to think of other things, a grieving person may find it difficult to
shift his/her mind from thoughts about the deceased person. This is not unusual
and, with time, should not be a problem.
Symptoms of Some Physical and Emotional Distress
These distresses may come in waves.

The most common physical distresses are:
• Sleeplessness
• Tightness in the throat
• A choking feeling
• Shortness of breath
• Deep sighing
• An empty hollow feeling in the stomach
• Lack of muscular power (“It’s almost impossible to climb stairs” or
“everything I lift seems heavy”)
• Digestive symptoms and poor appetite

Closely associated with the physical distresses may be certain emotional
alternations, the most common of which are:
• A slight sense of unreality
• Feelings of emotional distance from people – that no one really cares or
understands
• Sometimes people appear shadowy or very small
• Sometimes there are feelings of panic, thoughts of self-destruction, or the
desire to run away or “chuck it all.”
These emotional disturbances can cause many people to feel they are approaching
insanity, but these feelings are actually quite normal.
Hostile Reactions
You may catch yourself responding with a great deal of anger to situations that
previously would not have bothered you. The feelings can be surprising and very
uncomfortable. They often make people feel that they are going crazy. Anger can
be directed at the doctor, the nurse, God, sometimes even at your loved one who
died.
Often, there may be feelings of hurt or hostility toward family members who do
not or, for various reasons cannot, provide the emotional support the grieving
person may have expected from them. Anger and hostility are normal. Do not
suppress your anger. However, it is important that you understand and direct your
anger towards what you are really angry at, namely the loss of someone you
loved.
Guilt
There is almost always some sense of guilt in grief. The bereaved think of the
many things they felt they could have done, but didn’t. They accuse themselves of
negligence. These hurts pop up in grief. Guilt is normal and should pass with
time.
Depression
Many grieving people feel total despair, unbearable loneliness and hopelessness;
nothing seems worthwhile. These feelings may be even more intense for those
who live alone or who have little family. These feelings are normal and should
also pass with time.
Withdrawal
The grieving person often tends to withdraw from social relationships. Their daily
routines are often disrupted as well. Life seems like a bad dream. This is normal
and will take some effort to overcome, but the rewards are worthwhile.
Resolution and Readjustment
This comes gradually. The memories are still there, the love is still there, but the
wound begins to heal. You begin to get on with life. It’s hard to believe now, but
you will feel better. By experiencing deep emotion and accepting it, you will
grow warmth, depth, understanding and wisdom.

Homeopathy

We all grieve. It’s part of life. The fact that it is a universal exper­ience raises the question of whether or not we should consider griev­ing to be normal and, if not, when is it not normal? In other words, when would it require treatment? That question, in turn, raises fundamental questions about the purpose of Homeopathic treatment. After all, why would we want to treat normal life?

Let’s begin by addressing that. The first principle of Homeopathy is the treat­ment of like with like. Every remedy is described in the standard materia medica which collate the information from sources such as provings and clinical experience. These remedy descriptions are like stories or patterns. Homeopathic treatment involves selecting the remedy whose description best matches the stories or the life patterns of the patient. In orthodox medical practice we treat pathology – disturbances which we call diseases or illnesses.

However, the Homeopathic treatment is both deeper and more encompassing than the orthodox approach. It involves a full consideration of the person who has the disease, the human being who is experiencing the illness. This means that pretty much anything and everything the patient tells of their experience is poten­tially usable in the process of remedy selection. What this doesn’t mean, how­ever, is that every aspect of a human being or their experience can be changed by a remedy. We need to make a judge­ment about exactly what we’re hoping to change. Let’s consider grief in the light of that perspective.

The Homeopathic approach to suf­fering is different. Homeopathic medi­cines don’t suppress symptoms. Rather they stimulate the processes of repair, of recovery and even of growth. From a purely theoretical viewpoint therefore Homeopathic medicines can play a more useful role in grief than drugs can. However, just let me add one word of caution here because although a remedy can facilitate the process of grieving, it cannot replace it. In other words, Homeo­pathic remedies cannot make grief go away. Nor can they enable someone to avoid grief. Coming to terms with life without your loved one and coping with the impact of their death will still take time, care and attention. The best way to deal with grief is to come to terms with this massive change in life con­sciously, with the support of loved ones or professionals who can listen, advise and care.

Homeopathic teaching has two insights to offer: The first is the process of healing and recovery. We know from our Homeopathic principles that every­body is unique, so we accept that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to deal with grief. The second is that what Hahne­mann referred to as “vital force” has a kind of intelligence. What that means is that our healing system deals with what’s most important first and attends to more superficial, or minor problems later. We often experience this as an initial rise in energy or well-being before there is an improvement in specific symptoms and we also commonly find that “inner” problems resolve before “outer” ones. This is important to understand because some physical diseases, for example eczema, psoriasis, arthritis, can undergo flare-ups during grief, but might not improve until the underlying mental dis­tress settles.

A further insight from Homeopathy can be gleaned from the materia medica. The descriptions of the remedies show us common patterns of disorder as well as help us to understand what differ­ent people need to help them cope. Let me give some examples which I hope will make this clear.

Immediate phase – shock
When someone witnesses a death they might experience acute shock. This cer­tainly occurs commonly in traumatic sit­uations such as road traffic accidents and other violent deaths, but can also occur when someone who is ill suddenly collapses and dies. The shock reaction is one we all know. When shocked by something we feel a bit stunned, a strange combination of both numbness and feeling everything more intensely – every little noise startles us, lights seem too bright and so on. Shock has elements of fear, agitation and even panic. This is a state well recognized as an indication for Aconite. It’s that high adrenalin wide-eyed flight or fight response where the person feels shaky, afraid and rather stunned. Shock is an acute, intense, sud­den state. It usually occurs at the time of the traumatic event and the good news is that it doesn’t last long.

