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Homeopathy for

Depression, Anxiety and


Insomnia

Fifty North
December 17, 2019
Sujata Owens, Homeopathic Master Clinician
Vitalforceconsulting.com
507 645 4329
vitalforceconsulting4@gmail.com
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 Depression is a medical illness that
involves both the mind and body. It
affects how you feel, think and
behave.
 Depression can lead to a variety of
emotional and physical problems.
 One may have trouble doing normal
day-to-day activities, and depression
may make you feel as if life isn't
worth living.
Depression: Definition
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 Dr. James Gordon, author of the book
“Unstuck”, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist
holds a view that depression isn't really a
disease, but a life out of balance.
 The dominant issue in depression is
stress.
 Dr. Gordon's solution: A mix of
meditation, dance therapy, deep
breathing, shaking, exercise, herbs,
nutritional supplements and self-help
strategies.
 I add Homeopathy to his list.
What is depression?
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 Feelings of sadness or unhappiness
 Irritability or frustration, even over small matters
 Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities
 Reduced sex drive
 Insomnia or excessive sleeping
 Changes in appetite — depression often causes decreased appetite and weight loss,
but in some people it causes increased cravings for food and weight gain
 Agitation or restlessness — for example, pacing, hand-wringing or an inability to sit
still
 Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
 Indecisiveness, distractibility and decreased concentration
 Fatigue, tiredness and loss of energy — even small tasks may seem to require a lot
of effort
 Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself when
things aren't going right
 Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
 Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
 Crying spells for no apparent reason
 Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches

Depression Symptoms
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 Biological differences. People with depression appear to have
physical changes in their brains. The significance of these
changes is still uncertain but may eventually help pinpoint
causes.
 Neurotransmitters. These naturally occurring brain chemicals
linked to mood are thought to play a direct role in depression.
 Hormones. Changes in the body's balance of hormones may be
involved in causing or triggering depression. Hormone changes
can result from thyroid problems, menopause and a number of
other conditions.
 Inherited traits. Depression is more common in people whose
biological family members also have the condition. Researchers
are trying to find genes that may be involved in causing
depression.
 Life events. Events such as the death or loss of a loved one,
financial problems and high stress can trigger depression in some
people.
 Early childhood trauma. Traumatic events during childhood,
such as abuse or loss of a parent, may cause permanent changes
in the brain that make you more susceptible to depression.

Causes of Depression
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 Never been well since a shock or loss
 Person feels as if they have a glass wall between them and
the rest of the world.
 Inability to cry since bereavement and feel that they have
not grieved properly for their loss.
 They feel worse for sympathy yet are very empathetic
people.
 They can appear somewhat cold and distant.
 They can worry about upsetting people unintentionally by
saying the wrong thing and also can take things the wrong
way.
 They have a strong sense of duty, but can find themselves
being overwhelmed by the responsibility of their work
 They get more and more tired and low in spirit as time
goes on.
 Resentment builds up overtime. .

Symptom picture of Natrum mur.


in treating depression
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 Excellent remedy for menopause, postnatal depression
where hormonal imbalance is the cause.
 For women who are sad, silent, solitary individuals,
completely lacking in zest.
 When all energy is drained, and when they feel they are
unworthy of anybody’s love or attention
 Tears are never far away and a feeling of having to keep
emotions under control otherwise one will have to scream.
Sepia women will often tell me that they love their
husbands or partners but cannot manage the physical side
of the relationship.
 Sepia usually suits women who tend to feel chilly and they
can either feel incredibly hungry, being unable to ever feel
full or have nausea at the mere smell of food. They often
have a sinking, or “all-gone” feeling in the pit of the
stomach, especially when they wake, which is not relieved
by eating.

Sepia
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 Aurum is indicated for those who have an
exaggerated sense of duty combined with
feelings of guilt and anxiety about perceived
failings. This state can descend into severe
depression with thoughts of suicide which may
be triggered by grief or disappointment in love.
 Aurum also a remedy for types of cardiac and
vascular complaints or symptoms. Heat may
surge through the veins and to the head to
create a florid, reddened appearance.
 Symptoms improve with slow walking or in the
early evening
 Worse at night
 Music can improve symptoms, especially mental-
emotional ones.

Aurum met.
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 Confusion about time (“time seems to pass too
slowly”)
 Difficulty making decisions, unease in the evening
(“as if something were going to happen”)
 Involuntary weeping without cause and a dazed
feeling
 Making mistakes in writing and speaking.
 All such symptoms are worse in the morning and tend
to improve as the day goes on
 When symptoms of depression give rise to symptoms
of forgetfulness and memory loss and may lead to a
mistaken diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s
disease.

Alumina
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 Anxiety is a normal part of life. It can
even be useful when it alerts us to
danger. But for some people, anxiety is a
persistent problem that interferes with
daily activities such as work, school or
sleep. This type of anxiety can disrupt
relationships and enjoyment of life, and
over time it can lead to health concerns
and other problems.

