A symptom is observable or felt changes in the physical, emotional, or mental condition of a person that limits their optimal health. Homeopaths believe that symptoms represent the efforts of the organism to deal with an internal or external stress. Symptoms do not exist in isolation but are a reflection of how the whole person is coping with that stress.

The homeopath looks at the whole person to determine their unique symptoms, and tailors the medicine to match those symptoms. 

In allopathic medicine, the focus is just on the disease or the symptom. Let's look at the example of eczema. When you go to the doctor with this symptom, the physician would look at the eczema and prescribe based on the symptom   eczema. In homeopathy, the homeopathic physician wants to understand the whole person. Homeopaths understand that symptoms are adaptive as the body will adapt to a stress that is brought onto it. Symptoms are NOT the disease. They simply accompany the disease. Symptoms are just the body’s natural way to try to heal itself. Symptoms are the ONLY tool the body has to alert us to the fact that something is off kilter. By treating only the symptom, we are killing the messenger. 

Individuals are unique, and as such have different strengths and weaknesses which affect the way disease manifests for them. We all have a distinct mental, emotional, and physical makeup which is determined by hereditary tendencies, environmental influences and factors of disease. 

A homeopath’s role in getting to know the whole person is to find the medicine that is most similar to both the person, and the person’s totality of symptoms. Homeopaths look at the onset or cause of the symptoms (what was the person doing before they caught a cold, or fever, or did it come on suddenly) where is the location of the symptom (where on the head is the headache, left side, right side, back of head, behind the eyes) what does the sensation or pain feel like (throbbing, stabbing, burning) are there any discharges and what are they like (green, yellow, clear, thick, stringy etc.) what makes the symptom feel better or worse (cold compress, open window, warm compress, drinking cold water, eating, sleeping) what the emotional state is like (weepy, irritable, angry). A homeopath also looks at what time of the day a symptom comes on, if weather or a specific season makes symptoms better or worse, energy levels (are they better or worse with rest etc.) are there any cravings or aversions and general body temperature. 

Symptoms are wisdom. It is important we listen to them. Take note of your symptoms and rather than suppressing them, consider what lifestyle choices you are currently making that could be causing your body to show symptoms.
Is it:

• poor diet choices?
• Environmental stimulus?
• Stress?
• Lack of sleep?
• Lack of movement?
• Lack of hydration?

Take a look at these first and you may be surprised at how positively your body responds!

If you're interested in learning more about Homeopathy, you can find a wealth of information HERE