Acute instability
Whether or not shock is felt, what most people experience next is usually a period of great instability. This is a time of tremendous emotion and mood changes can be dramatic, swinging wildly from deep depression to hyster­ical laughing within minutes. The pic­ture of Ignatia is typical of this period. It can show itself through rapidly chang­ing, intensely mental states with out­pourings of tears and distress one minute and silent closing down the next. This instability can lead to what appear to be inappropriate behaviors: laughing when others are serious and sad, or re­fusing to speak when spoken to.

The person in the Ignatia state has a strong tendency to sigh big, deep sighs and they will frequently complain of the sensation of a lump in the throat which makes swallowing difficult – a symptom relieved more by the swallowing of solids than by liquids (quite contrary to what you’d expect). It’s no surprise that this intense and unstable state most com­monly appears in the first few hours and days after the bereavement but it’s also a very common pattern to appear dur­ing funerals.

The angry phase
Anger will emerge to a greater or lesser extent depending on both the character of the individual and their prior feelings towards the deceased and the extent to which there is some sense of whether or not the person experienced a “good” death.

For example, the Magnesium salts, Magnesium carbonicum and Magnesium muriaticum both share the character­istic of rapidly flaring anger which dis­appears as quickly as it appears – flashes of anger. Both also share the character­istic of intense feelings of emotional sensitivity and loneliness. Kent describes them as being the remedies for the orphans and Jan Scholten, the Dutch homeopath, describes how they are fre­quently indicated in children whose parents have separated or divorced. Jan also suggests that Magnesium carbon­icum is more indicated when the patient has strong feelings of anger towards their father and Magnesium muriaticum more indicated when the anger is felt towards their mother. This anger might have been present before the death of the partic­ular parent or it might emerge only after­wards.

If the person’s dying has gone badly then often the relatives and loved ones have strong feelings of injustice, feelings that the deceased was not well treated in their last illness or final days. That state of anger and indignation is com­monly seen in the indications for Staphy­sagria which is another intense and unstable state characterized by the expression “it’s not fair!” Colocynth, which we associate with abdominal colic, is also indicated in these angry, indignant states.

Loss
It doesn’t take long before the bereaved feel a profound sense of loss. In the old materia medica, the language used to describe this is “forsaken feeling”. There are quite a number of remedies which include this feature but let me just high­light a couple of very different patterns which share this common feeling. Pulsatilla is a remedy well indicated for people who have intense feelings of loss. In particular where people have a sense of loss characterized by feelings of aban­donment. They don’t just feel alone, they feel as if they’ve been left alone.

The response to this deep feeling in the Pulsatilla patient is to seek com­fort and support. They feel emotional, weepy and distressed and they need the company and sympathy of others. A person in such a state can come across as very needy and, it’s true, they do need a lot of care, support, and attention. They want to be hugged and held. The Pulsatilla state also has the feature of instability which we considered in the earlier phases of grief. Their moods may swing wildly and this, of course, makes the experience all the more unsettling, both for the person experiencing the grief and for those around him or her.

A very different way of dealing with the sense of loss is seen in the typical Natrum muriaticum picture. In this case, the person really needs to be left alone to deal with things. They absolutely hate fuss and feel much worse when people express their consolation towards them. To try to help them the same way you try to help someone who is in a Pulsatilla state will not bring any success. In fact, it will make them feel worse. The per­son who needs Natrum muriaticum really does need time alone and, whilst they don’t want to be ignored or for­gotten about, they do need people to be aware of their need for personal time and space.

Getting stuck
When does grief ever need to be treated? Well, there’s a judgement to be made at every point. To what extent is the per­son’s distress not bearable? If some dis­tress can be eased, then shouldn’t it be? And to what extent is the picture chang­ing and evolving? In other words, is the person stuck? Or are they still pro­gressing? These are not easy questions to answer but in answer to the first I think it is helpful to consider the ques­tion “is the person coping?” not “is the person suffering?” because suffering is an integral part of grief.

If the person is coping then there is little need to intervene. But if they aren’t coping, then the next question has to be “what would help this person to cope better?” And the answer to that ques­tion is highly individualistic. I hope these simple examples I’ve given here already show how people may experience grief in different forms at various times. And how we all cope in our own ways. It’s important not to judge, not to assume that we know better than the bereaved but, instead, that we care about them and that we show that care through helping and supporting in the ways which help them best.

J.D. Salinger and His Love for Homeopathic Medicine

Jerome David Salinger (1919-2010), known as J.D. Salinger, gained his reputation as a result of his massively-popular novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951) and most recently was the subject of a documentary, simply entitled Salinger.

Salinger wrote a couple of other books after this and several acclaimed short stories. Ironically, he became increasingly famous for being one of the most private and reclusive modern-day authors. Very little was known about him until Joyce Maynard, a New York Times columnist, developed a relationship with him, lived with him for several years, and then wrote a book about her time with “Jerry” Salinger (Maynard, 1998). Maynard wrote (and Salinger’s daughter Margaret confirmed, in her own book, published in 2000) that Salinger has a special love and even a “preoccupation” with homeopathy. He supposedly spent several hours each day (!) studying homeopathic books, and he regularly prescribed homeopathic medicines to people and animals.

At one point, Maynard describes a visit by her mother, who had an infected toe at the time. After an interview with her, Jerry prescribed a homeopathic medicine, and within minutes, her toe swelled considerably and then burst, after which the pain disappeared instantly (Maynard, 1998, 138). Experiencing rapid effects from homeopathic medicines is quite common, and it is such impressive experiences that have helped homeopathy developed an international and loyal reputation, especially among the educated public and among the elite cultural classes (Ullman, 2007). People who take homeopathic medicines also often experience a temporary increase in certain symptoms prior to a deeper healing. More specifically, homeopaths often observe an increase in skin eruptions, nasal discharges, respiratory expectoration, or early and/or clotted menstrual bleeding shortly after taking a homeopathic medicine. Such experience of a “healing crisis” prior to a healing suggests that homeopathic medicines are not always the result of a placebo effect.

