Patients today can be complex and complicated. No two individuals, or patients, share the same understanding and approach to health.
Some patients are spiritually aware and understand that health is a continuum; others see health as a finite state. Some present with a basic understanding of homeopathy, while others are held captive by the approach of modern medicine.
Homeopathy is a unique therapy that can produce profound positive results, if earnestly pursued. It treats the deepest levels of existence by directing itself to the ‘vital force’ — the ‘godlike’ energy that lies behind all existence. It peels off layers of imbalance until the patient re-balances at the deepest level. It requires understanding and introspection. It needs time and commitment. In addressing health issues, the homeopathic practitioner may find themselves face-to-face with one or more ‘obstacles.’ This may impact the results of a case. Some are directly related to the person as an individual; others are a result of factors external to the patient.
The following are some of the ‘obstacles’ that can impede, or limit, the resolution, or positive outcome of case.
The patient factor. The patient who does not see themselves as part of a greater whole is often found to have a narrow view of health. In their mind, the body is a machine with parts to be fixed. Health does not depend on the wellness of emotions and spirit. Physical parts are isolated and not interrelated to each other, or to the emotion, mental and spiritual levels of being.
These patients see symptoms as the disease — i.e., I have ‘migraines,’ or ‘arthritis,’ or ‘eczema.’ They simply want the sensations associated with the illness to vanish; and, the absence of pain, etc., suggests to them that they have regained their health. They tend to terminate homeopathic treatment after a brief course of therapy.
For patients with the broader understanding health is an on-going and changing journey; their overall results are, thus, better and easier to obtain.
Pursuing a perfect state of health. At the other end of the spectrum, we find the patient who is constantly pursuing a state of perfect health. These patients become involved with many therapies and in their quest for a state of perfect health, they become obsessive. They can also become fearful of not doing what they believe is vital to their health and, therefore, complicate the case. For the homeopath, the mixing of therapies can become confusing to the point that a clean assessment of the progress of a patient is difficult. Cases become confused for both the homeopath and patient. Most often, the overlapping of too many therapies create profound imbalance.
Giving up responsibility. Some patients have lost control of their health and have given the decision making to others. Many do not take responsibility for their state of health, or they not been conditioned to ask questions, or challenge the physician. Not taking responsibility for their health and not taking part in how their personal health is to be addressed are serious obstacles. Feelings of helplessness and fear, which may follow such abdication, can negatively impact the case.
External factors. External factors, such as the compromised atmosphere in which we all exist pose additional obstacles. Most people, in contemporary society, do not function in a healthy external environment. Poisoned water and air, tainted and GMO foods, chemical, atmospheric and electromagnetic pollution surround us all.
Patients work and live in crowded spaces — sick building syndrome — with artificial lighting, unclean air and unacceptable noise levels. Emotional stresses add to the impact of the external environment.
It is the goal of the homeopath to guide each patient along their unique journey and help them to understand that we are all ‘god-like,’ energetic beings who have fallen into illness, and that dis-eases are merely indicators that we are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually a tad ‘off balance.’ The goal of homeopathy is to restore this balance by stimulating the ‘vital force’ to correct itself too.
Homeopathy peels off layers of imbalance until the patient re-balances at the deepest level. It returns the individual, or patient, step-by-step to a primal state, removing the mundane, material residue that manifests itself as dis-ease — one that may, otherwise, ‘plague’ their existence and/or prevent them from experiencing their ‘god-like’ essence.
Dr BARBARA ETCOVITCH is a Classical Homeopath, Interfaith Minister, freelance writer, and lecturer. She has a BA from Sir George Williams University, a MA in Literature from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and a Diploma in Classical Homeopathy from the School of Homeopathy, Devon, England. She was ordained by the All Faiths Seminary International in New York City in 2004. She has been in homeopathic practice for 30+ years treating human and animals alike, from her office in Montreal, Canada, and worldwide via Skype and WhatsApp.
