Transcript here - World Homeopathy Awareness Week

WHAW 2010
Homeopathy
and
Mental well-being
Mind and Body in balance
WHAW 2010
According to the preamble of World Health
Organisation (WHO) constitution (1948)
Health
Is a state of complete physical, mental
and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity
What is Mental Well-Being?
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Mental well- being is:
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The absence of behavioral or psychological symptoms
that cause distress, suffering, pain, disability, loss of
freedom, and sometimes death
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Can Homeopathy offer physical, mental
and social well-being?
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How does Homeopathy achieve balance?
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How does Homeopathic treatment work?
Philosophy
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Philosophy
Classical Homeopathy: a natural way of healing
Homoeos =similar, Pathos = suffering
Healing by way of the similimum
Through the restorative power of the organism
itself
Through using homeopathic remedies that fit
the individual both in his disease and as a
person
Philosophy
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The Law of Similars
Mental symptoms
Emotional symptoms
Physical symptoms
The most similar homeopathic remedy is
prescribed on this totality
Philosophy
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The Law of Similars
Totality of symptoms in a sick person have
to match the symptoms caused by the
remedy in a healthy person
Not the name of the “disease”
(diagnosis/disorder) but the individual’s
symptoms
Philosophy
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Provings
Testing on healthy individuals
The mental, emotional and physical symptoms
make the “remedy picture”
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Founder: Samuel Hahnemann
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Experimented on healthy people
First undiluted remedies
Initially symptoms aggravated before health
improved
Then dilution of the remedies
Finally succussing the remedies
(= potentising)
Classical Homeopathy
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A classical homeopath looks at:
mental-----------emotional ------symptoms
physical --------A totality, which forms the holistic picture
of a human being
How does Homeopathy work
Curing through homeopathy
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Symptoms: an effort of the body to indicate
something is out of balance
Homeopathy tries to restore balance by
stimulating the bodies own restorative power
A human being is a dynamic organism
Healing through energetic remedies
How does Homeopathy work
What does the homeopath need to
know?
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Physical, emotional and mental symptoms
Modalities
Personal history (biography)
Disease history
Family history
How does Homeopathy work
What are homeopathic
remedies made of?
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Minerals
Plants
Animal sources
Disease products
A homeopathic remedy has mental,
emotional and physical characteristics
How does Homeopathy work
The Homeopathic treatment
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Consultation
Analysis
Repertorisation
Materia medica
Choosing the remedy and its potency
Taking the remedy
Reaction pattern
Follow up
How does Homeopathy work
Homeopathy and Mental well-being
in childhood
Disorders first found in infancy and
early childhood
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Developmental
Communication
Learning
Attention-Deficit disorders (ADHD)
Feeding and eating
Separation anxiety
Childhood Mental well being
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Developmental
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Asperger’s
Autism
Communication
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Stuttering
Phonological
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Feeding and eating
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Food refusal, selectivity, eating too little, food avoidance
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omission of last sounds of a word
Substituting one sound for another
Failure to gain weight or significant loss of weight
Pica (eating indigestible things like sand, chalk etc.)
Separation anxiety
Enuresis (bed wetting)
Childhood Mental well being
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Learning disorders
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in reading
In written expression
In mathematics
Attention-Deficit disorder (ADHD)
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Characterized by inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity
Observable in at least two settings (e.g. school, home)
Interferes with developmentally appropriate functioning (e.g.