Maynard describes Salinger’s interest in “high potency” homeopathic medicines and his appreciation for constitutional homeopathy (one of the important and sophisticated practices of classical homeopathy, in which a single remedy is prescribed based on the totality of a person’s physical, emotional, mental, and genetic characteristics in order to strengthen a person’s entire constitution).

“High potency” homeopathy refers to the use of medicines that undergo a process of dilution (of 1:10, 1:100, or 1:50,000), with vigorous shaking in between dilution. While many homeopathic medicines sold in health food stores and pharmacies are commonly diluted 3, 6, 12, or 30 times, it is common for professional homeopaths to prescribe medicines that undergo this process of dilution and vigorous shaking 200, 1,000, or even 50,000 times, all of which are deemed to be “high-potency” medicines. In fact, over 200 years of clinical practice has led to the observation that the higher numbers of dilutions, with mandatory shaking in between each dilution, usually need only a single dose of one medicine to elicit a profound healing response, while the lower potency medicines tend to need more frequent repetition.

Salinger and others who have used homeopathic medicines pre-date the evidence that has confirmed the persistence of nanoparticles of the original medicinal substance even after hundreds of dilutions. Researchers at India’s Institute of Technology (the most respected scientific governmental agency in that country) tested six different homeopathic medicines and using three different type of modern spectroscopy found nanoparticles of each substance, even after they were diluted 1:100 six times, 30 times, and 200 times (Chikramane, Kalita, Suresh, et al, 2012). They published their work in one of the most respected journal in the technical field of “material sciences,” a multidisciplinary field that integrates chemistry, engineering, and physics. What is highly significant about the power of nanoparticles is that it is widely acknowledged that many hormones and essential cell signaling agents in our body have profound physiological effects in a similar nanodose range (Eskinazi, 1999).

Maynard also noted Salinger’s method of giving a person a homeopathic medicine in water, which is an advanced modern method of dispensing remedies to people (or animals), thereby providing additional evidence that Salinger kept up-to-date on how to optimize results using these nano-medicines.

Salinger’s use of and advocacy for homeopathic medicine is part of a long and impressive tradition from many literary greats, including Henry James, William James, Emily Dickinson, Washington Irving, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Harriett Beecher Stowe, Upton Sinclair, Goethe, Fyodor Dostoevsky, George Bernard Shaw, amongst many others (Ullman, 2007). To learn specifics of that each of these literary greats did with and for homeopathy, click here.

Ultimately, Maynard moved out of Salinger’s home, got married, had children, and then got divorced, but throughout her life, she too has sought treatment from professional homeopaths. As for Salinger himself, he lived to the ripe old age of 91 years.
REFERENCES:

Chikramane PS, Kalita D, Suresh AK, Kane SG, Bellare JR. Why Extreme Dilutions Reach Non-zero Asymptotes: A Nanoparticulate Hypothesis Based on Froth Flotation. Langmuir. 2012 Nov 1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23083226

Eskinazi, D., Homeopathy Re-revisited: Is Homeopathy Compatible with Biomedical Observations? Archives in Internal Medicine, 159, Sept 27, 1999:1981-7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10510983

Maynard, J. At Home in the World. New York: Picador, 1998.

Salinger, M. A. Dream Catcher. New York: Pocket Books, 2000.

Ullman, D. The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 2007.

Painkiller usage reduced by 50 percent with Homeopathy

Homeopathic Medicines to the Rescue
A large study conducted in France showed that patients with chronic musculoskeletal disorders had a 50 percent reduced usage of conventional pain medication by being under the care of a physician who specializes in prescribing Homeopathic medicines (Rossignol, Begaud, Engel, et al, 2012).

This study of 1,153 patients with musculoskeletal disorders compared treatments from conventional physicians (CM), physicians who specialized in Homeopathic medicine (Ho), and physicians who engaged in a mixed practice of conventional and natural treatments (Mx). Some of the musculoskeletal disorders of patients who were included in this study were: Osteoarthritis, rheumatism, fibromyalgia, muscle spasms, tendinitis, rotary cuff syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis, intervertebral disc disorders, neck pain, torticollis, and spinal stenosis.

This study was approved by the French National Data-Protection Commission and the French National Council of Physicians. Prior to the start of the study, a higher percentage of patients who received care from a MD homeopath were found to have a “chronic” musculoskeletal disorder (61 percent), as compared with those going to conventional MDs (50 percent) or to MDs who practiced a mixed treatment (52 percent).

Despite the fact that the Homeopathic patients were considered ill for a longer period of time, this study showed that the patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain had a 50 percent reduced use of conventional pain medication, while patients with acute musculoskeletal pain had a 38 percent reduced use. In addition to this significant reduction in the use of painkillers, the patients who received homeopathic treatment showed a similar clinical progression of their musculoskeletal disease as assessed by standardized functional scales.

The researchers acknowledged that musculoskeletal disorders are a leading reason for medical consultation in primary care. The researchers also noted that this nationwide observational study was conducted over one year and that long-term usage of conventional pain medications are known to have numerous minor and serious side effects, as distinct from Homeopathic medicines which have a long-time history of safety. Because Homeopathic medicine in France is only practiced by MDs, the researchers asserted that maintaining the present reimbursement schedule for homeopathic treatment keeps health care costs down.

The researchers of this study were a diverse and prestigious group of professors of epidemiology, biostatistics, and medicine from the University of Paris, the Pasteur Institute, University of Bordeaux, University of Pierre and Marie Curie, McGill University, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

At present, Homeopathic medicine is the leading natural treatment offered by physicians in Europe, where approximately 40 percent of French physicians and 20 percent of German physician prescribe Homeopathic medicines regularly (Ullman, 2007). Further, approximately 30 percent of the European population has used Homeopathic medicines at some time.