Anxiety
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 In some cases, anxiety is a diagnosable mental
health condition that requires treatment.
Generalized anxiety disorder, for example, is
characterized by persistent worry about major or
minor concerns. Other anxiety disorders — such
as panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) — have more specific triggers
and symptoms.
 In some cases, anxiety is caused by a medical
condition that needs treatment.
 Whatever form of anxiety you have, counseling,
lifestyle changes and individualized homeopathic
remedy should help.

Anxiety Disorder
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 Constant worrying or obsession about small
or large concerns
 Restlessness and feeling keyed up or on edge
 Fatigue
 Difficulty concentrating or your mind "going
blank"
 Irritability
 Muscle tension or muscle aches
 Trembling, feeling twitchy or being easily
startled
 Trouble sleeping
 Sweating, nausea or diarrhea
 Shortness of breath or rapid heartbeat

Symptoms of Anxiety disorder


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 Performance at school, work or sporting
events
 Being on time (punctuality)
 Earthquakes, tornadoes, nuclear war or other
catastrophic events
 Overly anxious to fit in
 Need to be perfectionist
 Lack of confidence
 Strive for approval
 Require a lot of reassurance about
performance

Symptoms of Anxiety disorder


Continued
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 As with many mental health conditions,
what causes generalized anxiety disorder
isn't fully understood.
 It may involve reduction in naturally
occurring brain chemicals
(neurotransmitters), such as serotonin,
dopamine and norepinephrine.
 It's likely that the condition has several
causes that may include genetics, your
environment and stress.

Causes

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◦ Acute situations, consider Aconite,
Ignatia
◦ People whose whole lives are strongly
driven by anxiety, consider Arsenicum
album, Nitric acid
◦ Patients who can tend to go toward
anxiety in certain situations or under
certain kinds of stress, consider Baryta
carbonica, Calcarea carbonica,
Lycopodium, Phosphorus

Homeopathic Remedies for


Anxiety
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 Often thought of in 1st aid situations
 Can be a sudden event that produces an
inflammatory state, an injury, a
frightening event, or intense pain
 Suffocating feeling
 Also good for chronic panic disorders and
even a long time after a big shock

Aconite
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 Similar to Aconite can be after a big shock
or bad news
 Anxiety, bereavement, and hysterical
manifestations
 A great deal of crying and blaming,
extreme irritability
 Idealism: Based on their idealism, they
expect how things should be in the world,
or in the relationship, but find reality is
different and then anxiety manifests

Ignatia
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 Physical symptoms often involve nervous
system, ticking, twitching, spasms
 Headaches
 Blotchy skin especially around neck and
chest
 Contradictory symptoms: Laughing while
crying
 Feel sensation of plug in the throat
 Voice issues

Ignatia
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◦ View of life that has the underlying basis of
anxiety: everything is going to hurt me, make
me sick, kill me, take advantage of me
◦ Anxiety about health, think they will catch
everything. Fear of germs, cancer, AIDS, big
illnesses, death
◦ Obsessive, especially related to their health
◦ Fear not enough to go around: money, food,
jobs, love, everything
◦ Underlying vulnerability with insecurity &
inability to protect themselves

Ars. album
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 Restlessness/Movement
◦ Desire to move, control the environment and others
in it
◦ Internal restlessness, angst drives the restlessness
◦ Compulsions to do things to ease worries
◦ Obsessive, conscientious about trifles
◦ Tend to have many health care professionals
◦ Full time job out of taking care of health issues
◦ Nervous restlessness: biting nails, pulling at
eyelashes
◦ Anxious posture/expression

Ars. album
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 Life is basically hurtful and harmful and
then you’re going to die. Fatalistic view.
 Strong anxiety about health, quickly
moves to anxiety about death; the world
is going to kill me—and no one is going to
help.
 Offended easily, takes everything in
wrong vein
 Feels all pains acutely and excessively

Nitricum acidum
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 Lots of cracks, fissures, bleeding
 Difficult time healing from small or large
wounds
 Negative, hateful, spiteful
 Desires company which does not
ameliorate
 Cold sores, canker sores
 Asthma

Nitricum acidum
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 Desire to connect with people
 Bubbly, outgoing and open
 Overdoes in that regard
 Needs to close off for a while
 Feels lonely and isolated
 Leads to fear and anxiety
 Anxiety about the family, the future, friends
 Much better with company, consolation
always ameliorates

Phosphorus
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 As stress mounts, becomes more and more
anxious. Anxiety can be about anything:
themselves, loved one, money
 The stress plays on their underlying fearful
nature. What if?? Fear of unknown, future,
natural disasters
 The anxiety makes them want to work, do
things, organize, tidy up, and overdo
 Overdoing leads to break down/anxiety
worsens
 Worse with any change, when hurried

