Over the past several years, we’ve seen the popularity of natural and herbal remedies steadily rise, coinciding with the explosion of demand for organic foods and natural household and personal-care products. Consumers have come to a greater understanding of the unwelcome side effects and dangerous properties of many common products, and many lack trust in ingredients that we are commonly told are safe. This phenomenon has led even those who have traditionally placed their faith in modern science and medicine to seek natural alternatives for conditions such as anxiety and depression.
If you follow this blog, you know about
homeopathy and other natural treatments for anxiety, but in the course of your
research you may have heard about something called homeopathy. Today we’ll take
a look at whether or not homeopathic remedies for anxiety are safe and
effective.
Homeopathy Basics
Homeopathy is practicing worldwide,
especially in Europe, and in India, where it is considered one of that
country’s national systems of medicine. This medical philosophy was born for
much the same reason that so many of us today are seeking alternative medical
treatments. In the late 1700s, German physician Samuel Hahnemann was appalled
at how medicine was practiced in his day, which at that time included
blood-letting and the use of poisons. He created the practice of homeopathy
based on the belief that “like cures like” – that is, that you can actually
cure disease with very small amounts of the same substances that in high doses
cause disease.
These very small amounts are the source
of controversy and skepticism for many in thescientific and medical community
(more on that later), but homeopathic practitioners and proponents believe that
ultra-high dilutions are what make the remedies effective, as they are supposed
to trigger the body’s natural healing response, while the very low
concentration of the active ingredient makes the medicine non-toxic.
The active ingredient in homeopathic
medicine is typically a plant or mineral. The remedies are prepared in special
pharmacies using a process of dilution and a type of vigorous shaking called
succussion. These preparations are most commonly found in liquid solutions or
in pill form, and are typically “prescribed” by trained homeopathic
practitioners (called homeopaths), though the remedies are available over the
counter without a prescription. Homeopathy proponents say that the remedies
work immediately and recommend taking only one dose and waiting to see if
symptoms are relieved before taking any more of the medicine.
Homeopathy for Anxiety
There are a number of purported
homeopathic remedies for anxiety. Homeopaths tend to tailor their treatment
plans to each individual patient’s circumstances, and the remedies themselves
are also very specific in their indications. Rather than a few homeopathic
remedies known for their general anxiety-fighting properties, there are nearly
a dozen homeopathic preparations commonly used to treat highly specific types
of anxiety and anxiety symptoms. Just a handful of these include:
Argentum nitricum: This is prescribed for those who are feeling a sense of
uncertainty in their lives, perhaps in the lead-up to a big event such as
wedding. These people experience a great deal of “what-if” thoughts and often
crave sweets.
Calcarea carbonica: This is prescribed for patients who feel overwhelmed and fear
having a breakdown – typically structured people who crave routine. They are
often sluggish and fatigued.
Gelsemium: This remedy is given to those who have weak muscles, often as a
result of performance anxiety. It is given to those who tend to be paralyzed by
anxiety, and is used to treat agoraphobia.
Kali phosphoricum: Those who are prescribed this treatment tend to feel overwhelmed,
exhausted, overworked, and oversensitive.
Phosphorus: This is prescribed to social and excitable people who fear of
being alone and who are highly empathetic, which often drains them of energy.
Homeopathy Controversy
Homeopathy is one of the most controversial
alternative medical therapies. It was developed by Samuel Hahnemann and is based
on three main principles:
the principle of similars, the vital
force principle, and the principle of potentization, the last causing the most questions
about whether homeopathy actually works. Double-blind randomized trials have
been performed to test the efficacy of homeopathic treatments, but these give
mixed results and are problematic for a variety of reasons. But however
dubious, science, particularly quantum theory, gives potential reasons for why
homeopathy does work well enough to keep it from being completely dismissed,
despite serious efforts to do so.
The principle of similars employs the practice of using substances which in a
healthy person would cause the symptoms experienced by the ill person.
The vital force is the life force which is attached to any complex
living organism. This principle also takes a person’s mental and emotional
aspect into account, these being considered as important as the physical
symptoms. When physical, emotional, and mental states are in disharmony vital
force is diminished and disease springs up; when in balance, disease cannot
thrive. Potentization is considered
the most controversial of all three principles. When a solution is potentized,
it is drastically diluted and shaken forcibly between each dilution or
succussion. The controversy arises because often none of the molecules of the
original substance are still present in the solution. This implies that the
healing occurs as a result of the placebo effect, and while more impressive
than healing through medicine, for the intent of a trial the results are
insufficient to say one way or another.
Then how is that possible given that
the patient is not actually ingesting anything? It is believed and suggested by
experiments, that water has a sort of memory. This implies that although the
original substance may have been diluted to where all molecules has
disappeared, the water has been imprinted with its essence and is therefore
able to carry forward its healing properties. This is similar to how people who
have meaningful interactions change one another even when they are no longer in
each other’s company. Then, given that water is the most easily absorbed
solution, the energy of the substance is then directly transferred into the
cells changing their energy and it is this change of energy that creates the
healing.