One of the tricky things in homeopathy is trying to predict how healing will happen, what is the exact effect that a remedy will have for someone with a chronic or long term condition. Because the remedy is stimulating the body to make changes, and the body itself has it’s own level of importance, we cannot predict the effect of a remedy like you can with a drug, herb or supplement.
With medicines, we have pharmacodynamics, which is the study of how things work. This means we know where it works in the body, what is activated, and therefore what the therapeutic (and adverse) effects are. Herbs are similar, although often there are many active components that work together, so while it may not always be as clear cut as our pharmaceutical pharmacodynamics, there is still a clear understanding of the effects in the body. Vitamins and Minerals work in a different way as they are essential for the functioning of the body in so many areas, but the evidence base is growing and with it our knowledge of what they do in the body, and the effects of supplementing these.
A couple of weeks ago I shared information from the HRI conference about the proposed mechanism of action of homeopathy, but it is also clear that some people are susceptible to a remedy, and others are not, which shows that there is that interplay between the remedy and the body, whether it is one that can stimulate healing or not.
So what effects do we see, when the remedy is right? What reactions may tell us we are on the right track?
‘Hering’s Law of Cure’ is one that we talk about in homeopathy a lot. This states that we heal from the top down, and from the inside out.
Let’s Talk Inside Out
When we consider that mental and emotional state is the centre, we should see an improvement in this before see physical effects. This may not be a sudden euphoria, but could first be a reduction in negative feelings, apathy, boredom or anger, and then as the body heals there can be a move to more positive feelings. It could also be seen as more tolerance in stressful situations or with people or situations that trigger feelings of overwhelm, sadness or anger.
Healing of the organs will be prioritised before more external factors like the skin. We can also see sometimes that the skin will flare and get worse – or even a return of a skin rash you haven’t had for years – as we work on healing the inside, and push the inflammation towards the outside.
What NOT to do here, is suppress that inflammation. If you have a flare of eczema and you then apply steroid creams, you are pushing that back down and potentially sending inflammation back inside. Instead, trusting the process, knowing that this is a healing reaction and only used supportive and gentle moisturising creams or balms will help until the skin can also heal.
Likewise a discharge after a new remedy, or an increase in sweat or bowel motions is often a sign that the remedy is working, and helping heal from the inside out. With children sometimes a fever will come on after a remedy as another of the body’s defences is activated.
When we consider the top down as a direction to cure, we expect symptoms to move from the head down the body. This can also sometimes be first improving on the trunk before the limbs. I have seen this mostly with very long term conditions where progress has been sustained but slow. It is not as obvious as the above inside out progression.
Another direction of healing we sometimes see is the reverse order- where the newest symptoms resolve first, and the ones that have been around longer take more time to heal. Sometimes this is a matter of layers, once the first, most recent layer is removed, then the older symptoms are more clear and a new remedy is needed.
Homeopathy is both an art and a science, because while there is a strong theoretical and philosophical basis, there is also a lot of complexity in every individual case, and it can take a good understanding of those principles, as well as the ability to compare and contrast remedies, and some intuition (grounded in that classical background) to find the right path forward. Including at times interpreting the results (or sometimes lack of) from the chosen remedies.
It’s also why when we get asked what will happen with a remedy it can be hard to predict. For an acute illness- like chickenpox- we know the course of disease and can talk about the itch stopping, the vesicles drying up and healing etc, but for chronic conditions we’re trying to guess how the unique person in front of us will heal- and my crystal ball isn’t that good. I’ve said before that I am always surprised by the effects of a remedy, as it’s not unusual for things to improve that I didn’t expect and sometimes didn’t even know about.
If you have a chronic condition and are not sure where to start, with a seemingly random collection of symptoms, seeing a Homeopath can help. It’s also important to go back and follow up, discuss what has and hasn’t changed and see where to go next. A remedy will stimulate the body to make changes in your own individual and unique way, and by trusting the process, taking the time, healing can happen.
Image: Double rainbow at Rainbow Falls in Kerikeri.