Sources for this article include:

Glover, Scott; and Girion, Lisa. Deaths tied to painkillers rising in the U.S. Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2013, front page: Painkiller article

Rossignol M, Begaud B, Engel P, et al. Impact of physician preferences for Homeopathic or conventional medicines on patients with musculoskeletal disorders: results from the EPI3-MSD cohort. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2012 Jul 11. doi: 10.1002/pds.3316. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22782803

Ullman, D. The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 2007. www.homeopathic.com

About the author:
America’s leading advocate for Homeopathic medicine and author of The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy (Foreword by Dr. Peter Fisher, Physician to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II). Learn more about Homeopathy and Dana’s work at http://www.Homeopathic.com or watch Dana’s videos at http://naturalnews.tv/Browse.asp?memberid=6958

Dana has authored 9 other books, including Homeopathy A-Z, Homeopathic Medicines for Children and Infants, Discovering Homeopathy, and (the best-selling) Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines (with Stephen Cummings, MD).

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/040243_homeopathy_prescription_medications_pain_killers.html#ixzz2ez9bIKRH

Painkiller usage reduced by 50 percent with Homeopathy by: Dana Ullman

(NaturalNews) The front page lead story of the Los Angeles Times on March 30, 2013, highlighted the significant increase in deaths as a result of painkillers (Glover and Girion, 2013). The good news is that there are alternatives to painkillers and safer treatments that can reduce their usage.

See also book: Homeopathy for Musculoskeletal Healing by, Asa Hershoff

*Homeopathy is safe and effective alternative while Breastfeeding! This is a helpful modality of healing for new Mothers, as it is completely safe while breastfeeding, and for babies and children.

Please see: www.lactation-911.com/

www.lactation-911.com/homeopathy-and-breastfeeding

Less Medicine is Best Medicine

How Alternatives From the Past Can Help Us Today

These days, when illness strikes, many of us feel like we’re on our own. Perhaps our healthcare coverage is inadequate. Or perhaps we avoid using the coverage we have for fear of establishing “pre-existing conditions.” Indeed, many of us are disenchanted with conventional medical care and try to find more gentle and natural ways of dealing with illness. We also work hard to prevent disease in the first place by taking better care of ourselves, eating healthy foods, and exercising. Whenever possible, we may use alternative forms of healing like naturopathy, homeopathy, osteopathy, acupuncture, or chiropractic care.

Whether or not we try to avoid conventional “allopathic” care, there are actually good reasons to be wary of it. Allopathic treatments are the third leading cause of death in the United States, and according to some, may now be the leading cause. A 2009 investigative report published in The New Yorker found that areas of the United States that utilize more conventional medicines and treatments tend to have worse health outcomes. In contrast, nearby areas with similar demographics but lesser use of medical procedures and drugs tend to experience better health.

Of course, there are times when allopathic care is lifesaving and an absolute must—for instance, in emergencies or life-threatening situations. But one need only look at the daily headlines to become hesitant about incorporating yet another drug into your daily regimen. It is now commonplace to hear about medical studies tainted by financial self-interest or recalls of once-touted “safe” wonder drugs. In fact, a 2002 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that 20 percent of newly approved drugs are ultimately recalled as unsafe.

Nevertheless, most of us tend to go for quick fixes for our health problems. Life has become so fast-paced and demanding that we resort to popping another pill rather than dealing with ailments on a deeper, more fundamental level. But the next thing we know, we are using pill organizers to keep all our meds straight. Sadly, many of our children need to use pill organizers now, too.

Eventually, of course, there are consequences to this pill popping. Just as you can’t continue to cover up financial problems with more loans, you can’t patch another ailment with another pill—because the net effect will likely be something much worse. In fact, a fundamental tenet of many alternative therapies—including my own favorite, homeopathy—is that repeated suppression of disease symptoms eventually force the energy of a disease to deepen and become more chronic. Just like the global economic meltdown, the net effect of more and more suppressive medicines might be a global health breakdown. In fact, studies indicate that Americans have become more chronically ill than they were in the past.

In 2002, an article in JAMA reported that 80 percent of US adults take some form of medication every week, with 50 percent taking a prescription drug. The numbers have gone up since then and pertain to children as well. In 2007, a survey found that 51 percent of all Americans take one or more prescription medicine for a chronic problem. That included two-thirds of all women age 20 and older, one in four children and teenagers, 52 percent of adult men, and three quarters of people over age 65. More recently, a February 2010 article published in JAMA reported that chronic health problems among children in the US have risen from 12.8 percent of children in 1994 to 26.6 percent in 2006. Most parents today are all too aware that their children have become prone to chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes, learning disorders, hyperactivity, severe allergies, and autism. Schools and summer camps must now be informed of complex drugging regimes, and adorn their walls with epipens just in case of unexpected anaphylaxis from allergens. This was not the case 40 years ago. What happened?

For one thing, our food supply and eating habits have become compromised and new toxins have been introduced into our environment. But it may be our increased use of suppressive medicines that is even more to blame. The next time you see an ad on TV about a new drug for allergies, acne, or the “blues,” try paying a bit less attention to the happy visuals and a bit more attention to the serious potential side effects that quickly rattle by. Rather than add one more pill to your weekly routine, think twice. There could be another way—an approach to health that helps you decrease, not increase, your use of medical interventions.

An Answer from the Past

How can we find better health for our families? One answer might be found if we revisit some forms of medicine from our past. Now I know what many of you are thinking: people in the past used to die at much younger ages than we do now. That is true. But this higher mortality was due to acute infectious diseases and infant mortality, not the chronic diseases we experience now. Indeed, most of the improvements in mortality were due to improved sanitation, not medicine. While drugs like antibiotics can sometimes be lifesavers, it is also true that more of a good thing isn’t necessarily better. The overuse of antibiotics has led to deadly resistant superbugs like MRSA and immune systems that are weaker, not stronger. And if the tenets of alternative medical systems like homeopathy are correct, the overuse of drugs has also led to more widespread chronic disease.

So how did people survive before the days of modern pharmaceutical drugs? They relied on natural home remedies and treatments—most of them herbal, but increasingly after the mid-1800s, many of them homeopathic. In fact, the very first American domestic manual (a home medical reference) was published in 1835 by the father of American homeopathy, Constantine Hering, MD.

