By: Dr. David Tulbert B.Sc., D.C.
Introduction
The most astonishing demonstration of the ultimate relation between emotional and immune function occurs in individuals suffering from multiple personality disorder (M.P.D.) in which several quite distinct personalities occupy the same body. These patients frequently possess one personality with allergies, while the other personalities are totally without symptoms. When the afflicted personality "takes charge" of the body, the allergy symptoms appear within seconds, and disappear just as rapidly when control passes to a different personality.
In the past twenty years science has begun to unravel the synergistic and vitally important connection between the emotional system and the immune system. In addition to the M.P.D. phenomenon described above, we have also discovered that positive changes in the emotional system usually create improvements in immune function. These and many other observations have inspired the creation of a new branch of immunology called "psychoneuroimmunology", the goal of which is to find practical applications of the mind/ immune connection. However psychoneuroimmunology is still largely theoretical — it has not yet found reliable methods to cure immune imbalances.
In contrast, homeopathic practitioners have been aware of the connection between the mind and body function since Dr. Samuel Hahneman first discovered homeopathy in 1796. In his great treatise "The Organon of Medicine" he wrote:
"Useful to the physician in assisting him to cure are ...[the patient's] physical constitution, his moral and intellectual character, his occupation, mode of living and habits, his social and domestic relations, his age, sexual function, etc."
Of even greater interest are the practical techniques which homeopathy has developed for treating immune system disorders. Since Hahneman's time, hundreds of brilliant, "wellness-oriented" homeopathic doctors have refined and expanded these techniques. The result is a large collection of powerful yet practical therapeutic procedures which can stimulate and restore the balance of the human immune system at the deepest level.
Types of Diseases
To understand better how homeopathy can help the immune system, let's look more closely at the types of problems that affect it. The table below displays health problems as a spectrum, starting with more "external" conditions which are imposed on the body from outside (numbers 1, 2 and 3), and ending with more "internal" conditions, which are chronic disorders of the body's basic self-defense and self- healing systems (numbers 4, 5.) The TREATMENT TYPE heading indicates the homeopathic treatment usually required to clear the condition. The treatment types are defined in the next section.
External conditions, like traumas or infections, affect the body's tissues but they do not affect the body's self-healing functions. Therefore an otherwise healthy body can heal from such conditions, and does not need deep therapeutic stimulation from homeopathy. Judicious use of low-strength remedies, however, will certainly promote more rapid and more complete healing. Because deep stimulation is unnecessary, the remedy does not have to match the symptoms precisely, and simple methods like first-aid and cookbook homeopathy will work.
The more internal conditions in the subacute and chronic categories persist because of a failure of the body's self-defense, self-repair, or self-regulatory functions. Most immune imbalances fall into these two categories. These diseases do not get better by themselves, and cannot be cured through drugs (although drugs can sometimes mask or control the symptoms). They can frequently be cured through the deep therapeutic stimulation provided by constitutional or "classical" homeopathy. The other homeopathic methods do not match the remedy precisely enough to the symptoms, and therefore can not stimulate the system deeply enough to effect a cure.
Types of Homeopathic Treatments
As shown in the table above there are four types of treatment strategies in homeopathy. We list them below starting with the most simple, straightforward method and progressing to the most difficult and refined.
FIRST-AID. This type of treatment matches the remedy directly to the condition. It requires virtually no knowledge or skill. Examples: use arnica for bruises, use hypericum for pain, use caustic for burns.
COOK BOOK. In this type of prescribing, some differentiation is required to select the right remedy for the condition. Examples: for flus characterized by restlessness and diarrhea, use argenicum, but for flus characterized by lethargy and dizziness, use gelsemium.
SYMPTOM ANALYSIS
In this type of prescribing, we analyze the disease symptoms using a homeopathic technique called repertorizing. In this process, the homeopath determines a "figure of merit" which indicates the value of a given remedy for a given set of symptoms.
The homeopath uses a special book called a "repertory". Repertorizing is pretty accurate, when you know how to interpret the raw results, but it is tedious and time consuming. Professional homeopaths usually use a computer program to save time.
CONSTITUTIONAL HOMEOPATHIC ANALYSIS
This form of analysis is the "classical" homeopathic method developed by Hahneman. It is time consuming, requires a great deal of training and is used only for immune disturbances and other sub-acute and chronic conditions. In this type of prescribing, the homeopath finds a remedy which matches the patient's underlying chronic disease state, rather than a superimposed acute disease state. The homeopath elicits and analyzes symptoms related to the constitution of the patient, i.e. to the patient's function in all spheres of life, including the mind, emotions, sleep patterns, eating habits, sexual functioning, menstrual functioning, etc. The symptoms must be elicited with great finesse and sorted with great precision. Then the homeopath repertorizes these symptoms to determine the "constitutional remedy".
Homeopathic Treatment of Immune Disorders
As with all chronic conditions, chronic immune disorders must be treated using the constitutional method. It is the only approach which can match the remedy precisely enough, and can therefore stimulate the system deeply enough to cure itself. Cookbook methods, combination remedies, or other shortcuts will not be deep enough to stimulate the body to rebalance itself, except by random luck.
Effects of Constitutional Homeopathy
For those unfamiliar with homeopathy, it is important to know that homeopathic remedies are not chemicals which attack disease within the body. Instead, homeopathic remedies actually stimulate the person's built-in healing mechanisms to identify and cure the sickness from within. The remedy balances and re-directs the basic control system of the body that governs all the body's self-defense and self-repair mechanisms. This control system manages our entire development from a single cell to adulthood, and, when properly functioning, maintains the state of normal health in the body. In the homeopathic literature it is called `Vis Medicatrix Naturae"— the healing force of life. Because it has been evolving for billions of years, it is exquisitely intelligent. Once mobilized, the "vis" is extremely powerful at identifying and removing the cause of a disease. This healing occurs even when the cause is hidden and cannot be detected with laboratory tests.
The power of the remedy to stimulate our self-healing system depends on how completely the remedy matches the totality of the patient's symptoms. A remedy which matches only a few superficial acute symptoms, say from a minor bum, will only act on the superficial level of the problem. However, when a constitutional remedy is administered, a remedy which matches the totality of all the patient's constitutional symptoms, it treats the patient as a whole, and its action is quite deep. Such a remedy will cause the basic control system to powerfully mobilize whatever body self-repair mechanisms are needed to cure the disease.
Usually the patient's reaction to a constitutional remedy will include both physical and emotional charges. The patient first temporarily enters an "eliminative" phase, characterized physically by symptoms such as loose stool, runny nose and skin eruptions. An emotional release may also occur, characterized by heightened recall of old memories, dream activity and emotional expression. After the eliminative phase, the patient will enter an "improvement" phase called the "amelioration". This phase is characterized by a general improvement in physical health. In addition, the patient improves emotionally as well. Patients commonly report a marked increase in energy and motivation, a more balanced and resilient emotional life, and increased clarity of thought. It is also common to hear patients report that they are developing emotionally, have abetter understanding of their emotional and behaviour patterns, and function better in the work-place and family unit.
Dr. Tulbert is also one of the members of the Lifestyle and Wellness Advisory Board and wellness advisor for the magazine.