studying, peer relations, extracurricular activities/hobbies)
Homeopathy and Mental well-being
Other disorders
 Delirium, dementia, amnestic
 Substance related
 Schizophrenia/ other psychotic
 Mood
 Anxiety
 Eating
 Sleep
 Sexual
 Impulse control
Cognitive Disorders
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Cognitive functions are:
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Memory
Language
Orientation in space
Judgment
Problem solving
Attention
Perception
Causes
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Physiological (general medical condition)
Substance related (alcohol or other psychoactive e.g. drugs)
Psychological (e.g. stress)
Normal aging (some minor impairment is expected)
Cognitive Disorders
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Delirium
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Dementia (Alzheimer's)
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Rapid onset, brief
Short term confusion (recent and immediate memory)
Reduced awareness
Attention fluctuates
Incoherent speech
Disorganized thoughts
Change of sleep habits (reversal of day-night sleep patterns)
Over alertness
A chronic dysfunction, affects all areas of cognition (memory, attention, thinking and
comprehension)
Slow onset, progressive
Amnestic disorder
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Impairment to learn new information or recall previously learned ones due to:
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General medical condition (e.g head trauma, seizures, tumors)
Substance related (e.g alcohol abuse)
Substance Dependence/Abuse
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Alcohol
Amphetamines
Nicotine
Caffeine
Anabolic/steroids
Any other drugs
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Cocaine, opiates, cannabis, LSD, MDMA,
Sedative-hypnotic
Mood disorders
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Mood is:
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A sustained feeling
Is experienced internally
It influences the person’s behaviour and
worldview
Can be normal, elevated or depressed
Mood disorders
Elevated
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Mania
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GENERAL SYMPTOMS:
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Inflated self esteem
Decreased need for sleep (feels rested after 3 hours or less)
Euphoria, talkativeness (cannot be interrupted) alternating with irritability
Ideas racing in head (many pressuring thoughts)
Involvement in pleasurable activities without control (spending-shopping
sprees)
TYPES
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Bipolar I
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Manic symptoms alternate with depressive symptoms (s)
Bipolar II
Hypomania
Cyclothymia
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Chronic fluctuating disturbance
Mood disorders
DEPRESSION
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GENERAL SYMPTOMS:
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Poor appetite or overeating
Insomnia or oversleeping
Low energy
Low self esteem
Feelings of hopelessness
Poor concentration
Indecision/procrastination
TYPES
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Chronic/recurrent
Single/Acute episode
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Reactive depression – caused by a stressful experience (e.g. death of a
loved one)
Dysthymia
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Less severe than major depression
Anxiety disorders
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The most prevalent disorder in the general population
Everyone experiences anxiety
It is a warning signal of internal or external threat
What is considered stressful depends on
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Nature of the event
Personal resources, psychological defenses, coping mechanisms (e.g.
presence or not of social support, like friends, family, therapist)
ANXIETY
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Response to a threat that is internal, unknown, vague, conflictual
VS.
FEAR or Phobia
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Threat is external, known, specific, non-conflictual (e.g. animals,
heights, storms, sight of blood, crowds, narrow places etc.)
Anxiety disorders
Major anxiety disorders:
 Panic
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Agoraphobia
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Fear of being in places or situations from which escape may be difficult,
embarrassing or help is thought unavailable
Social phobia
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Intense fear with accompanying physical symptoms (e.g. palpitations,
sweating, chest pain, chocking) and sense of impending doom
Public speaking, eating, writing, initiating conversations
Fear of humiliation often with blushing or sweating
Avoidance of social or performance situations
Specific phobias
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Animals, traveling, heights, water, dirt, contamination, strangers etc.
Anxiety disorders
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Obsessive compulsive disorder
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Recurrent, persistent thoughts, impulses, images (e.g. about
health, pointed objects)
Repetitive behaviors (e.g. hand washing, cleaning house) or
mental acts (e.g. counting, silently repeating words)
The person feels great distress
The above acts are performed to prevent or reduce the distress
Generalized anxiety/overanxious disorder
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Excessive anxiety and worry about almost everything for more
than 6 months
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Restlessness, easy fatigue, irritability, difficult concentration, sleep
disturbance
Anxiety disorders
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Post traumatic Stress
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Symptoms arise after exposure to traumatic, usually life
threatening events (e.g. natural disasters, war, rape, accidents)
The person experiences intense fear, helplessness or horror
(note: children express the symptoms with disorganized,
agitated behavior)
The event is persistently re experienced (thoughts, recollections,
dreams
The symptoms persist more that one month
Acute stress
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All the above but its duration is 2 days minimum and 4 weeks
maximum
Sleep disorders
Problems in the quantity or timing of sleep
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Insomnia
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Primary insomnias (difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep)
Circadian rhythm sleep disturbances
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Hypersomnia
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Irresistible daily attacks of refreshing sleep with sleep paralysis (loss of
muscle tone, head and jaw drop, weakness of knees)
