Simply Homeopathy: Exploring Homeopathy Further
Methods of Practising
We are sometimes asked what is different about “our type of homeopathy?” Or someone will say that he or she has been to a homeopath and was given a remedy to take every day or given many bottles of various pills. There are many different ways in which “homeopathy” is practised, some of which bear no resemblance to the homeopathy we know. However generally speaking some homeopaths will give one remedy and wait, others will give a remedy in repeated doses and some even give two or three remedies at a time.
We would like to talk about my reasons for giving one remedy at a time in a single dose and observing the reaction before prescribing again. It all comes down to two basic principles of homeopathy:
- The concept of the Vital Force
- The necessity of testing of medicines
To understand why only one remedy at a time is given it is necessary to explain how a substance becomes a homeopathic remedy and how its healing properties are revealed. Each substance in the homeopathic pharmacopoeia has been tested to reveal its healing potential. This testing method is called a proving. A group of healthy people are given a single substance in a controlled dose and are asked to note down everything they experience over a set period of time; how they feel emotionally, mentally and physically, any accidents or shocks received during this time and any other phenomena. These responses are gathered together and collated to form a “symptom picture” which shows how this substance uniquely affects human beings.
This proved substance can now be added to the homeopathic materia medica and used homeopathically to treat an individual expressing a similar symptom picture according to the “law of similars”. The law of similars similia similibus currentur is the cornerstone of homeopathy and states that a substance that can produce a range of symptoms in a healthy person can cure a similar set of symptoms in a sick person.
Only one substance is proved at a time and therefore there is no information relating to how two or more substances given together alter the health of a human being. Thus it follows, for me, that only one closely similar remedy, whose effects are known (the similimum) can be given at one time.
The reason for giving one dose of the remedy and observing the reaction comes from the concept of the Vital Force. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy says that health is a dynamic state of continuous adaptability and harmonious function with unrestricted operation. In other words to remain healthy we need to adapt to changes and react to challenges without too much disturbance and restriction in our lives. He maintains that we are helped in this task by an instinctive life preserving energy which he terms the Vital Force. When we are thrown off balance it is the Vital Force, which produces symptoms (in an attempt to minimise damage), and when we take a remedy it is this force which responds and sets the healing process in motion.
From the moment of taking the remedy your vital force is very busy, usually there will be an initial increase in symptoms (an aggravation) then a gradual improvement with a few ups and downs, old symptoms may return and then disappear as part of the healing process. It is a very active and dynamic time and a critical one for observation. The response of the Vital Force may last for hours, days, weeks, months or in some cases years. If another remedy is given before the reaction is complete the healing process may be disrupted and the action of the remedy unclear. (Maybe it could be likened to eating a meal when you are still half full from a previous meal and your food is not fully digested, your system will be confused and could end up over stimulated)
It is the vital force which responds when we take a remedy and guides the healing process, so in my view it must be carefully monitored and allowed to complete its action before giving another remedy.
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