Calcarea carb.
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 Can be controlling, obstinate with focus on
details
 Concrete thinkers. They love structure
 Calcarea can present with symptoms on any
system: swellings, fullness, swollen glands,
growths, inflammations
 Breakdown phase: fatigue, irritability, hair loss,
chilly, weak, issues with hair, teeth, nails
◦ Chilly
◦ Tend to be constipated
◦ Easy weight gain/difficulty losing weight
◦ Easy perspiration

Calcarea carb.
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 Anxiety is that they feel like they are a big
fake
 Particular type of social anxiety—revolving
around losing status
 Begins with an inherent weakness
 Which leads to feelings of inadequacy
 Inadequacy leads to anxiety and fear of
failure, humiliation
 So Lycopodium puffs up a bit, makes
themselves bigger and better for the public.
They boast and brag.

Lycopodium
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 Any inflammations in the abdominal
organs
 Fullness (feel full with small meals) &
bloating
 Inflammations in general
 Desire sweets and worse with overeating
 Right sided complaints
 Sleep on right side
 Worse 4 to 8 pm

Lycopodium
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 Anxiety based on insecurity and lack of
sense of self
 Anxiety heightened during times of
decision making or times of transition
 Anxiety worse when have to ‘grow up’
 Anxiety worse when do not understand
what is going on, in the world, in their
life, in their body.
 Feel their legs are cut off, like that of a
handicapped person

Baryta carb.
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 Can be very concrete and literal
 Lots of attention to details
 Cannot necessarily see the big picture, so
many things can cause anxiety for them
 Easily overwhelmed at all life transitions:
starting high school or college, giving
birth, new job, empty nest, relationship
change
 Tend to have learning difficulties

Baryta carb.
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 The average requirement for adults is
estimated at six to eight hours, but many
people need much more than that.
 If you are feeling chronically stressed and
compromised, both physically and
mentally, then you are not getting
sufficient sleep.

Insomnia or Sleeplessness
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 In a Ted Talk Neuroscientist Jeff Iliff
explains importance of sleep and brain's
elegant functioning of clearing that
happens during our sleep. The video is
only 12 minutes but worth watching to
understand importance of sleep. It seems
that there is a connection between
Alzheimer's and chronic insomnia due to
build up of amyloid beta aggregates in
insomnia.
https://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_i
liff_one_more_reason_to_get_a_g
ood_night_s_sleep
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 Coffea cruda should be thought of in sleeplessness
when mental excitement and nervous stimulation
may keep a person from sleeping
 Thoughts preventing sleep can be happy or
distressing. The person may be looking forward to
something that will happen in the morning, but feels
stressed and exhausted as the night wears on.
 If the person falls asleep, it is usually very light with
vivid dreams, and disturbed by any little noise or
motion.
 Coffea cruda also helps if overuse of caffeine is the
cause of sleeplessness.

Indications for Coffea cruda to


treat sleeplessness
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 A person with insomnia from nervous
exhaustion caused by overwork or mental
strain, or following a taxing illness
 The person is very weak and sensitive to
everything (noise, lights, touch, and
pain).
 Irritability, depression, and anxiety with
an empty feeling in the stomach are often
seen.

Kali phos.
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 People who have insomnia after over-
indulgence in stimulants, food, and drink
 After overexertion, either physically or
mentally.
 They may be able to drift off, but sleep is
light, and they often awaken in the early
morning (typically three a.m.) and lie awake
for hours.
 On getting up, they are tense, impatient, and
irritable, with a feeling that they need more
sleep.

Nux vomica
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 Nervous people with low stamina who get
too tired, then have insomnia. The person
often goes to sleep at first, but awakens
suddenly with a hot or surging feeling in
the head—and finds it hard to fall asleep
again.
 People who need this remedy usually have
anxious dreams, and some (especially
children) sleepwalk frequently.

Silicea
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 People who need this remedy often have
insomnia from mental activity. They can
get wound up from overwork—or be
naturally inclined toward nervousness and
just have trouble relaxing.
 Their legs and arms often feel extremely
restless, and lying still in bed may be
impossible. Even during the daytime, a
person who needs this remedy may feel a
constant need to move the muscles.

Zincum met
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Fresh look at alternative medicine by Mayo
Clinic and U of MN psychiatry dept.
 The Mayo Clinic has been weaving mind-
body therapies into all fields of
medicine, including psychiatry, for several
years. Even the University of Minnesota
psychiatry department, which has long
focused on the biology of brain diseases, is
taking a fresh look at alternative
medicine, said its chairman, Dr. Charles
Schultz.
 "If it leads to a better outcome, then I think
it's our obligation to look at it," Dr. Schultz
said.