Breathing related
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Excessive amounts of sleep with daytime sleepiness
Narcolepsy
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Jet lag type
Shift work syndrome
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
Other
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Restless legs
Menses or pregnancy associated
Sleep disorders
Unusual or undesirable phenomena that occur during sleep or at the threshold
between waking and sleeping
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Nightmares
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Sleep terror
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Recurrent abrupt awakenings with a panicky scream
Confusion and disorientation on awakening
Dream cannot be recalled
Individual cannot be comforted
Sleepwalking (somnambulism)
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Repeated awakenings from extremely frightful/threatening dreams
Ability to orient oneself on awakening
Repeated episodes of rising from bed and walking about
Face is blank, unresponsive to the environment
Awakened with great difficulty
The person has no memory of the episode
Sleeptalking
Eating disorders
Eating disorders are characterized by
obsessive preoccupation with weight, food
and body shape
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Anorexia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa
Obesity
Eating disorders
ANOREXIA NERVOSA
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Refusal to maintain a minimally normal weight by self-starvation
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Intense fear of gaining weight
Disturbed body image (see themselves fatter than they really are)
Absence of menses (for at least 3 months)
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Strong feelings of control, need for perfectionism, secretive, denial
of symptoms, resist treatment
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However, fatal if left untreated
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Two types
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Food restricting only
Binge-eating and then purging (self induced vomiting) or by use of
laxatives, diuretics, enemas
Eating disorders
BULIMIA NERVOSA
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Recurrent episodes of binge eating
Use of inappropriate ways to stop weight gain
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Self induced vomiting
Diuretics, laxatives, enemas
Over exercise
Binge eating = compulsive eating of abnormally large
amounts of food in a short time with an accompanying
sense of lack of control
Usually have a normal body weight
Feelings of guilt and self disgust after the episode
Eating disorders
OBESITY
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An excess of body fat
Susceptibility to all kinds of external stimuli to
eating
Unresponsiveness to usual internal signs of
hunger/satiety
Sometimes confusion of hunger with other types
of dysphoria
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e.g. when we “starve emotionally” because we need
love, affection, attention, or just a good quarrel we
eat instead because it is easier to get
Sexual disorders
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In sexual desire
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In sexual arousal
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Hypoactive (deficiency or absence of sex. fantasies and desire)
Sexual Aversion (aversion or avoidance of any type sex contact)
Male erectile problems (impotency)
In orgasm
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Females (anorgasmia)
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Males (retarded ejaculation)
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Persistent or recurrent delay or absence of orgasm after normal sexual
excitement
Persistent or recurrent delay or absence of orgasm after normal sexual
excitement
Premature ejaculation
Sexual pain
Impulse control
Inability to resist an intense impulse/temptation to perform
an act that may harm self or others
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Pathological gambling
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Preoccupation
Need to increase the amount of money played to achieve
excitement
Restless-irritable when not gambling
Means to escape from problems or bad mood
Inability and repeated attempts to stop
Lies to personal environment to conceal the extent of involvement
Illegal acts to finance gambling (stealing, fraud etc.)
Conventional treatment
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Conventional treatment
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Depends on the type of the disorder and age of the
person
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Psychotherapy
Psychopharmacology (Medication)
Residential, Day, and Hospital Treatment Programmes
Speech, play therapy
Social, behavioural skills training
Can be used individually or in a combination
Homeopathic treatment
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According to Dr. Samuel Hahnemann
“ Is to heal quickly, in a mild way and to restore health
permanently, in other words to eliminate and destroy
illness in all its aspects in the quickest, most reliable and
least harmful way, following understandable rules”
Homeopathic treatment uses
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Clinical homeotherapeutica
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Constitutional treatment
Reasons for using Homeopathy
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NO HARMFUL SIDE EFFECTS
GENTLE
HOLISTIC
INEXPENSIVE
PREVENTATIVE
NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS
EASY TO TAKE
PATIENT INVOLVEMENT
INVALUABLE FOR FIRST AID
THE MEDICINE OF THE FUTURE
FAQ’s about homeopathy
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Does homeopathy always work?
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A lot can be achieved, but there can be
circumstances that influence the treatment
Negatively, such as: wrong diet, environment,
medication, irreversible damage
(palliative treatment), relationship
homeopath/client
FAQ’s about homeopathy
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Are there any side-effects to homeopathic
treatment?
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Sometimes an initial aggravation of symptoms
Increased discharge of urine, faeces,
perspiration, skin rash
Direction of cure is from within out wards
Old symptoms may temporarily return
Example: asthma - eczema
FAQ’s about homeopathy
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How fast does homeopathy work?
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This depends on:
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How long the present complaints exist
The vitality of the client
In acute situations homeopathy works acutely,
in minutes to hours
In chronic situations it works longer,
weeks/months to resolve issues