Parental burnout can be defined in a parent who endures chronically severe stress without having sufficient resources to assist them to cope.1 Parental burnout often has significantly detrimental effects upon children and partners.
The stress of caregiving can influence the immune system, and result in reduced immune responses to novel antigens.2
Parental burnout can often, but not always, be understood as a long term consequence and likely sequelae of childhood emotional maltreatment, which is known to lead to chronic dysregulation and a hypersensitive biological stress response.3
Childhood maltreatment induced post traumatic stress disorder strongly links to recent and remote states of depression and anxiety4 which, in women, may result in changes within the neurochemical systems, and heightened cortisol levels during the stress response.5
The development of chronic disease can arise from ongoing severe stress or deep psychological conflicts.6
Parental burnout can often, but never always!, point to the homeopathic medicine SEPIA with its experiences of parental love as a burden and drain on energy, and desire to emancipate from the overwhelming roles of mother and housewife.7
Indeed, Sepia is often described as the tired and over worked housewife, and is indicated where physical, emotional and mental fatigue lead to a state of collapse as the result of traumatic shocks and emotional experiences.8
Sepia, being inimical to and overcome by her noisy child, speaks to the central idea of parental burnout often being accompanied by an amelioration while busy and from exercise, with concomitant lack of energy, hormonal changes and increased leucorrhoea.9
As per aphorism ยง18 a scientific, evidence based homeopathic prescription considers the totality of symptoms1011 however, the Kentian heirarchy places prime importance upon the mental and emotional states.12
Protracted emotional stress can undermine homeopathic treatment13 and is likely to induce therapeutic relapse because stress connects to emotional life, having a profound impact upon the psyche.
Relapse can also be the placebo effect in action - that is a brief amelioration by the remedy simply fades away without further improvement. Too low potency can also induce relapse via shorter remedy action. Wrong repetition of the remedy may induce a partial relapse if repeated too soon, countering any good effect of the previous dose.14
Blanchard MA, Hoebeke Y, Heeren A. 2023. Parental burnout features and the family context: A temporal network approach in mothers. J Fam Psychol. Apr;37(3):398-407. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36780264/
Whittaker, 2018. Does chronic caregiving stress accelerate T cell immunosenescence? Brain, Behaviour and Immunity. Oct; 73: 155-156. Available from https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/29869/1/1-s2.0-S0889159118302873-main.pdf
Gama et al., 2021. The invisible scars of emotional abuse: a common and highly harmful form of childhood maltreatment. BMC psychiatry. 21(1), 156. Available from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7968325/
Tietjen et al., 2010. Childhood maltreatment and migraine (part I). Prevalence and adult revictimization: a multicenter headache clinic survey. Headache. Jan;50(1):20-31. Available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19845782/
Bremner, 2006. Traumatic stress: effects on the brain. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience. 8(4), 445โ461. Available from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181836/#ref95
Vithoulkas, 2021. An integrated perspective on transmutation of acute inflammation into chronic and the role of the microbiome. J Med Life. Nov-Dec;14(6):740-747. Available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35126742/)
Coulter, C. 2002. Portraits of Homeopathic Medicines Volume 1, Psychophysical Analyses of Selected Constitutional Types. Third edition. Berkeley Springs: Ninth House Publishing.
Vithoulkas, G. 2011. Classical Homeopathy for Anxiety and Jealousy. Second edition. Baar: Groma Verlag. (Originally published in 2004).
Vermeulen, F. 2004. Prisma, the Arcana of Materia Medica Illuminated. Similars and Parallels between Substance and Remedy. Third edition. Haarlem: Emyrss bv Publishers.
Hahnemann, S. 2005. Organon of Medicine. Sixth edition. Translated from German by W. Boericke. New Delhi. Indian Books and Periodicals Publishers. (Originally published in 1842).
Vithoulkas, G. 2017. Levels of Health, The second volume of the Science of Homeopathy, revised edition. Alonissos: International Academy of Classical Homeopathy.
Gunavante, S, M. 2010. Roadmap to the correct prescription. Fourth Edition; Fifth impression. New Delhi: New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd.
Hahnemann, S. 1992 The Chronic Diseases. New Delhi: B Jain Publishers (P) Ltd.(Originally published in 1828).
Vithoulkas, G. 2017. Levels of Health, The second volume of the Science of Homeopathy, revised edition. Alonissos: International Academy of Classical Homeopathy.