Emotional First Aid with Fast-Acting Natural Medicines
Let’s say you get a sudden shock (almost hit by a car) or bad news (your teenager in a car accident) or grief (unexpected death in the family). These sudden emotional shocks often bring physical symptoms including rapid heart rate, hyperventilating, a lump in the throat, insomnia, or feeling totally drained of energy. When they do, you can use fast-acting natural medicines called homeopathy.
Homeopathic medicines are an ideal way to treat emotional trauma, better than conventional psych meds for many reasons:
safe, non-habit-forming, no addiction or dependency
no side effects
no allergic reactions
inexpensive (typically less than $10 for many doses)
easily available in any health food store, in many pharmacies, and online
unlike herbs and vitamins, they are regulated by the FDA as over-the-counter medicines.
So if they work so well, why aren’t they better known? They’re so inexpensive that their manufacturers can’t afford the huge expenditures that drug companies make for TV commercials, sales reps visiting doctors, and ads in medical journals. Also they’re a little tricky to use. The best methods and typical pitfalls in using homeopathic medicines will be covered in Part 3 of this series.
Rescue Remedy, a blend of flower essences, is like a universal remedy for the whole gamut of emotional traumas. Flower essences (similar to homeopathic medicines) can help when the trauma is physical as well, like your child falling off her bike. Rescue Remedy is one of my top 10 recommendations for everyone’s home medicine cabinet (see my Top 10 blog).
For major crises, though, you may need something stronger in the form of a homeopathic medicine. These medicines are made from herbs, minerals and other natural substances using a special process developed 200 years ago in Germany. Here are a few of my personal favorites that have been life-transforming for my clients. To determine which one will work best for you, match your physical and emotional symptoms to the remedies described below.
Aconite is the top homeopathic remedy for a sudden shock or fright, especially when the person almost died or feels like they almost died. If you need this remedy, you’re likely to have heart palpitations and insomnia. It’s also good for sudden panic attacks.
Ignatia is the top remedy for sudden, strong emotions of all kinds: grief, rage, betrayal, indignation, humiliation. You might need this, for example, if you suddenly found out that your partner has betrayed you with your best friend, or that a less-qualified co-worker got a promotion you expected, or that a loved one passed away. You might sob hysterically, with a lump in your throat, hardly able to breathe from the feeling of pressure on your chest. Think of Ignatia when the emotions are heightened, even to the point of histrionics or melodrama. Yes, it’s the remedy for drama queens and teenage girls!
Gelsemium is another great remedy for hearing bad news, but in this case you go totally numb, feeling like all the energy has been drained out of your body. You have that “deer in the headlights” dazed feeling and you might feel so drained that your eyelids might droop. You might even have that “run over by a truck” feeling like when you’re bedridden with the flu (and it’s also a great remedy for the flu).
Stramonium can be used for children with nightmares and night terrors. They are likely to be terrified of ghosts, of death, of the dark, and — here are the unusual ones — of water (like having their hair washed) and of flashing lights. Physical symptoms can include dilated pupils, a red face, and a twitch or stammer (which of course will require professional attention if it becomes chronic, but you might nip it in the bud with Stramonium).
There are dozens of other homeopathic medicines for emotional first aid. If none of these work for you, consult a professional homeopath who can find the one that will work best for you like a custom-tailored suit. The investment is worth it because it may prevent a chronic illness from taking root. In my own practice as a homeopath, every day I see people whose chronic illness began with what we call the “Never Well Since”, as in, “I’ve never been the same since that happened” — typically an emotional trauma.
To learn how to take the remedies, see my “instructions” blog, plus more complete information in my book, Your Natural Medicine Cabinet.
This was adaped from Burke Lennihan’s Your Natural Medicine Cabinet: A Practical Guide to Drug-Free Remedies for Common Ailments and may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes with attribution and a backlink to this site.
