DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND HOMEOPATHY
By Joette Calabrese, HMC, CCH, RSHom (NA)
She was one of those women who had everything: a loving husband, beautiful, healthy children, a well-run, stylish home, and intelligence to boot. She considered her life in order and often pondered it with satisfaction. She was slightly spoiled.
It wasn’t always that way though. Only fifteen years earlier she was single and suffering from debilitating depression, anxiety attacks and chronic fatigue. These were not the typical premenstrual blues and occasional anxiety attacks; they were the overwhelming, life-altering sort. Her life was bulging with medical drama and constant searching for answers. “Why,” she would whimper, “is this happening to me?” The answers were vague and confusing. From doctor to doctor she traveled only to find her inescapable illness deepening with each new medication.
Then one day, purely by accident, a friend mentioned that a relative had visited a homeopath which resulted in a cure of his anxiety attacks. Intriguing, she considered. It was an easy decision. She solicitously dragged herself into the initial visit only half believing anything could save her from her life of chronic suffering.
Yet, she was struck by the first meeting. Impressively, the homeopath spent nearly two hours in consultation with her, completely focused on what she had to say. “Everything about you is important,” clarified the homeopath, “even the position in which you sleep.” If nothing else, it was refreshing to have someone listen to her with genuine interest.
She left the homeopath’s office with renewed hope, because it was the first time anyone had eXplained what was going on. The homeopath told her that each medication she had been taking was concealing a symptom that was not only causing more serious ones but was suppressing her body’s ability to adjust to her condition. And further, her symptoms were not the culprits, but were gifts of insight that directed the homeopath toward finding the remedy that precisely suited her.
Once the correct remedy was determined, her sufferings would no longer be veiled but slowly melt away one by one. It might take some time, warned the homeopath, but over weeks, energy would be gained, anxiety diminished and perspective restored. Most important, homeopathy isn’t a cover-up of symptoms, but a proven world-wide medical method that uproots illness on both the physical and mental plane.
The day after her first dose of Aurum metallicum was a remarkable one. It so happened that she hoped she could eke out a day of one simple task. She simply wanted to organize a file she was compiling to build a case for social security benefits since she was no longer capable of work.
She had grown accustomed to measuring her time and tasks according to what her symptoms allowed. Most days were relegated to about an hour or two of productive time while the remainder was spent napping, peppered with anxiety attacks and weeping.
This day was different. Instead of the expected, she found herself organizing other files, too, and even wandering into the kitchen and making soup from scratch. This was a once-relished task that had also been left behind due to her mounting fatigue. Yet, here she was working and providing herself with a nourishing meal!
When she finished lunch, she noticed the pantry needed tidying. Instead of postponing the task as usual, she took it on with renewed gusto. “Hey,” she thought, “I remember this feeling. . . it’s the way I used to feel in college; energetic, capable and motivated.” It was then that she realized she hadn’t felt well for probably a decade. After the last jar of beans was wiped and returned to the shelf, she scanned the room for another undertaking. Maybe I’ll just start a load of laundry, she considered.
And so the day went: task after task accomplished with ease, unlike any other day for what seemed a life time. That night, as she lay her head on the pillow she took pleasure in reflecting on the accomplishments of the day and only hoped this had something to do with the homeopathic remedy.
“Nah, just a fluke,” she decided, and fell deeply asleep.
Yet, upon awakening the next morning, despite the cold, damp weather, a factor that had always worsened her depression, she prepared herself for another productive day. This happened day after day for nearly a fortnight when finally she experienced a panic attack. She wept a little, too; more out of grief that her new well-being might be coming to an end.
Then something uncommon happened. Just when the panic was coming to the usual breathless pitch, it abruptly stopped. And instead of the telltale exhaustion and residual diarrhea, there was a sense of calm. If it hadn’t been for the fact that it was nearly midnight, she would have phoned her homeopath. Instead, she jotted down her experiences of the last two weeks to report at their next meeting.
And so it went. Day after day, week after week, the depression appeared only occasionally, now shorter, now less dramatic. Her desire to go out and her stamina returned. The prescription medications she once depended on had now been eliminated; so had the over-the-counter ones, and she began experiencing the life she always envisioned. After a few more visits to the homeopath, her irregular and debilitating menses were also brought to normalcy and she stopped taking naps altogether.
This was about the time she met her future husband. They were introduced at a mutual friend’s house-the one who had earlier shared the homeopath’s name. Innocently, the friend wore strong perfume, a previous trigger to anxiety, yet none of this made our heroine ill. Instead she was particularly clever and charming that night, which caught his attention. No more fogginess and anxiety. Her intelligence sparkled.
Their marriage has been blessed with two children who are both taken to her now beloved homeopath for any ills. Conventional medications are not considered in her or her family’s lives. It’s homeopathy for all ofthem. Depression is a,thing of the past. So is the fatigue, diarrhea, anxiety, foggy thinking and menstrual disorders.
She has a good life, rich with the blessings of a family and vigorous health. It only looks from the outside like a privileged life was bestowed upon her. Perhaps she has higher-than-average expectations, hence the ability to bring them to fruition. There is an assumed excellence that comes from abundant health that she and her family have come to enjoy. Indeed, homeopathy has spoiled her.
Joette Calabrese, HMC,CCH,RSHom(Na) is a classical homeopath and educator. She is on staff at the British Institute of Homeopathy, Chautauqua Institute, Chautauqua, NY and Daemen College, Amherst, iVY Her CD, “Perform in the Stonn,” is a convenient study of homeopathic first aid and is a natural accompaniment to her phone-seminars. Her CD, “Secret Spoonjitls; Confessions of Sneaky 1110711, ” is a Weston Price styled primer. She is also the author of the book Cure Yourself and Family with Homeopathy. She can be reached at 716.941.1045 for phone consultations or visit www.homeopathyyvorks.net. To be placed on the mailing list leave your email on the website.
Published with kind permission of the Weston A. Price Foundation