Homeo

Homeo is a shortening of the term Homeopathy; homeopathy is an alternative medicine practice that has been controversial since its inception by Samual Hahnemann in 1796. There are debates on the purpose and efficacy on almost every aspect of homeopathy, from its underlying philosophy to its methods of treatment as a remedy.

Homeopathy is a philosophy built around the question of what causes lie beneath many ailments and illnesses, and it is a method of treatment devised to remedy those causes. It is based on a philosophy called 'vitalist', which infers that sickness and disease arise from an imbalance or disturbance to a force thought to be the underlying source of vitality and life to all living things. This 'life force' or 'vital force' can be affected by a hypothetical invader entity Hahnemann has labelled 'miasms', which interrupt and alter the flow of these energies, causing them to atrophy related parts and systems of the body and become toxic to them. Hahnemann posited that disease and illness was not a separate entity entering and affecting the body, but that the body, all its systems, and any disease were all organically entwined;

This theory he furthered by experimenting with certain substances that would produce similar symptoms as those symptoms caused by the disease itself; most notably he experimented with Cinchona bark, then used as a malaria treatment. Ingesting cinchona bark and finding that the effects of this closely approximated the symptoms of malaria itself, he surmised that the most effective remedies to a disease or illness were substances that had a commonality with that disease; homeopathy was born and named after Hahnemann's 'law of similars'. Just as 'fighting fire with fire' refers to creating a small, controlled burn well ahead of a raging forest fire to remove fuel from the larger fire's path once it arrives there, homeopathy is based on the theory that a remedial treatment for a disease must therefore be using a substance that is based on some similarities with what produces the disease itself... and that we will know its similarity due to it causing similar effects as the disease. The word homeopathy is comprised of 'homoios', meaning 'like' or 'alike', and 'pathos', meaning 'suffering'. In other words, you treat a certain kind of suffering (illness) by using a substance that produces a similar type of suffering (its homeopathic remedy).
     Below: Homeopathic remedies involve the use of natural substances, reduced to their essence and diluted many times by special processes into a base or holding substance. There are now well over 3000 substances in use for homeopathic treatment.

Hahnemann spent most of his life developing the homeopathy system of treatment. Since it is based almost wholly upon an energy that can't yet be accurately measured by any known method of science - vital force - along with with a hypothetical 'toxic agent' (miasms) that can upset that vital force, along with largely unproven and experimental substances (well over 3000 substances at present) believed to have similar symptoms to the illnesses those different miasms cause... homeopathy is a debatable remedy system that is still largely regarded as the equivalent of the 'placebo effect'. That is, science postulates that if a person 'believes the treatment will work', then for many ailments that belief will strengthen that person so their natural healing systems will indeed contribute to the healing, but that it is the added strengths this belief lends to their systems, not the actual treatment substance itself, that is doing the healing. In other words, if you give five people water and tell them it is water, they will not get any better; if you give another five people water and tell them it is a scientifically-proven cure to their ailment, their belief in this may actually cause their healing systems to help them recover. Even though it is just water being given to both groups.

In homeopathy, the practitioner needs to be highly trained in homeopathic philosophy and treatment; since it is not an exact science based on measurable criteria, a homeopathic practitioner must learn a large range of other factors to determine a diagnosis and treatment; this will include the patient's gender, size, age, weight, personality, emotional strength and stability, interests, job, lifestyle, and other contributors to their 'life force'. The practitioner must mesh this information organically with the symptoms of their illness, and match this to a custom-prescribed homeopathic treatment, based on a very diluted form of whatever substance is deemed to be the ideal antithesis of that illness. The compilation of these substances is known as the Homeopathic repertory, and the exclusion or inclusion of a symptom and a matching substance is in constant debate among professional homeopathics.

There is one thing agreed to by all: homeopathy treatments are known to be safe. The substances used in remedies are so diluted that they have little power to adversely affect any user; in fact, a strong part of homeopathy centers around the dilution of these substances, in the theory that a strong presence of the substance is not needed, rather that the importance lies in the method of dilution, particularly the repeated dilution and the 'shaking' of the dilution with each repetition, to stimulate its potency. So whether real or placebo, homeo tends to help those who want its help, and is safe to use as long as you don't obey the very few homeopathic 'fanatics' who insist you stay away from other standard medicine practices and use homeopathy only. And there are very real benefits to undergoing a treatment process where the doctor or practitioner treats you as more than just another body coming in with another 'separate' illness or disease; when they must actually take the time to listen to the details of your life and your state of being, that is a great place to start healing in anyone's book.