Hering came to the United States from Germany in 1833, and like many German immigrants of the time, settled in Pennsylvania, where he founded America’s first homeopathic medical school, as well as America’s first medical society of any kind, the American Institute of Homeopathy. Because of Hering’s efforts, Pennsylvania became the state where homeopathy first took root in America. I fondly remember how, during a 2004 family road trip to Hershey, we paid a visit to a quilt museum in Lititz, PA. Tucked away in the back of the museum was a display of home remedy kits and manuals from the 1800s—all describing the use of homeopathic remedies for a wide variety of common ailments. I pointed this out to the museum curator and she was surprised; she had no idea what those little vials of pills were all about!

The institutions that Hering established in the mid 1800s ultimately led to a golden era for homeopathy in the United States—one that spanned nearly a hundred years. During that time, homeopathy became a widespread and trusted form of medicine that was favored for home care and by the American elite. Many members of the Republican party that swept into power with President Lincoln were aficionados of homeopathy. Feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an accomplished lay homeopath, and Susan B. Anthony’s personal physician was homeopath Julia Smith, MD, of Chicago. In fact, the very first women’s medical school was homeopathic (New England Female Medical College, founded in 1848), and most of the women physicians of that period were homeopaths. In 1900, President McKinley dedicated a monument in Washington, DC to Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy (still standing today at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 16th Street), and in 1922, President Harding (whose father was a homeopathic physician) held a convention of homeopaths at the White House. There were even homeopathic medical corps during World War I.

So, if homeopathy is merely quackery or placebo, why were all of these people so enthusiastic about it? The answer is simple: homeopathy works. Homeopathy’s growing popularity during the 1800s was fueled by its immense success in treating epidemic diseases, including cholera, typhoid, influenza, and scarlet fever. In the early 1900s, homeopathic practitioners were so successful in treating and preventing smallpox outbreaks that the state of Iowa ruled homeopathic treatment to be a legal substitute for conventional vaccination. And during the 1918 flu epidemic, homeopathic practitioners had a death rate of only 1 percent, whereas conventional physicians had a death rate of 30 percent. The charity hospital on Wards Island had the lowest percentage of deaths in New York City during the epidemic, and was overseen by the city’s health commissioner (and later US Senator) Royal Copeland, MD, who used homeopathic treatment in all cases.

Homeopathy was also successful in treating chronic disease. In fact, many tried and true homeopathic medicines of those times, such as nitroglycerine and digitalis for heart disease, are still used by conventional doctors today. And as the pioneers made their way across the vast expanses of the American West, it was homeopathic medical kits that helped them get there. As actress Jane Seymour points out, it is very likely that her TV character Dr. Quinn was a homeopath. She should know—her sister is a homeopath in the UK.

Interestingly, most homeopaths of the 1800s were medical doctors, many of whom had abandoned allopathy for homeopathy. This trend became so alarming that the American Medical Association (AMA) was formed in 1847 in response; its charter forbade members to associate with homeopaths or to use homeopathic medicines. Soon, further attempts to disenfranchise homeopaths were put into place; homeopathic doctors were barred from state medical societies and forbidden to publish in medical journals.

However, it was the rise of the large pharmaceutical companies in the early 1900s, with their growing financial clout and power, that finally undermined homeopathy and many other forms of alternative medicine. Gradually, licensing opportunities for alternative practitioners were removed and their institutions became weakened. Many of the great American homeopathic medical schools, including the famed Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia, were slowly converted to allopathy. By World War II, allopathic medicine had won a complete monopoly over American health care.

But nothing lasts forever. In the 1970s, various forms of alternative therapies began to grow from the dormant seeds lying patiently in the soil of America’s healing history. Chiropractic, naturopathy, traditional osteopathy, and homeopathy began to blossom and spread once again, as the limits of conventional medicine became increasingly apparent. As America and the rest of the world now struggles to cope with rising health care costs, it is both fitting and ironic that the alternative healing modalities that “big pharma” squashed in the early 1900s provide a solution. Our current health care crisis might be an opportunity for medicines like homeopathy to shine once again—if they are given a fighting chance to do so.

Alternative Medicine — The Solution to Today’s Health Care Crisis

When it comes to health, people tend to vote with their feet. Harvard studies have shown that a growing number of Americans use some form of alternative medicine, and that these numbers are increasing across all demographic groups. While skeptics and quackbuster organizations are constantly on the attack, saying that all alternative therapies—and especially homeopathy—are worthless, science is increasingly proving them wrong.

In Europe, where homeopathy is used by large segments of the population and where many countries incorporate homeopathy into their national health-care system, long-term studies measuring use, outcomes, and satisfaction with homeopathic treatment have been possible. One study conducted in Germany and Switzerland followed nearly 4,000 patients over the course of eight years, with problems ranging from allergies to headaches, from eczema to recurrent infections in children, and found that homeopathy yielded highly significant improvements in health. In fact, the more serious the disease, the more positive the outcome was. Another six-year study encompassing 6,500 patients carried out in Bristol, England, found that about 70 percent of patients using homeopathy for problems such as eczema and asthma experienced significant improvement. In one 2001 study of 456 patients with upper respiratory problems like allergies and ear aches, 82.6 percent of homeopathically treated patients responded well, in comparison to only 67.3 percent of conventionally treated patients.

The next time you hear that homeopathic treatment is worthless and that there are no studies to support it, please remember that this is simply false. In fact, the increasing attempts to discredit and belittle homeopathy may actually be due to the fundamental threat that homeopathy poses to the pharmaceutical giants. Not only can homeopathy be highly effective medicine, it is also much safer than conventional treatment, with fewer potential side effects. Best of all, the cost of homeopathic medicines is negligible compared to conventional medicines. While appointments with a homeopath can be lengthy and make up the bulk of treatment cost (a cost that, unfortunately, is not usually covered by health insurance in the United States), the general improvement in health enjoyed by many homeopathic patients leads to lowered health care costs in the long run.

