Homeopathy & Parental Overwhelm

Caregiving stressors influence the immune system

‘…my life is a marathon running my household, being a fulltime Mum, and juggling my business. My kids are on top of me, my senses are overloaded, I’m exhausted – it’s too much.’

The stress of caregiving can influence the immune system and result in reduced immune response to novel antigens.(1) It is unwise to misconstrue that the development of chronic disease exclusively arises from specific suppression of acute infectious disease via drugs and vaccinations, or exposure to other toxic substance - chronic disease may also be the product of ongoing severe stress or deep psychological conflicts.(2)

Parental overwhelm can often 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 anxiety(4) that in women can result in alterations in the neurochemical systems and heightened cortisol levels during the stress response.(5)

Parental overwhelm can often (but never always!) point to the remedy 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.(6) Sepia, often described as the tired and over worked housewife, is indicated for cortisol toxicity(7) with physical, emotional and mental fatigue leading to a state of collapse as the result of traumatic shocks and experiences to the emotions.(8) Sepia, being inimical to and overcome by her noisy child, encompasses the central idea of parental overwhelm with the theme of independence vs. dependence, often being accompanied by an amelioration while busy and from exercise, with concomitant lack of energy, hormonal changes i.e., acne, and tendency to a cottage cheese like leucorrhoea.(9)

Parental overwhelm warrants differentiation of LACHESIS with its horror of restriction(10) and clash between its’ dualistic natures,(6) and and LAC HUMANUM where conflict arises between living life as a self-determined individual within a group and being beholden and bound by it,(11) with irritability, and feelings of being invaded and conquered when someone else enters into their space.(12) Lac humanum, often due to childhood trauma, wants to detach from family members, avoiding their company and desiring solitude to hide alone.(13)

As per aphorism §18 a scientific, evidence based homeopathic prescription considers always the totality of symptoms.(14;15) Kentian heirarchy supports cases with mental and emotional emphasis due to the prime importance it places upon the mental and emotional states.(16)

As downturn in health can occur after overuse of antibiotics and medical drugs, or from exposure to any toxic substance, strong psychological stress is likewise capable of altering the microbiota(17) - there is enough demonstrable evidence of the role of the microbiome in all chronic disease.(2) Relapses in homeopathic treatment are known to occur when the cause continues unabated and unmitigated.(18)

Protracted emotional stress can undermine homeopathic treatment(19) and is likely to induce a therapeutic relapse because stress is connected to emotional life and has 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.(15)

Where there has been antidotal effect of strong stress negating all improvements induced by the last curatively acting remedy with no alteration in symptom picture and where the keynotes remain unchanged - that is total return of all symptoms without minimization or change - repetition of the original remedy in the same potency should again act curatively.(15)

Understanding and adhering to the guidelines of aphorism §3(14) assists us in cases perceived to have morphed into a confused drug picture with myriad obstacles to cure / maintaining causes which need to be addressed layer by layer.(20) Kent stated that local applications upon internal imbalance are the pinnacle of medical profanity,(21) invoking aphorism §69 - that diseases become worse in proportion to the doses of the palliating drugs.(14) This has never been more relevant than in today’s world of suppressive and powerful poly pharmaceutical prescriptions, which induce troublesome, convoluted and difficult to treat iatrogenic diseases.(22)

Miasmatic theory provides us with the valuable explanation as to how the health of humanity has deteriorated into its current awful state of morbidity with so many varied chronic health conditions. A miasm should fulfil each of five conditions:(23)

i. It must have its origin from a specific source of an infectious nature (bacterium, virus, etc.). If such an acute condition is either mistreated or left alone to develop, it will often precipitate sequelae of chronic symptoms and pathology.

ii. Such an infection should have a tendency to produce sequelae of deeper pathology if left untreated or suppressed.

iii. Its chronic effect can be transmitted to the next generation, not as a primary infection, but as a predisposition via the genome (of the newborn via DNA or infection at birth, etc.) created from the different infections of a person’s ancestors, via the various modes of transmission of syphilis, gonorrhoea, scabies or tuberculosis.

iv. When required, the nosode from the infecting agent (Med, Syph, Psor, Tub) should be able to cure a sufficient number of cases which present the relevant symptomatology (i.e., clear symptoms of Medorrhinum, Syphilinum, Psorinum or Tuberculinum).

v. The miasmatic condition (underlying pathology) of one of the parents is not necessarily passed on in an identical manifestation in their child’s pathology, because it is always modified by the condition of the other parent’s health.

