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Homoeopathy and Stress

Stress is a much misused and poorly understood modern term which covers everything from mild disappointment to extreme trauma. As Michael (The editor) has already outlined previously, some stress can be positive and some stress can be most harmful and even lead to death.

So firstly, the term must be much more definitively defined before we can determine what we are dealing with. POSITIVE STRESS is not pathological and does not need to be treated. NEGATIVE STRESS is always harmful and steps to alleviate and treat this should always be taken.

Homoeopathy can successfully treat negative stress. However, in order to understand how this is so, it is very important to understand the situation to be dealt with. Lots of clients will report stress, but the exact nature of this stress must be ascertained in order to treat it. Is the client in a bad marriage, or have they just had a row with a much loved partner? The first instance is much deeper and more difficult to treat than the second. Is a client suffering from a free floating anxiety that has its basis in their abusive childhood, or from the dawning awareness that a partner is being unfaithful, or that they might get the sack at work? Again, the first example will be much harder to treat than the second.

It is also extremely important to determine the client's readiness to deal with the causes of stress. It does happen that after taking a homoeopathic case in great detail to determine the cause of the stress, the client does not want to do anything about it - because they are too afraid. This can happen for example, in a violent relationship when action may be quite dangerous to the client or any children involved. The client may simply not be ready to take action. It is often best to let the client digest the situation, and to simply explain that steps can be taken when they are ready to take them. It is a truism in homoeopathy that if you do give a remedy in such situations, the client goes home, takes the remedy and the husband goes out of one window and the dog goes out of the other!! (Don't laugh - this has happened to me with numerous clients!!) I always believe in giving the client as much information as possible and asking what action they would like to take - then prescribing to support the client's wishes. At least it stops threatening phone calls from outraged ex-partners!!

In homoeopathy today, the term trauma is preferred to the term stress. Firstly, this alerts both client and practitioner to the potential difficulties. Secondly, it underlies the potential seriousness of what people euphemistically call stress. Today, it is understood that negative stress can be very dangerous. When I first started practice, people really believed that bullying someone or slapping a child for example, did not seriously harm the victim. Rather, it strengthened character!! I hope nobody believes this anymore! As we come to understand the abusive nature of our so called civilisation, the current problem is verbal abuse. Even today, you will find people who do not believe this is dangerous to the recipient! On the other hand, not speaking out about abuse can be equally stressful; today, 'political correctness' can prevent people speaking out about wrong doing, which is also equally stressful.

I am very glad that the debate about 'stress' is so open today, and that I have the privilege of working at a time when the nature of stress can be properly and openly discussed. I have seen a sea change in this debate since I started practice, and I am aware that we still have a long way to go! Homoeopathy is a method of excellence in dealing with stress and trauma, and I truly believe that all negative stress/trauma can be successfully treated with it. As a homoeopath, I would say that wouldn't I? However, please note that I also use every other method available to me to help difficult cases, and I am not an advocate of only using one method. However, as a homoeopath, I constantly witness the wonderful contribution homoeopathy does make to the treatment of this very enormous problem.

Sue Young RSHom
North London

sue@wildfalcon.com

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