For example, a 1996 study conducted in France found that the number of paid sick-leave days by patients under the care of homeopathic physicians were 3.5 times less than those under the care of allopathic physicians. Another study that surveyed 1,200 American homeopathic patients found that their insurance and out-of-pocket medical costs were lowered by an average of $1,033 per year. Perhaps one of the reasons European countries have had success with single-payer, government-run health care is that they also tend to incorporate the use of alternative medicines like homeopathy, which help keep costs under control and improve the general health of their citizens.

How Does Homeopathy Work?

Unlike conventional drugs, homeopathic remedies do not cause symptoms to be disguised or suppressed. In fact, they do not force chemical changes on the body at all. Instead, they create precise and subtle energetic “nudges” that mimic the nature of a person’s disease symptoms. These nudges then stimulate the natural healing mechanisms of the body. The result is that “incurable” chronic conditions like asthma can often be cured, not simply palliated.

The homeopathic strategy, developed by Samuel Hahnemann in Germany in the early 1800s, is based on a simple therapeutic principle called the Law of Similars. It states that if a substance can cause the symptoms of a disease in healthy people, then it can be prepared in such a way that it triggers a curative response in sick people. In fact, that’s what the word “homeopathy” literally means—similar (“homeo”) suffering (“pathy”).

Here’s a simple example. Everyone knows the effects of drinking coffee—you feel awake and elated, your mind races with ideas and excitement, and sometimes you experience heart palpitations. Many people with insomnia experience these same symptoms after an exciting night on the town. An appropriate homeopathic remedy for their insomnia (the remedy most similar to their insomnia) would therefore be Coffea Cruda, which is prepared from coffee. But unlike conventional medicine, which uses the same drug for each classification of disease (e.g., anti-histamine for hay-fever, aspirin for headache, or a narcotic for insomnia), the selection of the most appropriate homeopathic medicine is individualized. Thus, if a patient’s insomnia symptoms are different—say, sleeplessness from worry and exhaustion and accompanied by dizziness—a different remedy would be chosen. For this reason, it is usually best to consult a certified classical homeopathic practitioner who can find the remedy that best matches your overall symptom picture.

One important difference between herbalism and homeopathy is that herbal medicines are usually in the form of dried or tinctured plants, whereas homeopathic remedies—which can be made from any substance in nature, not just plants—are created through a process of repeated dilution and agitation. In fact, homeopathic remedies are so dilute that they no longer carry molecules of their original substance—a source for controversy since the development of homeopathy in the early 1800s. Nevertheless, recent studies by noted medical and material scientists demonstrate that they do indeed convey the action of the original substance.

During the past 200 years, over 1,000 homeopathic remedies have been developed and tested in homeopathic drug trials called “provings.” Each proving determines and records the physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral effects of a remedy on healthy test subjects. This database or “materia medica” of remedy symptoms forms the basis for homeopathic treatment. When a patient comes to see a classical homeopathic practitioner, they work collaboratively to identify the patient’s unique physical, emotional, mental, and behavioral symptom profile. The homeopath then selects the remedy that best matches this profile.

One of the profound beauties of the Law of Similars is that it can be applied to any disease—even a new disease that has never been seen before. Somewhere within the homeopathic medicine chest is usually a remedy whose symptoms match those of the disease. This makes homeopathy even more valuable today, when new viruses appear each year. The cause of a disease need not be found—only the remedy that best matches its symptoms. Indeed, the former director of the Office of Alternative Medicine at NIH, Wayne Jonas, MD, testified before Congress in November 2001 that homeopathy should be seriously considered for the after effects of bio-terrorism for this very reason.

Long Term Health—Not Short Term Fixes

Homeopathy’s underlying philosophy of disease and cure also provides clues as to why we are experiencing a worldwide increase in chronic disease. Through careful long-term observation of their patients, homeopaths discovered that when symptoms are repeatedly suppressed, the underlying dysfunction causing those symptoms is ultimately forced to express itself in a more serious way.

For example, even back in the 1800s, homeopaths noticed that repeated suppression of skin conditions like eczema could lead to the development of deeper chronic problems like asthma. Thus, rather than pollution, it could be our perpetual use of cortisone creams, antihistamines, and other suppressive drugs that has led to the dramatic rise in asthma rates today. You might think of suppressive allopathic treatments as “patches.” Sometimes they are necessary, but they are only skindeep. Patch after patch ultimately leads to a downward spiral toward deeper disease. Indeed, homeopaths understand that the side effects quickly murmured on TV drug ads are actually the result of symptom suppression.

Happily, Hahnemann discovered that treatment based on the Law of Similars does not suppress, and in fact, can cause previously suppressed symptoms to reappear so that they can be treated properly. For example, if an asthma patient comes to a homeopath, successful homeopathic treatment cannot only clear the asthma, but can also reveal previously suppressed eczema or allergies. These can then be treated homeopathically, without the risk of suppression. You might think of the homeopathic treatment process as an unwinding of the spiral of disease in the reverse direction.

My own family has experienced the wonders of homeopathic treatment many times. In fact, our first experience was the most miraculous of all—when my son Max was cured of a chronic “incurable” condition—autism. This experience ultimately led me to give up my career as a computer scientist, write a book about homeopathy, and devote myself to educating people about it.

The next time you or a family member gets sick, remember that there might be another option available to you. If it is your decision to do so, seek out an alternative practitioner. Get a referral from a friend, go a local health food store for advice, or check the yellow pages or Internet. Join a local study group or buy an introductory book about homeopathy or another alternative health modality you are interested in. Empower yourself. And remember: each one of us should have the fundamental right to health freedom—the ability to choose the type of health care we want to use.

Amy L. Lansky, PhD, was a Silicon Valley computer scientist when her life was transformed by the miraculous homeopathic cure of her son’s autism. She penned Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy and Active Consciousness: Awakening the Power Within. Amy hosts a monthly radio show on AutismOne Radio, and was an executive board member of the National Center for Homeopathy from 2004 to 2011.

