Hello, Friends! Welcome!
This is a subject that has been on my mind a lot for the past several weeks due to the circumstances of two families that I’m acquainted with. One family lost their three year old daughter a few weeks ago and the other is fighting for every precious day they have left with their 1 year old. My heart aches every time I think about what they’re enduring, so I’d like to use this space to talk about grief and how homeopathy can help.
We often think of grief in the context of death, but it’s actually the normal process of reacting to any loss or change in circumstance. People can grieve the loss of friendships, divorce, and even the loss of a job. The normal range of reactions are anger, guilt, sadness, fear, and are often a combination of all of these.
The thing to remember is that grief, like all emotions, are energy. Suppressing, or holding this energy inside can result in various ailments. The homeopathic repertory is filled with rubrics (symptoms) that are worse after grief, anger, humiliation, etc. Positive expressions of grief are healing! There are many healthy ways of processing energy. The “healing arts” such as writing, painting, or other creative outlets. Tears, sound, and movement are all excellent ways of moving this energy around in the body so that it doesn’t get stuck, stagnate, and eventually cause physical manifestations of disease.
Dr. Mercola recently had a fascinating article about emotions and the effects on the heart. In part of the article he talks about how intense grief or anger can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, and that risk remains higher than normal for several weeks! *Link to article below.
Homeopathy can help immensely with acute shock and grief, with the added benefit of helping to increase emotional vitality.
Before I continue, I want to be clear that these remedies are for acute shock or grief only. Any long term, chronic issues, especially if they’ve transformed into depression, anxiety disorders, etc., need to be evaluated by a trained homeopath.
Let’s get started!
Aconite can be used for sudden fright or shock. So if you receive sudden, unexpected bad news that leaves you fearful and restless, you may be helped by this remedy. Another interesting feature of this remedy is the presentiment, or predicting, the time of death.
I want to mention Arnica because even though it’s most well known for being the remedy for bumps and bruises, it can also be useful in cases of emotional shock. Someone needing arnica may feel emotionally disconnected, not want to be touched or approached, or insist they’re okay and don’t need anyone. If you have nothing else, you can give arnica. It’s one of the most useful remedies in homeopathy and I believe everyone should keep it stocked!
Ignatia is the most commonly known remedy for acute grief, bad news, and disappointed love. Signs that point to ignatia are the inability to sleep, absorbtion with grief, suppressed emotions, or rapid alterations in mood. Lots of sighing is a very common symptom of ignatia.
Stramonium is a remedy that can be used for states of terror. For example, someone experiences trauma from a violent incident and hold fear that it will happen again. They may also experience dread of the dark or have nightmares.
Children are very resilient, but often feel things very intensely. Pulsatilla can be used for grief states brought on by a sense of abandonment due to the break up of the family. Pulsatilla children may be clingy, weepy, and need a lot of attention.
I’m going to talk briefly about Natrum Muriaticum because it’s such an important remedy for chronic grief states. Aspects of this remedy may manifest as continued intensity of feeling with regards to an incident that happened long ago. The emotions haven’t fully processed so there is constant dwelling on the past. Chronic issues can be tricky so I encourage seeking the help of a homeopath for these kinds of problems.
Rescue Remedy isn’t a homeopathic remedy, but a flower essence. It can be very helpful for those experiencing stress and anxiety and can also be used for children and pets.
I hope this was helpful. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions or requests.
Bene Vale!
Christina
Update on 10/1/16: The 1 year old child I mentioned at the beginning of this post has passed away. She was just shy of her 2nd birthday.
The information contained in this blog is not a replacement for medical advice. Any questions or concerns regarding your specific needs should be addressed to your health care provider.
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