Homeopathy
By Angie Jackson
Introduction
The first time you visit a homeopath you may be surprised
at the amount of detail required during the case taking.
Apart from recording the symptoms of your presenting complaint,
the homeopath will enquire about any other ailments, eating
habits, sleep patterns, social behaviour, fears, anxieties
and general emotions, medical history, any accidents or
injuries, and a broad range of other issues. This is all
with a view to building up a complete picture of you, taking
into account your physical, emotional and psychological
aspects.
The homeopaths job is to prescribe a homeopathic remedy
which most accurately reflects this picture and will stimulate
your system to return to health.
Homeopathic remedies are made from all the kingdoms of
nature - plants, minerals and some animal substances such
as bee sting (Apis Mel). After a highly refining process
of succussion and dilution in order to make the remedy,
the end product, usually in tablet form, is gentle yet potent,
safe and effective.
The following case illustrates the observations of homeopaths
again and again that any shock, trauma, or impactful milestone
experienced at any time in life will be held somehow in
the body unless processed or released. It may be deeply
held, it may have been forgotten, it may manifest today
in a seemingly unrelated way. It does not matter how long
ago it happened, sometimes we even hold on to the trauma
of birth, but if it is what we call unfinished business,
then it is still there for the body to deal with. My experience
with homeopathic prescribing is so often that the remedies
can support the process of unlocking that door so that the
layers of the past can be released, sometimes consciously,
other times not. As these layers melt or peel away, so the
original healthy being may begin to be uncovered or revealed,
enabling the individual to strive, less encumbered, towards
their potential. This is one of the aims of the homeopathic
process.
A Homeopathic Case
This is the case of a retired businessman in his mid seventies.
He presents with catarrh at the back of his throat, which
he has had for many years. He has tried many things and
homeopathy is a last resort. He has come reluctantly and
on the insistence of his wife. The worst aspect about his
catarrh is that he can choke with it, especially lying down
at night. Usually within an hour of going to sleep, around
midnight, he chokes and has nightmares at the same time,
about fighting the Japanese. He feels as if he is choking
to death, as if he is going to die, while fighting the Japanese.
Apart from being very frightening for him, it is also most
disturbing for his wife, because he usually ends up on the
other side of the room, having flung his bedclothes about
the place, shouting at the top of his voice and flailing
his limbs around as if in battle.
This has been the case for most of their 50 year marriage,
during which time his wife has not had a proper nights sleep.
When he wakes in the morning he always feels a sense of
relief to be awake and alive, but does not really remember
what happened during the night, except that he was fighting
the Japanese. His sleep is restless, tossing and turning,
and he rarely sleeps for more than 2 hours.
He tells me about the war. He was in a prisoner of war
camp. '' It was a terrible war, uncivilised. During the
night I would lie in my bunk bed wondering if I would be
shot in the night or if I would be alive in the morning.
I was paralysed in fear.''
Apart from this problem he has had a reasonably healthy
life. He can tend to get chesty, especially in the cold
weather. He also suffers from indigestion with burning,
acidity and wind in the digestive tract. Emotionally his
main tendency is to worry. He says that he will worry about
anything and everything, no matter how small or trivial.
I observe how meticulously he is dressed, obviously having
paid attention to every detail, and that he is very formal
and upright in his manner. This aspect of a person is just
as important a part of the picture as the medical detail.
It helps to provide the shade and the nuance, for differentiation
between homeopathic remedies.
It is very clear in this case that this gentleman was deeply
affected by his experiences during the war, and in some
sense has not been well since, or has not been able to release
the fear and the memory from his body.
As we saw here, he was presenting with catarrh in the throat
and another aspect of the homeopaths brief is to look behind
the presenting symptoms for the underlying cause. It is
this underlying cause that needs to be prescribed on, in
addition to each person’s unique presentation of their
symptoms.
The prescription then is based mainly on a picture of holding
long standing fear and fright in the body, a fear of death
around midnight, fear of choking with catarrh in the throat,
disturbed, anxious and restless sleep, and a tendency to
worry. The homeopathic remedy Arsenicum Album is the one
that best matches this picture, and it also well suits someone
with chestiness in cold weather, burning and acidity in
the digestive tract, and who dresses immaculately. Prescribing
the matching remedy is like holding up a mirror to the individual,
so that he may see what may now be let go of.
The philosophy of homeopathy is always of minimum intervention,
prescribing the least amount required to stimulate the body
to do the work. It is not the remedy which does the work:
the body is reminded by the remedy of the work that needs
to be done to find the way back to health again.
Arsenicum Album is prescribed in a low potency and we meet
again a month later. He reports that within 48 hours of
taking the remedy he had deep and restful sleep and can
hardly believe it. The nightmares have been less frequent,
and he no longer feels as if he is choking or fighting the
Japanese. The catarrh has gradually decreased and his indigestion
is also better than it was. He has realised that his restlessness
at night was due to remaining stuck in the idea that to
survive at night one had to be alert. 50 years later that
is no longer necessary; he can relax at night now, and,
maybe in consequence, he also appears more relaxed in himself.
This is a very good response to the initial remedy. There
is still work to be done in order to maintain the improvement.
So we meet on a monthly basis over the next few months,
working with the same remedy, until the catarrh has gone,
he feels generally better in himself than he has for years,
and he is at a point that he had never thought would be
possible, namely he sleeps well most nights and feels rested
on waking. This is the potential achievable when we release
the past. Homeopathic remedies can be a great tool and support
in this process.
About the Author
Angie Jackson
I have been practising homeopathy for twelve years and run
a busy practice in South Cumbria. I teach homeopathy at
colleges in London and the Lake District and also run training
courses.
I especially enjoy working with women's issues e.g. hormonal
problems and emotional issues and prescribe for pregnancy
and childbirth and menopausal years. I like to use a broad
range of flower essences and herbal tinctures to enhance
my homeopathic prescribing. I have been practising T'ai
Chi and Chi Gung energy work for twenty years which I feel
enhances my practise.
To contact Angie Jackson
Tel: 01539 824099