HOMEOPATHY RESOURCES:

National Center for Homeopathy

(nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org)

The NCH is the leading open membership organization supporting and promoting homeopathy in North America. Membership benefits include a quarterly magazine, Homeopathy Today, weekly eNewsletters, online seminars with experts, and extensive online resources including homeopathic materia medicas. The website provides many free resources for the public, including practitioner referral lists, pharmacy and other resource information, and flu treatment information.

Impossible Cure

(impossiblecure.com)

Impossible Cure is a best-selling general introduction to homeopathy that includes history, philosophy, how to prepare for appointments, what to expect from treatment, scientific studies, and dozens of first-person cure stories from around the world. The website includes an autism help page, Cure Stories database, helpful links, book ordering information, and a free archive of Lansky’s radio show on AutismOne —There’s Hope with Homeopathy.

By Amy Lansky, PhD

Source: http://www.alternativemedicine.com/alternative-medicine/less-medicine-best-medicine

*Homeopathy is safe and effective while Breastfeeding! This is a helpful modality of healing for new Mothers, as it is completely safe while breastfeeding, and for babies and children.

Please see: www.lactation-911.com/

www.lactation-911.com/homeopathy-and-breastfeeding

20 Homeopathic Remedies That Every Home Should Not Be Without

If you are interested in trying out homeopathy for your  family, I recommend the twenty remedies listed below as an excellent start for your home remedy kit.  The 30c potency is the probably the best all-purpose potency to buy initially. You can find all of these remedies in any health food store. Many online homeopathic pharmacies also offer cost-effective starter kits. Visit the web site of the National Center for Homeopathy (NCH)— www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org—for a list of pharmacies and other homeopathic resources. By joining the NCH, you will also have online and print access to its invaluable magazine, Homeopathy Today, which includes countless articles loaded with self-treatment tips. The NCH website also includes complete information about each of these remedies in its “Remedies & Symptoms Database” (accessible to members only). The following books also provide excellent guidance as you get started in your homeopathic journey:

Self Help (How-To).

•     The Complete Homeopathy Handbook, by Miranda Castro.
•     Homeopathy: An A to Z Home Handbook, by Alan Schmukler.
•     Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines, by Stephen Cummings and Dana Ullman.

General Introduction.

•     Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy, by Amy Lansky.  Best-selling general introduction to homeopathy that includes history, philosophy, how to prepare for appointments, what to expect from treatment, scientific studies, and dozens of first-person testimonials from around the world.

For each remedy listed below, I have given brief, general indications for use.  I recommend consulting one of the Self-Help books listed above, or other articles and information provided on the NCH site, for more complete information. Also please note that any homeopathic remedy can be used in a wide array of contexts.  Thus, a useful acute remedy like Aconite can have broader constitutional use for a wide variety of diseases; or a broad constitutional remedy like Sulphur can be useful in an acute situation.  Learning a little homeopathy can go a long way and the more you study, the more skilled you will become!  However, the best homeopathic treatment is usually found under the guidance of a trained homeopath.

First Aid Remedies

(1) Arnica. Number one remedy for accidents, shock, injuries, and bruising. Patient has a fear of being touched and may say they are “all right” when they clearly are not. Other applications include pain after dental work and jet lag.

(2) Calendula. Number one remedy for healing wounds. Useful as a topical cream in low potency. Quickly seals wounds, so make sure wound is completely clean before use.

(3) Hypericum. Number one remedy for injuries to nerves. Pains are sharp and shooting. Useful for pain after dental injection.

(4) Apis. Number one remedy for bites and stings. Helps with redness, pain, and swelling.

(5) Ledum. Number one remedy for puncture wounds. Also useful for animal and insect bites. Along with Hypericum, a useful remedy for tetanus.  An important remedy for Lyme disease. Pain is better from cold application, worse from heat.

Remedies for Specific Situations and Acute Illnesses

(6) Kali-bichromicum. Number one remedy for sinus infections.

(7) Chamomilla. Number one remedy for teething.

(8) Ignatia. Number one remedy for acute grief or emotional shock.

(9) Belladonna. Number one remedy for high fever.

(10) Aconite. Number one remedy for nipping a cold in the bud, especially if onset is precipitated by a cold, dry wind, or a fright or shock.  Useful when illness comes on very suddenly.

(11) Gelsemium. Number one remedy for the flu. Extreme prostration and weakness, shivering up and down the spine, trembling, aching muscles, heaviness of head and eyes.

(12) Eupatorium. Another important flu remedy, especially if characterized by extreme aching in the bones, as if they were broken.

(13) Arsenicum Album. Number one remedy for food poisoning.  Also useful for the flu.  Patient is anxious and restless and does not want to be left alone. Fear of death. Worse between midnight and 3am.  Thirst for frequent sips of water.

Common Remedies for General Constitutional Use

In addition to the above remedies, the following commonly used remedies have frequent application to many illnesses and chronic conditions.

(14) Pulsatilla. Number one remedy for childhood ear infections.  Patients are clingy and tearful, are thirstless, feel better when outside, and tend to have thick yellow-green discharges. Can be a useful remedy for stomach upset after eating fatty foods.

(15) Nux-Vomica. Number one remedy for hangovers and overindulgence in food.  Patients tend to be ambitious, angry, tense, and irritable.  Sensitive to light and noise.  Like to be warm in bed.

(16) Natrum-Muriaticum. Number one remedy for cold sores.  Patients tend to be closed and sensitive.  Silent grief. Craves salt.

(17) Sulphur. An important remedy for itchy skin problems that are worse from warmth.  Patients tend to be warm-blooded, and like to kick the covers off in bed.  Hungry at 11am.  Loves sweet and spicy foods. Intellectual or philosophically-minded individuals.

