When I see someone, I am always looking for underlying causes. I have learned that whatever the symptoms someone comes to me with, if I treat just those symptoms, then it will help, but will not remove the processes that create those symptoms.
To give an example, if someone is suffering from allergies, then just telling them to avoid the substances that are causing those allergies will help them, but will not get rid of the allergy.
I always think about what is causing their body to react in such a way that a common food/substance is interpreted as a foreign invader. What is causing their immune system to activate inappropriately.
Is it incomplete digestion? Is it a poor immune system? Is it lack of certain nutrients? Is it stress? Lifestyle? Emotional? To return to health, the immune response has to be modulated so that it responds appropriately to the challenges it faces. An allergy is an over-reaction of the immune system to a common food or substance. If your body vomits when you eat a poison, we do not call that an allergy. Because the immune system is over-reacting in an allergic response, it then gets overworked, and tends to under-react in other ways. This is why those people with allergies are prone to catch colds, their immune system is busy all the time.
I have find allergies becoming more and more common amongst the people I see, relieving allergies has a profound effect on a persons health. The are often the cause of many low grade symptoms, the symptoms can be as wide ranging as gas, bloating, heartburn, vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea, poor brain function (there are many immune receptors in the brain), tiredness, muscle pains, anxiety, fibromyalgia, eczema, psoriasis... the list is long, and I could go on for a long time.
Much of my success with people is due to my treatment of allergies. I look out for them when treating someone. In relieving allergies, a great strain is taken off the body. It can focus on keeping the body healthy rather than fighting seemingly foreign invaders.
Bringing back the immune system to a place where it is ready and waiting to fight viruses, and external invaders will have a remarkable effect on health and wellness. And allergies are a sign that the immune system needs some attention.
The wonderful English Herbalist, Christopher Hedley once said, "If you allow your patient to talk to you for long enough, they will eventually tell you exactly what is wrong with them and from where their illness has originated." His view was that even if their illness appeared to them to come from an emotional cause, rather than a physical or practical one, you could then alter their treatment to suit them. He illustrated his view by talking about a woman with a nasty boil on her head. He not only treated it with the appropriate herbs, but also with a flower essence to address the original underlying emotional origin.
ReplyDeleteI remember talking to a son, whose elderly mother had seemingly collapsed and developed a whole series of ailments from which she later died. He couldn't understand how she went from being "well" to being "seriously ill", so I talked him through what may have been going on in her whole body systems to cause her sudden collapse. He found this really helpful as it enabled him to accept his mother's condition and plan for her passing. As you have said, being aware of underlying causes is so important!