Principles

Homeopathy relies on the principle of like cures like, meaning that a medicine that creates a set of symptoms can cure that same set of symptoms.  Another principle is totality of symptoms; in order to heal, we must consider all symptoms of the illness.  So, whether the illness is a simple or complex one, a homeopath wants to know all the details.  Illness affects a person in many ways; looking at this totality gives the unique features of the way an individual person is affected by illness, and points the way to an individual cure.

As a person becomes ill, he or she first starts out with only a few symptoms, but as the illness progresses, the person starts to develop more and more symptoms.  I call this climbing the hill of symptoms.  As healing occurs, a person may slide back down the hill of symptoms, but the healing process gains momentum, which helps the person crest the next wave of symptoms.  During homeopathic treatment, we do not give medicine while the body has momentum.  The homeopathic medicine is only given when the momentum has slowed.

The homeopathic view places great emphasis on overall health.  At the foundation of this belief is the idea of suppression.  Temporary worsening of symtpoms can also happen because of the lifting of suppression.  When superficial symptoms become suppressed, more detrimental symptoms arise.  Superficial symptoms can be uncomfortable but are generally not, in and of themselves, serious to the life of the individual.  Sometimes, it’s necessary to lift suppression before deeper healing can occur.

When a person attains this deeper state of health, they no longer are susceptible to the same things.  They have more resistance to colds and flus, have less chronic symptoms, and can live longer, more fulfilling lives.