I have had the privilege of working in the field of homeopathy for about four years. Prior to that I had been working as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and decided that homeopathy would be a perfect form of medicine to complement nutrition. Using homeopathy with my patients has surpassed my expectations immensely. I built my homeopathic practice quite quickly because of my existing nutrition practice. However, it was and is important for me to continue to build my practice and to stay current with my knowledge of diseases and alternative medicine. As I was working with my patients on a daily basis and taking their history, it became very apparent to me that there was an increase in addictions in my practice every year. These addictions mainly included eating disorders, OCD, smoking cigarettes, alcohol and internet addiction. I also noticed that with homeopathic intervention these addictions started to diminish. So I started to do some research and found that addiction is a brain disease and the main form of treatment other than counseling is allopathic drugs, which can potentially be addictive and suppressive. Homeopathy on the other hand was curative and it seems to me that homeopathy has only touched the tip of this large area of disease we call addiction.
Among the factors that increase vulnerability to addiction is family history, mental disorders such as depression/anxiety, boundary failure, inability to cope with stress and social environment. Addiction creates a profound imbalance in clarity of thought, decision making and creates neglect of responsibilities, whether at work, at home, or even at school, risky behaviors and physical symptoms including bloodshot eyes, change in sleep patterns, inexplicable weight loss or gain, depression, fear or anxiety, boundary issues in relationships and irritability, among others. It seems as if these patterns of addiction have become part of the body memory.
It became very apparent that the core reason for their physical or emotional symptoms was the addiction. I started treating my patients with remedies such as arsenicum, nux-v, carc, tabacum just to mention a few and the results were remarkable. Homeopathy healed the whole person, by changing unhealthy patterns of feeling and behavior at a gentle but rapid rate. Their cravings and desires diminished; they had better clarity of thought to make better decisions in life; their mood swings balanced out; they got clarity about their anxiety and fears; they were having restful sleeps; lessened their withdrawal symptoms; their appetite balanced out and their vitality increased. With these changes it was easier for them to understand their disease of addiction, they were not suppressing their emotions and I believe homeopathy gave them a better chance of not relapsing.
I have seen homeopathy cure many diseases and it never ceases to amaze me. I do however see an immense increase in this area of disease we call addiction and it is only going to get worse. I believe homeopathy can be used to overcome addiction along with professional counseling. In treating addiction homeopathy creates increased vitality and energy generally throughout the body. Homeopathy stimulates energy levels that are depressed, and regulates anxiety. It can relieve discomfort and the body systems can be stimulated to not only cure the symptoms but also the psychological and physical effects that the abuse of the addiction may have caused. The more stabilized the body and mind become, the less a person is vulnerable to compulsive behavior. In conclusion, homeopathy is an amazing form of medicine that can impact a person’s health on so many levels. It sells itself once a person experiences the curative ability of this incredible form of medicine. This is not an area of medicine to be closed minded about. It covers a large spectrum and everyday my scope of practice is broadening and my patient numbers are increasing.