Homeopathy & Stress

​Some people seek homeopathic treatment with no specific illness. Perhaps they are feeling out of sorts, with minor symptoms that show in a lack of vitality and/or energy; some may come with a particular complaint seeking to get to the ‘root’ cause of it and to find a permanent solution, without connecting it to the underlining cause of stress.  

​

---

Understanding stress
Stress is a generic definition that encompasses invariably more than one symptom. Many of us fail to recognise the signs and symptoms that alert us to the fact that we are functioning under strain. When stress occurs, it threatens the organism as a whole creating an imbalance showing on the physical, emotional and mental level.
Stress is insidious. More often than not, it initially manifests itself in small ways; it can gradually erode our vitality and weaken our immune response.  It can take time until the pressure shows in an alarming fashion and emerges in a more pathologic form. Stress can also come on suddenly, take one by surprise for example after a traumatic event.
Multiple factors are associated to the causes of stress and no doubt you will have heard of the notion of cumulative stress.
Coping with stress
We all have our unique coping mechanism(s) which help to alleviate stress. This is an innate and natural form of palliative care. If however, we rely on these coping mechanism(s) on a regular basis, we end up in a state of compensation which in itself creates a barrier to recovery. This is when stress enters a phase of chronicity. In Homeopathy we also speak of ‘suppression’.
For some the first signs of stress will show in a disordered digestion, increased irritability and for others it will find an expression in backache, inflammation, sleeplessness or depression.
We deduct from the above that stress affects everyone differently which calls for an individualised therapeutic response.
Homeopathic approach to stress
Homeopathy is holistic in its approach. To get to the cause of stress, the homeopath needs to reconcile the various bits of information that he is given by the patient, into a picture representing the “totality of symptoms”. Stress in itself will not point to the remedy that is likely to act. Every remedy in the homeopathic pharmacy (over 4000 remedies) has the potential to relieve stress.
To determine the correct remedy, requires a deeper understanding of the presenting symptoms which include:

• The aetiology and the circumstances past and present (e.g. trauma, Illnesses, accidents)
• Environmental factors (e.g. financial worries, stress in the work/home environment as well as general things that affect us positively or adversely)
• Precise physical symptoms and location (e.g. Inability to tolerate certain food, back pain, etc.)
• Organ affinity (e.g. joints, back, stomach…)
• Emotional and mental response ( e.g. irritability, depressed feeling, i.e. the way we react to life’s strains, including fears, phobias and dreams)

 
All these point to a precise and individualised symptom picture (of stress) which guides the homeopath to find the correct medicine that mirrors the state of the patient in its entirety. Only then will the indicate medicine be able to support the immune response to unravel the symptoms that in their combined effect have led to stress.
 
Homeopathy is safe, gentle and effective; it can provide lasting stress relief and contribute to boost our health by supporting the inherent self-healing ability that resides in all of us.
 
 
Pierre Vuilleumier R.S. Hom