(18) Lycopodium. The insecure bully. Anxious and lacking in self-confidence, but can be aggressive toward others. Fearful when trying to do something new. Complaints tend to be right-sided. Flatulence and bloating. Worse from 4-8pm.

(19) Lachesis. An important remedy for left-sided tonsillitis. Patients are talkative and amusing, but also suspicious and jealous.  An important woman’s remedy, especially around menopause.  Left-sided complaints. Craving for alcohol.

(20) Phosphorus. An important remedy for tickling coughs, worse from laughing and speaking.  Patients are bubbly and outgoing, but with poor boundaries. Fearful and anxious.  Fear of thunderstorms. Thirsty.

By Amy L. Lansky, PhD

(For more information about homeopathy, visit www.impossiblecure.com.)

How Can Homeopathy Be Placebo When It Cures Farm Animals?

One argument in favor of the true healing power of homeopathy — one that I’ve never heard countered by the skeptics — is the success of homeopathic remedies in treating animals. Even the Queen of England likes to treat her pet Corgis with homeopathy!

I’ll never forget one of my own amazing pet cures. Just days before embarking on a month-long trip, I noticed my dog Shadow had a growth on her front lower leg. I took her to the vet, hoping it was just an embedded foxtail, but he said it was a tumor that should be surgically removed, though healing would be difficult in that location and licking would have to be discouraged. What to do just two days before our vacation, with a housesitter scheduled to take care of Shadow? Instead of surgery, I decided to go mega-homeopathy. Over the course of those two days, I gave her increasing doses (30c, 200c, 1M, 10M) of her constitutional remedy (Pulsatilla — which also happened to have “tumor on the leg” as an obscure small symptom). By the time we left, the tumor was showing signs of change. After two weeks, the housesitter reported that it was completely gone and that the hair was growing back. I took a photo upon our return (no sign of a tumor at all!) and mailed it to the vet. He was incredulous, but unfortunately, not interested in learning more about homeopathy.

There have been many studies proving the effectiveness of homeopathy in treating animals, some of them large scale studies on herds of farm animals. One of them is described in Chapter 7 of Impossible Cure. In a 1999 study conducted on 1440 pigs on a large commercial pig farm in Germany, homeopathic prophylactic treatment of pigs against respiratory disease (a big problem on such farms) was compared against placebo, prophylactic use of antibiotics, and high therapeutic doses of antibiotics. In this study, not only did homeopathic treatment of the pigs beat out placebo, but it also surpassed prophylactic doses of antibiotics by a significant margin. Whereas the antibiotics made disease 11% less likely than placebo, and the homeopathy made disease 40% less likely! Only when the doses of antibiotics were raised to high therapeutic levels (something that cannot be safely sustained in raising herds of animals) was homeopathic treatment surpassed (making disease 70% less likely).

We all know that allopathic drugs are entering our food chain in unhealthy ways. Overuse of antibiotics on farm animals, for example, has played a large role in the rise of strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics — now a huge problem in hospitals. Hormones and antibiotics pollute our waterways too. So why haven’t studies like the German pig study being heeded? Well, I’m sure that the purveyors of antibiotics wouldn’t be too happy about it. But things do seem to be changing somewhat. For example, the EU is funding a €2 million research project investigating how homeopathy can be used to treat farm animals and reduce the use of antibiotics.

But there are quarters where the successes of homeopathy in treating animals are actively being listened to — in particular, organic farmers and open-minded veterinarians who want to serve their animals more safely and effectively. Quietly, veterinarians (especially those that serve organic farms) are helping animal herds with homeopathy. In fact, in my experience, many vets are more willing than people-docs to acknowledge the dangers of over-vaccination and over-drugging. They can more easily see their deleterious consequences, because the short lifespan of animals makes the effects of generation after generation of drugging more easily observable. For this reason (and because vets are a bit “lower on the radar” than people-docs), doctors who dedicate themselves to animal care are often the first to honestly look for alternatives.

One of the leading homeopathic veterinarians in the world, Richard Pitcairn, has trained many of the world’s homeopathic vets. Adapting the human homeopathic materia medica and repertory language to animals isn’t always easy — animals can’t exactly talk to us! — but through observation and knowledge of animal behavior and physiology, huge successes in treatment have been possible by homeopathic vets. With both a veterinary degree and having done post-graduate research work in immunology, Pitcairn has written eloquently on the dangers of over-vaccination, which he says has created generations of cats and dogs with higher rates of cancer than ever before. He is also an ardent educator on the power of classical homeopathy and is the author of a popular book on natural medicine for cats and dogs, Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide To Natural Health For Dogs and Cats. I encourage you all to visit his site and to read these eye opening articles:
* A New Look At Vaccines
* Homeopathic Alternatives to Vaccines
* New World Veterinary Repertory

Here are some more articles, studies, and videos to peruse, testifying to the power of homeopathy in treating animals — pets, domestics herds, and wild life too.

• In this video, Tinneke Verkhade, a nurse/farmer/homeopath/author living in New Zealand, describes how she has taught many hundreds of dairy farmers how to use homeopathic medicines to help their herds.
• In this video of UK veterinarian Geoff Johnson, he describes how he has helped herd animals with homeopathy.
• A zoo in India uses homeopathy successfully!
• This article in the June 7, 2012 issue of the Toronto Star describes how migrating birds stressed by flying to buildings are given remedies before release. (I have treated two such birds successfully with Arnica after they were knocked out upon impact with one of my windows at home.)
• A published Brazilian case study in which a vaginal tumor in a dog was treated homeopathically: Homeopathic treatment of vaginal leiomyoma in a dog: case report.
• In this meta-analysis study of two previous laboratory mice studies, which appears on Pubmed, Bellavite et al demonstrate that mice given the remedy Gelsemium manifest different behavior than a group of mice receiving placebo.

by Amy L. Lansky, PhD

(For more information about homeopathy, please visit www.impossiblecure.com)

source: http://www.mothering.com/community/a/how-can-homeopathy-be-placebo-when-it-cures-farm-animals