Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a natural system of medicine that can be used to treat a wide variety of illnesses. It is based on two primary beliefs: the Law of Similars and the infinitesimal dose.
Homeopathy is a method of medical treatment designed to stimulate the body’s own healing processes in order to cure illnesses.
Homeopathic medicine, the ‘energy medicine’, is a branch of medical science based on the principle that disease can be cured by strengthening the body’s defense mechanism with substances selected for their energy-giving properties.
In homeopathy, derived from the words ‘homeo’ and ‘pathos’, meaning ’similar suffering’, a cure is selected which, in its crude form, would produce in a healthy body the same symptoms found in a sick person suffering from the specific disease. But this crude substance, selected from herbs, minerals, or chemicals, is diluted and purified beyond the point of harm to its quintessential state of energy.
In contrast to traditional (allopathic) medicine, by which symptoms are treated with toxic drugs which weaken the body, homeopathic medicine aims to change the body’s energy levels which lie at the root of disease.
Founded in the nineteenth century by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, who in fact discovered that a substance in small doses may alleviate symptoms similar to those it causes at higher doses. The phrase “likes are cured by likes” is often used to describe a basic concept behind homeopathy. Thus, the two cornerstones of homeopathy are that “likes are cured by likes,” and that the remedies are properly diluted to eliminate or minimize their toxic effects.
Law of Similars: Instead of looking at the symptoms of illness as undesirable, Homeopathy sees them as signs of the body attempting to heal itself. Therefore, instead of suppressing symptoms, homeopaths give remedies that would cause the same symptoms in a healthy person to stimulate the body’s own restorative mechanisms.
Infinitesimal Dose: Homeopathy is also considered a pharmaceutical science. Its substances are made from plants, minerals, animals or chemicals and are diluted carefully in alcohol or water to reach a dose that is up to one part in one million. Small globules of sugar are saturated in the liquid dilution and given to the patient.
Treatment in Homeopathy focuses on a person’s Total Symptom Picture, not only the disease they are suffering from. What this means, is that two people suffering from the same condition can be given two different remedies and treatment plans. This is because each person is treated as a whole, and not as a machine made up of separate parts.