Homeopathic medicines consist of very small doses of natural substances that can stimulate the body’s inherent self-healing response without side effects. Homeopathic remedies restore balance to a person’s vital life force so that the body can correct imbalances causing symptoms and begin to function as it should, free of the symptoms of illness.
Homeopathic treatment of depression is unique in many ways. For one thing, the majority of patients successfully treated don’t require antidepressants or even homeopathy to remain depression free. In other words, homeopathy for depression usually results in long term resolution of the problem.
This is unique of course because a large percentage of patients using conventional antidepressants require the drug to maintain relief. The drugs have very little — if any — long-term beneficial effect. In fact, antidepressants are primarily intended for depression “management.”
Another major difference between homeopathy and antidepressants, is the lack of adverse effects. It is rare to hear a patient describe adverse effects with the use of homeopathy. Occasionally, there will be some minor intolerance. However, there are no lasting adverse effects — once the homeopathic medicine has been stopped, any minor negative affect goes away relatively quickly. Unfortunately, patients relying on antidepressants can often suffer from several adverse effects. In some cases, the adverse effects even make the use of antidepressants impractical.
Another wonderful advantage is the systemic response for homeopathy when it comes to depression. In other words, as the patient’s depression resolves, it’s typical that their sundry other complaints also improve. For instance, if the patient also has insomnia and PMS along with depression, they will usually see all the symptoms improve from the homeopathic approach.
Overall homeopathy is an excellent choice for depression due to its long-term curative effect, it’s systemic healing affect, and its lack of toxic effect. The biggest challenge relative to homeopathy and depression is finding the precise medicine for the patient. Unlike antidepressants, homeopathic medicines are prescribed precisely for a set of symptoms of depression the patient is exhibiting. In other words, in a hundred cases of depression treated with homeopathy — there may be 50 or more different medicines used. In the same number of depression cases with antidepressants, there may only be three or four antidepressants used. So with homeopathy, finding the exact medicine sometimes can be a challenge. Thankfully, there are Naturopaths and Homeopaths with sufficient experience to find the correct medicine.
For this reason, Homeopathic remedies are best prescribed by a practitioner who has extensive training in homeopathy (including certification and/or licensure) and experience in treating depression. The practitioner will conduct an extensive interview with a patient, identify potential remedies, and closely monitor a patient’s progress until the person is well.
If you’re suffering with depression, talk with your health practitioner about homeopathic treatment.
References
- Cody, G.W. & Hascall, H., “The History of Naturopathic Medicine: The Emergence and Evolution of an American School of Healing” in Pizzorno, J.E. & Murray, M. T. Textbook of Natural Medicine (2013). p. 37.
- Lange, A. & Gaylord, S.A., “Homeopathy” in Pizzorno, J.E. & Murray, M. T. Textbook of Natural Medicine (2013). p. 314-323.
- National Center for Homeopathy. www.homeopathycenter.org
- “Dealing with depression – Safe, effective ways to beat the blues.” http://www.homeopathycenter.org/homeopathy-today/dealing-depression-safe-effective-ways-beat-blues
- Shannon, Tim ND