Understanding Suppression and Healing
To suppress means to put an end to something by force; to stop or inhibit actions such as a runny nose, diarrhea, rashes, fevers, etc. Suppressing the symptoms can bring quick relief. We can go about our day and forget that the symptoms were there in the first place. But what we may not understand is that this action is only masking the problem. The outcome of this action is to drive the disease inward, deeper into our system because we are not allowing our body to express and dispel the symptoms so it can heal.
There are many ways suppression can occur. Suppression can happen when we use drugs or herbs that work against the body. We can experience emotional suppression if we hide or repress our feelings. If we have surgery to remove a growth which prevent a flow of action in our body, this can be suppressive too.
Constantine Hering (1800-1880) a German homeopath, known for his observations of the healing process, observed that symptoms improve, from a more important organ to a less important one, from within outwards, in the reverse order of their appearance.
Suppressing a disease will reverse this order. The symptoms can disappear with the medication but the disease will turn inward and establish a different means of expression. It will travel from the skin or mucous membranes and turn inward following a path to establish a deeper, more complex disease.
One example of the path a disease can take is:
Shortly after birth, an infant develops a rash on her skin. Mom applies medicated creams to the area and after some time the rash goes away. All seems OK until the child, now a toddler, is experiencing stomach upset, diarrhea, vomiting. There is no evidence of any outside source for this and medications are given to make the child feel better. Eventually the symptoms are gone and all is well again. Months or years later, the child develops asthma. The child has to use a rescue inhaler and steroids in order to function. From here we watch as the child develops behavioral troubles and can be labeled as ADD or ADHD.
The rash on the infant had been suppressed turning this disease expression inward, progressing toward the digestive system, lowering the energy level of the child. Eliminating the digestive issues with medications continued to lower the capacity of the immune system to be available to function as needed, and, over time, a deeper organ became challenged, the lungs, creating asthmatic symptoms. The stronger asthma medications were needed to allow the child to breath easier and they further challenge the immune system, creating a constant state of stress. The result was emotional and behavioral troubles as the inner weakness progressed.
Other examples of suppressive actions are:
The innate healing power of the body always tries to protect the internal organs by keeping any disease expression on the skin or mucous membranes; thereby preserving the organism through the crisis.
As we begin to understand the flow of the disease we become more aware that each of these symptoms, as they progress over time, are related to each other and not separate illnesses. They are an expression of the same imbalance of the body.
Maintaining optimal health is the goal for many of us. The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, psychic, and social well-being and not merely the absence of illness or infirmities. Homeopathy believes that a healthy state is one where the system has the freedom to adapt to change, to be able to adjust freely to changing circumstances.
With homeopathic care, a complete picture of the diseased state is observed through current and past symptoms, as well as the past medical history. The goal of homeopathic treatment is to support and develop a stronger immune system, and return the person back to a healthy state.
To suppress means to put an end to something by force; to stop or inhibit actions such as a runny nose, diarrhea, rashes, fevers, etc. Suppressing the symptoms can bring quick relief. We can go about our day and forget that the symptoms were there in the first place. But what we may not understand is that this action is only masking the problem. The outcome of this action is to drive the disease inward, deeper into our system because we are not allowing our body to express and dispel the symptoms so it can heal.
There are many ways suppression can occur. Suppression can happen when we use drugs or herbs that work against the body. We can experience emotional suppression if we hide or repress our feelings. If we have surgery to remove a growth which prevent a flow of action in our body, this can be suppressive too.
Constantine Hering (1800-1880) a German homeopath, known for his observations of the healing process, observed that symptoms improve, from a more important organ to a less important one, from within outwards, in the reverse order of their appearance.
Suppressing a disease will reverse this order. The symptoms can disappear with the medication but the disease will turn inward and establish a different means of expression. It will travel from the skin or mucous membranes and turn inward following a path to establish a deeper, more complex disease.
One example of the path a disease can take is:
Shortly after birth, an infant develops a rash on her skin. Mom applies medicated creams to the area and after some time the rash goes away. All seems OK until the child, now a toddler, is experiencing stomach upset, diarrhea, vomiting. There is no evidence of any outside source for this and medications are given to make the child feel better. Eventually the symptoms are gone and all is well again. Months or years later, the child develops asthma. The child has to use a rescue inhaler and steroids in order to function. From here we watch as the child develops behavioral troubles and can be labeled as ADD or ADHD.
The rash on the infant had been suppressed turning this disease expression inward, progressing toward the digestive system, lowering the energy level of the child. Eliminating the digestive issues with medications continued to lower the capacity of the immune system to be available to function as needed, and, over time, a deeper organ became challenged, the lungs, creating asthmatic symptoms. The stronger asthma medications were needed to allow the child to breath easier and they further challenge the immune system, creating a constant state of stress. The result was emotional and behavioral troubles as the inner weakness progressed.
Other examples of suppressive actions are:
- Fever – using aspirin may lead to Chronic fatigue
- Menstrual pains – using hormones to suppress ovulation may lead to Depression
- Foot sweats – using foot powders may lead to Migraine headaches
- UTI/Yeast infections – suppressed with antibiotics/anti-fungals may lead to Cervical dysplasia
The innate healing power of the body always tries to protect the internal organs by keeping any disease expression on the skin or mucous membranes; thereby preserving the organism through the crisis.
As we begin to understand the flow of the disease we become more aware that each of these symptoms, as they progress over time, are related to each other and not separate illnesses. They are an expression of the same imbalance of the body.
Maintaining optimal health is the goal for many of us. The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, psychic, and social well-being and not merely the absence of illness or infirmities. Homeopathy believes that a healthy state is one where the system has the freedom to adapt to change, to be able to adjust freely to changing circumstances.
With homeopathic care, a complete picture of the diseased state is observed through current and past symptoms, as well as the past medical history. The goal of homeopathic treatment is to support and develop a stronger immune system, and return the person back to a healthy state.