Homeopathy is “Energy Medicine”. It stimulates the body’s own healing abilities to cure diseases, relieve symptoms and achieve health benefits.

‘Homeo’ means similar and ‘pathy’ means suffering. By energetically mimicking what the body suffers from, it stimulates the body to oppose it leading to restoration of health.

It was discovered by Dr Samuel Hahnemann, a German doctor in 1796.

It is prepared by serially diluting and vigorously shaking a substance to convert  it into its energy form. Diluting the substance makes it less and less physical and the shaking converts it into an energy message. The more times this is done, the less of the original substance remains and more of energy is created. This reaches a point when there is no more of the original substance left, only the energy remains. So it makes it possible to use even poisons as energetic healing messages.  

To learn more about the energy message contained in dilutions, watch this documentary:
Water Memory (2014 Documentary about Nobel Prize laureate Luc Montagnier)

By accident. Like most scientific breakthroughs, Hahnemann stumbled on this curious effect Quinine (a medicine for treating malaria) had on a healthy person. It produced symptoms of malaria which it is used to treat. 

This made him realize that every substance is capable of producing a set of symptoms when given to a healthy person and in a diluted form, cures illness if the symptoms match. 

This idea of “like cures like” is not new in medicine. But it was Hahnemann who experimented for over 20 years and made it into a science of healing. He was able to miraculously cure the incurable and became one of the most sought after physicians of his time. This tradition of homeopathy achieving unimaginable cures continues to this day with more than 300 million people using it regularly. 

Of course! Energy medicine can be used for anyone of any age. Even pets, without fear of side effects. 

To put it simply, not enough research is directed at learning exactly how it works. According to millions of users around the world for more than 200 years, it works so well that they rarely use any other medication to treat their health issues, be it mental, emotional or physical.

It is called a ‘Placebo effect’ because there is no better explanation for it in the current scientific understanding. As a layperson what you should be concerned about is, does it work?! The answer is yes! It does. And just for argument’s sake, even a placebo effect is an effect as long as you feel better!

Despite a good body of evidence in its favor, homeopathy is labeled as a placebo effect due to vested interests of the pharmaceutical industry.

There have been documented epidemics where death rates in homeopathic hospitals were only a fraction compared to those who were left untreated or were treated with chemical medicines of the time. Surprised? There were more homeopathic doctors and hospitals than pharmaceutical doctors in the United States of America until the early 1900s.  

Homeopathy in pandemic Spanish flu 1918 Shinde VH – Indian J Res Homeopathy

The small white pills you see are sugar balls. The homeopathic dilution is a liquid that is dropped into those white pills. This is why all homeopathic remedies look the same. The dilution can be made from the whole plant, a part of the plant, a mineral, a salt, or even a metal.

Watch how a homeopathic dilution is prepared here:
Homeopathic Remedy Manufacturing Process

All information about homeopathic remedies comes from its trial on humans. (testing on animals is not conducted since animals are unable to express their feelings and emotions). What healthy persons experience on taking a homeopathic dilution is what it is used to treat the sick with the same symptoms.

Treatment involves minutely looking at all aspects of your life, your medical history, symptoms, lifestyle, emotional stressors and how you cope with challenges of life in general and based on this information, a suitable homeopathic treatment is decided. You are  treated rather than diagnosed conditions or body parts.

Since each person is unique, different persons with the same ‘diagnosis’ might need a different remedy.

Once treatment starts, periodic follow ups are done to ensure that you are headed in the right healing direction. 

You are encouraged to keep track of all changes experienced. A typical follow up session involves checking if there are positive changes with your energy levels, mood, motivation, quality of sleep, digestion and troublesome symptoms.

Treatment is continued till a balanced state is achieved, that is, there is nothing to really complain about. This can take from a few weeks to a few years to achieve. 

Yes, they can. The aim of homeopathic treatment is to minimize the use of medications and assist natural healing, it is possible to benefit from it despite being medications. In many cases, it is not possible to abruptly stop all medications. Reduction in medications is common along with improvement in health. 

Because its not the remedy, but your body that heals itself. Your body is capable of amazing changes and many changes at the same time, when stimulated in the right way.

No. The concept of side effects does not exist in natural healing. It is a phenomenon born out of chemical medicines. However, if a wrong remedy is taken repeatedly over a long period of time, it would start producing the same symptoms that it is used to treat.  So it is advisable to only take homeopathic remedies under the supervision of a trained homeopath. Do not trust Google or a doctor who pretends to be holistic without a proper homeopathic education.

Chronic diseases can only be helped when the body is stimulated to heal itself. They cannot be cured with chemicals. You heard it right. Current medical treatments do not offer a cure for any chronic disease. Most people initially turn to homeopathy seeking an ‘alternative’ to harsh chemical treatments and then use it for all their health issues. 

Not at all. In many cases it works faster than it takes a chemical pill to even reach the bloodstream. What you should also ask with any treatment is if it really cures the problem or just manages it. When it comes to resolving a health imbalance by removing its root cause takes patience and effort. You need to take charge of your health and be consistent to get lasting results.

Only till the health is back to balance and this varies from person to person. Homeopathic remedies guide the body towards healing and balanced health. They are not needed once you reach your health goals. 

There are three phases of homeopathic treatment:

Phase 1: Active Treatment:
Addresses the newest and most distressing symptoms affecting normal functioning.

Phase 2: Monitoring and Health Enhancement:
Treatment is focused on improving general health,  making you less likely to suffer from similar illness again.

Phase 3: Health Maintenance: 
General monitoring of the person’s physical, emotional and mental state looking for early signs of a health imbalance. A stitch in time saves nine. 

As long as you do not abuse your body or experience severely stressful life situations, illnesses do not come back. Emotional distress, lack of rest, poor nutrition, prolonged use of medications etc. can cause a relapse of the illness.

Homeopathic remedies stimulate the body to heal itself. So whatever the body is able to repair, reverse and heal can be treated with homeopathy. Irreversible changes in the body cannot be treated.

There are no general food restrictions with homeopathic treatment. Some restrictions might be necessary based on your health condition or sensitivities. Foods that trigger or contribute to your symptoms would likely be restricted.

Yes. In fact, pregnancy is usually a time when women seek alternative treatments since most chemical medications cannot be taken. Homeopathy not only offers safe relief of common pregnancy symptoms like nausea, acidity, back pain, and tiredness, but also allows treatment of existing health imbalances in addition to facilitating natural childbirth.

Yes. Most insurance providers reimburse for homeopathic treatment depending on an individual’s insurance plan.

Yes. In fact, it is always the whole person that gets treated including emotional and psychological disturbances. Most chronic diseases have a component of emotional disturbance and addressing those is crucial to healing.

(Also see Behavior and Conduct Disorders, Mood and Feeling Disorders, Personality Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)