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 Economic
 Effective
 Scientific
 Systematic

And Natural approach to healthy


body and mind.

Homeopathy
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 Homeopaths are able to treat depression,
anxiety and sleeplessness effectively by
bringing the individual into balance.
 Homeopaths treat the specific pattern of
symptoms which an individual presents.
 Only single homeopathic remedy that
matches the unique symptoms of the
individual will bring the balance.
The Homeopathic Approach: Treat
the person and depression,
anxiety and sleeplessness self-
corrects.
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 Homeopathic treatment is natural, legal and
effective.
 Homeopathic remedies are inexpensive.
 The significant cost of homeopathic
treatment is office visits. Once the person
has responded well to the homeopathic
remedy, appointments are infrequent.
 Homeopathy treats the whole person. Not
only do the depression, anxiety and
sleeplessness symptoms improve, so do most
or all of the other physical, mental and
emotional complaints of the person improve.

Homeopathy offers help


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 Homeopathic  Homeopathy is
remedies are free of affordable. The
any side effects. We average cost at VFC for
use natural and micro first year has been
doses of medicinal $1500- $ 3500. This
substances. includes cost of
 Benefits can be homeopathic remedies.
experienced for  So Homeopathy is cost-
months or years rather effective in the long run
than hours
 Treats each person as
an individual.
 Heals physical as well
as mental and
emotional symptoms

Benefits of homeopathy:
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 Homeopathy offers 1. Offers a method of
the best any achieving and
preventative maintaining vibrant
medicine has to offer: health
Strengthened immune 2. Improves one’s
system leads to sense of well being
ability to ward off 3. Helps reach one’s
illnesses easily. full healthy
Prevents illness potential
naturally, gently and 4. Removes physical
rapidly signs and
symptoms of illness

Benefits of homeopathy:
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 Physical as well as mental and emotional
signs and symptoms of disease, specific to
each person, are recognized as attempts
on the part of the body to heal itself.
 Signs and symptoms manifest themselves
because the body has been unable to
restore balance from its inner resources
and needs help.

Why do Signs and symptoms show


up when we are at dis-ease?
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 Homeopathic consultation involves an
interview in which the data of physical,
mental and emotional symptoms along
with medical history is collected.
 This data is then analyzed and evaluated
to understand the essence of the
imbalanced state of the individual.
 This process leads the homeopath to find
the specific remedy for the individual.

Understanding a person through


comprehensive consultation
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 Homeopathy works by enhancing the
body’s natural ability to heal itself.
 Action of individual specific Homeopathic
Remedy leads to gentle stimulation and
restoration of imbalanced Vital Force to
balance.
 This in turn leads to disappearance of
sings and symptoms restoring balance.

How does homeopathy work?


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 Depends on the severity of the issues, the
vitality of the patient as well as other
lifestyle factors of the patient
 Depends on whether there are current
medications being taken
 If client seems sensitive, I start with LM
potency. With children and clients with
high vitality, I start with 200c.

Potency selection
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Two Examples of Plant sources

 Hyoscymus niger, Plant family Solanaceae


 Crocus sativa, Plant family Liliflorae

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Two Examples of Mineral sources

 Adamas, common name: Diamond


 Aurum metallicum, common name: Gold

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Two Examples of animal sources

 Lac loxodonta, common name: Elephant’s


milk
 Naja tripudans, common name: Cobra snake

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Homeopathic Medicines
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Vial containing
pills of
Silicea 200 C,
a
homoeopathic
remedy
Homeopathic Medicine
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 The homeopathic interview is a perfect
opportunity to talk about video games,
interests, hobbies, sports and grand
passions.
 Homeopathic interviews are fun, interactive
and playful!
 Homeopathic visits are infrequent once a
month or less.
 Homeopathic interviews can be conducted
by phone, Skype video calls with assistance
from emails.

Homeopathic Interviews: Fun,


interactive and Playful

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 Due to its success, homeopathy is widely
practiced all around the world. It is 2nd most
commonly used medicine in the world.
 Mahatma Gandhi,
Father of India
Ardent follower of homeopathy said,
“Homeopathy effectively helps a larger
percentage of people than any other science, and
is beyond doubt the safest and most economical
form of health care.”

Success leads to choice as a Natural


Health Care worldwide
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 I ask you to take charge of your health by
choosing homeopathy for your health care
needs.
 I am eager to show you how this
affordable, effective and legal approach to
healthy body and mind can meet your
family’s health care needs and change
your life.

Please call 507 645 4329 or email


vitalforceconsulting4@gmail.com

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 https://www.britishhomeopathic.org/chari
ty/how-we-can-
help/articles/conditions/a/beating-the-
blues/
 https://homeopathyplus.com/know-your-
remedies-aurum-metallicum-aur/
 Amy Rothenberg
 Unstuck by James Gordon
 National Center for Homeopathy

Resources
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