The popular but possibly harmful practice, intentionally zeitgeisted (my word) by profiteers, whereby homeopathic remedies are provided as ‘detoxing protocols’ is arbitrary aka unscientific, not advised,(23) and likely based on the work of English pharmacist D.W Everitt who coined the phrase Tautopathy and routinely recommended its implementation post heavy use of (his?) pharmaceutical medicine.(16) However, as vaccinosis is a recognized, understood and documented phenomena throughout homeopathic philosophy, theory and literature(24,25) administration of a potentized preparation of the identified offending vaccine has been seen to have dramatic effect where there is non-response to well selected homeopathic prescriptions.(26) Inherited predisposition from parents affected by toxic substances in children should not be confused with genetic predispositions which pass to the newborn and are determined by the health of the parents at the moment of conception, together with ancestral susceptibility.(27)

Sarah Penrose BSc(hons)Hom. is an Australasian homeopath and can be contacted at goodhealthforgreatlife.com

References

1 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

2 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/)

3 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/

4 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/

5 Bremner, 2006. Traumatic stress: effects on the brain. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience. 8(4), 445–461. Available from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181836/#ref95

6 Coulter, C. 2002. Portraits of Homeopathic Medicines Volume 1, Psychophysical Analyses of Selected Constitutional Types. Third edition. Berkeley Springs: Ninth House Publishing.

7 Clerc, T. 2011. The Use of Potentized Cortisone in a Homeopathic Clinic. Hpathy, homeopathy papers. November, 2011. Available from https://hpathy.com/homeopathy-papers/the-use-of-potentized-cortisone-in-ahomeopathic-clinic/

8 Vithoulkas, G. 2011. Classical Homeopathy for Anxiety and Jealousy. Second edition. Baar: Groma Verlag. (Originally published in 2004).

9 Vermeulen, F. 2004. Prisma, the Arcana of Materia Medica Illuminated. Similars and Parallels between Substance and Remedy. Third edition. Haarlem: Emyrss bv Publishers.

10 Fraser, P. 2009. Snakes, drawing power from the underworld. Kent: Winter Press.

11 Hatherly, P. 2010. The Lacs, A Materia Medica and Repertory. Kenmore, Queensland: AEN Pty. Ltd.

12 Assilem, M. 2004. The Mad Hatters Tea Party. Original insights into the remedies Thea, Coffea, Saccharum and Lac Humanum. Royal Tunbridge Wells: Idolatry Ink.

13 Master & Gupta, 2009. Lesser known remedies in paediatrics. Nagykovácsi, Hungary: Remedium Kft.

14 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).

15 Vithoulkas, G. 2017. Levels of Health, The second volume of the Science of Homeopathy, revised edition. Alonissos: International Academy of Classical Homeopathy.

16 Gunavante, S, M. 2010. Roadmap to the correct prescription. Fourth Edition; Fifth impression. New Delhi: New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd.

17 Cresci & Bawden, 2015. Gut Microbiome. Nutrition in Clinical Practice. 2015;30(6):734-46. Available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26449893/)

18 Dhawale, M. L. 2008. Principles & Practice of Homeopathy; Part 1. Fifth reprint. Mumbai: Dr. M. L. Dhawale Memorial Trust.

19 Hahnemann, S. 1992 The Chronic Diseases. New Delhi: B Jain Publishers (P) Ltd.(Originally published in 1828).

20 Gamble, J. 2010. Mastering Homeopathy 3. Obstacles to Cure: Toxicity, Deficiency & Infection. Wollongong, New South Wales: Karuna Publishing.

21 Sankaran, R. 1991. Homeopathy, the science of healing. Reprint edition. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers. (Originally published in 1983).

22 Chatterjee, T.P. 1982. Fundamentals of Homoeopathy and Valuable Hints for Practice. New Delhi. World Homeopathic Links.

23 Vithoulkas & Chabanov, 2022. The Evolution of Miasm Theory and Its Relevance to Homeopathic Prescribing. Homeopathy. Oct 28. Available from https://www.vithoulkas.com/research/scientific-papers/evolution-miasm-theory-and-its-relevance-homeopathic-prescribing

24 Vithoulkas, G. 2015. Homeopathy, Medicine for the New Millennium. 28th Edition. Alonissos. The International Academy of Classical Homeopathy. (Originally published in 1985.)

25 Master, F. 2010. Skin: Homeopathic approach to dermatology. Second revised edition. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers. (Originally published in 1993).

26 Vithoulkas, G. 2009. The Science of Homeopathy. 7th Edition, 2014. Alonissos. The International Academy of Classical Homeopathy. (Originally published in 1980.)

27 Vithoulkas & Mahesh, 2017. How can healthier children be born? A hypothesis on how to create a better human race. Med Sci Hypoth. 4:38–46. Available from https://www.vithoulkas.com/research/scientific-papers/how-can-healthier-children-be-born-hypothesis-how-create-better-human