December 7, 2001
By Lay Nonprofessional Staff
There are many types of depression, including seasonal winter depression. Depression is well known to accompany chronic illnesses of all stripes. It is also known to wax and wane with the changing severity of the illnesses from day-to-day. Just a few of the obvious reasons are:
- A lifetime of hopes, dreams and plans set asunder;
- Assumptions of unavoidable failure and doom;
- Overwhelming fear at coping with issues of ability, desirability and family;
- Concerns over employment and one's ability to survive; and
- Looming feelings of failure as a spouse, parent, child, employer, employee, student.
These issues are then clouded and compounded by the illness or injury itself. Struggling to cope with debilitating pain is a nearly incomprehensible burden to a person who has not experienced it. How does one really understand the full spectrum of experiences associated with going to bed healthy and feeling good one night, then awakening the next morning crippled, unable to walk, unable to get out of bed, unable to use the toilet; All without "feeling sick" or being injured? Obviously, this is something one has to suffer personally in order to truly grasp the depth and extent of the experience.
The next part of the puzzle has to do with energy... simple, basic, fatigue. When ill, the body's immune system takes a stronger priority in the need for energy than it does when healthy. Simply put, it is working harder and thus needs more "fuel," it is producing more antibodies, more white blood cells, a different and dynamically adjusted balance of hormones, etc. All of this takes energy. The easiest way to relate to this is to think back to sometime when you've been sick, perhaps with the flu. Remember that feeling of fatigue, compound it with something you've been told will never get better, and add to it the fact your exhaustion is not "going away" after a day, or two, or a week or a month. You soon get the idea that coping is burdensome at best.
In addition to the very obvious issue of not having enough energy to be bright and cheery at times, is the fact that the energy requirement of a chronic illness, especially arthritic illnesses, is extreme. Arthritic illnesses necessarily include inflammatory process where raw energy is released from the joints. In lay terms this means that the ill person has parts of their body that are very warm to the touch, their skin temperature may be elevated as well. This rise in temperature may not simply "go away" in a day or so but may be a constant companion. It is not hard to understand that it takes a lot of energy for the body to fuel the activities that produce so much surface heat.
Depression, as noted by Dana Ullman, MPH, in his book, Homeopathy A-Z, can be a temporary, passing experience or a deeply disturbing condition that leads to suicide. In cases of extreme or long-lasting depression, professional attention is generally recommended to help a person go through this emotional experience in a conscious manner.
Homeopathic remedies can help a person pass through depressive states in a healthy way. Charles Frederick Menninger, M.D., the founder of the Menninger Clinic (one of the most famous mental health institutions in the world) was a Homeopath and was known to assert that Homeopathy is instrumental in helping people heal from various physical and psychological traumas.
Because Homeopathic medicines catalyze a person's body to heal itself, it is often unnecessary to give many doses. Homeopathic medicines are like a match; that get a fire going. After the fire is burning, it isn't necessary to strike another match unless the flame dies down. Repeating a dose of a Homeopathic medicine is necessary when a dose provides a benefit but the benefit wears off.
Find the remedy below which most closely matches the symptoms being experienced. Pay special attention to the most prominent symptoms. For instance, a person may be depressed but their chief complaint may be humiliation. In that case the humiliation would be a primary indicator and should not be dismissed, as long as the other symptoms are considered as well. If there are two (or more) remedies which seem to apply and one of them specifically addresses humiliation, that is the remedy to try.
Give the 30th potency every two hours for the first couple of doses, and every four hours after that. It is rarely necessary to have to take remedies for depression longer than a couple of days. If there is no relief by then, consider another remedy, or seek professional homeopathic attention. As always the usual conditions of proper administration of homeopathics apply:
- take sublingually (under the tongue);
- take at least 20 minutes before or after any food or drink other than plain, filtered water;
- avoid smoke & smoking, recreational drugs, stimulants such as caffeine, etc.; and
- avoid all strong odors, foods and/or spices with strong odors, etc., such as perfumes, food with spices, mint toothpaste, mouthwash, etc., since strong odors (especially camphor, mint, etc.) can antidote the remedy.
*Ignatia
This is the leading remedy for acute grief, especially after the loss of a loved one, the breakup of a relationship, the loss of a job, or an experience of abuse. Typically, the person who needs this remedy tries to hold in their emotions, but eventually, hysterical sobbing occurs. Frequent sighing is a keynote characteristic of people who require Ignatia.
Pulsatilla
This remedy is for people who weep easily, are openly emotional, are extremely clingy, strongly desire sympathy and consolation, tend to be dependent upon others, and feel forsaken. People who need this remedy do not sob, but instead experience a type of sweet crying that inspires others to hug them, which is exactly what these people want and need.
Staphysagria
People who need this remedy have probably gone through great humiliation. They experience low self-esteem, and they are no longer able to hold in their emotions. In this process, they feel depression and anger. They blame themselves and lash out at whatever hurt them.
Natrum muriaticum
People who benefit from this remedy tend to be stoic, holding in ad not revealing their emotions. They rarely cry in front of others, and they hate to receive sympathy or consolation from others. When alone, however, they can and will sob uncontrollably. These people hold grudges for a long time.
*Most frequently used remedy for this condition
Reference
Homeopathy A-Z, Ullman, Dana 1999
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