I recently listened to a fantastic interview with homeopath Joette Calabrese. She said something that really struck me and I wanted to expand on it because I think that this simple thing can mean the difference between success and failure when making the switch to natural healing methods. I don’t have her exact words so I’m very much paraphrasing, but here’s the gist of what she said:
You can’t just decide you want to use natural remedies and leave it at that. If you don’t educate yourself and prepare ahead of time, you’ll fall back to what you already know when faced with illness. For pretty much everybody, this will be conventional medicine.
So if you wait until your child has a fever and you’re still afraid of fevers, you’ll use that fever reducer. If you aren’t prepared and have a plan for the next time you get the flu, you’ll reach for those over the counter flu medications.
Whatever you plan to use, be it herbs, homeopathy, essential oils, etc., it’s imperative that you educate yourself and come up with a plan that makes sense for your family. We’re heading into spring and summer here in the northern hemisphere so many people will become more active and spend more time outdoors. Think of bug bites or first aid for the minor sprains and strains that don’t require a trip to the emergency room. During the fall and winter seasons make preparations for the colds and cases of flu that make the rounds.
There are so many online resources and books for beginning your journey into natural remedies. Here are a few I have and were very helpful to me when I was starting out. Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines and The Complete Homeopathy Handbook are great books to guide you through ailments that can be treated at home, remedy selection, and dosing. The Consumer’s Guide to Homeopathy is a great resource for understanding homeopathic medicine.
Read through the remedies and take in the keynote symptoms of the more common remedies. It will be super helpful to be familiar with this information when your little one wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming with fever, or you start to feel that tickle in your throat. Remember that in homeopathy, individual symptoms are key!
If you’re using a different healing modality, choose the most appropriate remedies for your needs. For example, with herbs you might gather appropriate herbs for teas, tictures, or oxymels. If essential oils are your passion, experiment with different blends, carrier oils, and inhalers.
Another tip I have that is extremely helpful is to have a “health” notebook for each member of your family.
You’ll use these notebooks to write down all of the details and symptoms the family member is suffering from. For example, if there is nausea and vomiting; Does the nausea dominate, or the vomiting? Is the nausea brought on by certain odors? Is there a desire to vomit, but they cannot? Is the vomiting from abuse of alcohol? Is there diarrhea with the vomiting? Also note if the symptoms are worse at a certain time of day, any other symptoms that coincide with the main symptoms, and the mental state of the person. (Or animal!) Note what remedy you gave, the dosage, and how many doses were required. Did it help? Or did you have to change remedies?
This may seem like a lot of work, but trust me, these notebooks are so helpful in the long run. If there’s ever a recurrence of symptoms, all you have to do is look back in your notebook to see what worked! There’s also great value in learning from your mistakes. Take notes! It’s amazing to look back at old entries in my kids’ notebooks and really see how far they’ve come!
I’d be remiss if I failed to mention another vital aspect in preparing for success, and that is PREVENTION. While I understand that not everything can be prevented, you CAN live a lifestyle that is conducive to true health and vitality. When you do get sick or injured you increase your chances of bouncing back quickly and a strong vital force will be able to do exactly that. That’s why I love homeopathy so much – because it works with the vital force!
Nutrition, emotional well-being, stress reduction, movement, and cultivating a positive outlook are incredibly important in a truly holistic health plan. Using natural remedies are great, but not enough. Ignoring these other vital areas of health will prevent you from getting the maximum benefit of natural remedies and will continue to be an obstacle in the quest for expansive, glowing health.
I hope this was helpful. I’d love to hear about how you plan to prepare for success! Please feel free to leave a comment, or message me on Facebook or Twitter.
Sapere Aude!
Christina
The information contained in this blog is for educational purposes only and not a replacement for medical advice. Any questions or concerns regarding your specific health-care needs should be addressed to your health-care provider. The author is not a medical doctor and will not be held liable for any outcomes linked to this information. The user takes full and complete responsibility for all outcomes to yourself or any other party as a result of any information contained or linked on this blog.
*The books linked in this post are affiliate links.
