Homeopathic Prescription – Holistic Approach
The Dorland’s medical dictionary gives the definition of health as a state of physical, mental and social well-being.
Health is more than just absence of symptoms and illness.
Health is to be in harmony with yourself and with the environment.
Another fundamental principle of Homoeopathy is that it treats the patient as a whole and a unique individual. Homeopathy recognises that all symptoms of illness are expressions of disharmony within the whole person and that it is the patient who needs the treatment and not just the symptoms. Therefore, there is no medicine for any particular disease, but there is a medicine for the patient suffering from the disease.
In the last fifty years, there has been tremendous progress in medical science and technology. These advancements have made people believe that ‘disease’ is the illness of particular parts of the body. An individual is comprised of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components operating as a ‘whole unit’ in harmony. Holistic health is essentially an approach to life which considers the whole person and how we interact with our environment.
To a homeopath symptoms are mere indications that the internal harmony of the body mechanisms is altered. The disharmony allows the disease (dis-ease) to set in.
Homeopathy analyses every individual having an illness rather than the illness of an individual. Homeopath perceives the unique features of the individual to set it apart from hundred other individuals suffering from exactly the same diagnosis.
True health must be thought of in positive, dynamic terms not simply as ‘No Disease’. Homoeopathy defines health as freedom on the physical level where the entire body operates in an integrated, harmonious way for optimum efficiency allowing us to respond appropriately to the environment. As freedom on the emotional level to experience a wide array of emotions in a positive and enriching way so that we have joyful and satisfying relationships.
The homoeopath takes into consideration all the symptoms, that distinguish a person as an individual, such as his past and family history, his appetite, thirst, sleep, etc. and most importantly about his temperament.
It is being increasingly acknowledged these days that the mind and body are inter-linked. Hahnemann recognized all this long ago, and stressed that bodily and mental symptoms are to be taken together to form the portrait of disease. The homoeopathic material medica is rich in mental symptoms and homeopaths especially use them in selection of remedy.
To a homoeopath, the knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology is necessary since this will help him to know the natural course of the ailment and to manage the case well. But his most important task is to understand the individuality of each patient fully and correctly, so that he may select the right remedy.