Ruminating on Remedies, My thoughts on homeopathy

Julia Coyte, CHom

My thoughts on a few of the many thousands
of homeopathic remedies available.
Where, when and how they may be applied in everyday life.

#wellnessawaits

To subscribe to Ruminating on Remedies via Substack, click here. Thanks!
Note: My Substack subscription is free of charge.

Or, follow me on any of the following social media sites…

X/Twitter: @RemedyRuminator
Telegram: t.me/wellnessawaits
Facebook: @JuliaCoyteHomeopath
MeWe: mewe.com/i/juliacoyte
Gab: @Bobthepeacock
Gett'r: Classically Practical Homeopathy @ jcoyte
Locals: https://rollinwithmyhomeys.locals.com
I use Substack to email my latest articles. To subscribe for free, click above or go to homeopathy.substack.com.

Ruminating on Remedies: Digging Deeper

Introducing in-depth homeopathic articles,
digging a little deeper into topics that take my fancy.

At this point in time, it is only available at homeopathy.substack.com but
I hope to have it available here in the near future!

Ruminating on Remedies is and always will be free.
Those articles are listed below.

Thanks for reading!!

12/16/2023

All is Calm?!

Read Now

“All is Calm?” Really? At this time of year?

Holidays and stress seem to go hand in hand. Was this always the plan? I’m thinking not.

Can we decouple Christmas from stress? Jo Robinson and Bill McKibben seem to think it is possible. Full disclosure, I haven’t read their books (Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season & Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For a More Joyful Christmas), but I certainly like the premise.

I am currently on a pre-holiday vacation with my family and as lovely as it is I find myself stressing out when I walk into the beautifully decorated restaurant. You see, I left our house naked — undecorated — prior to shlepping off to the early morning flight. The day before we left, I did haul out a couple boxes of jolly things, so, at least I would not have to do that part the day after stepping back off a plane, but… really? Do I really need to stress myself out to get the “right vibe” going in the few short days before Christmas proper?

I suppose it all comes down to choice. I am choosing to work a few hectic hours to make a festive and fun environment for our Christmas. You know what? That helped. That little mind set switch relieved a lot of the stress I was putting on myself.

What else can help with holiday stress? Well, on a practical note, a few years ago I invested in fabric bags*. No more buying wrapping paper and tape and ribbons and spending hours making things look just right under the tree with miles of wrapping paper, tape and ribbon … and, no more big garbage bags filled with that identical pretty wrapping paper and tape and ribbons that no longer serve any purpose. This has been an enormous time saver/stress reducer, I can tell you that.

What really helps, though, is homeopathy, of course!

Really, any homeopathic remedy that matches the symptoms of what a person is experiencing may be the best stress-reliever for that person, but generically speaking, there are a few homeopathic remedies that I have readily used in the past. Ignatia and Nux vomica are two that come quickly to mind. In fact, check out Overwhelmed for an overview of how those two remedies differ and might help.

Boiron’s Stress Calm** has been known to live in my purse during stressful times. Like all homeopathic remedies, Stress Calm is sedative free and not habit forming. And, like all homeopathic combinations, you may prefer to choose one remedy out of the lineup that suits your situation best, but this is a very helpful little grouping of 6c remedies.
From the Stress Calm package:

Aconite for restlessness and agitation
Belladonna for hypersensitivity to stress
Calendula for nervous fatigue and hypersensitivity to noise
Chelidonium for digestive symptoms caused by stress
Jequirity to relieve uneasiness (This remedy is also known as Abrus precatorius and is known to be helpful for headaches and malaise.)
Viburnum relieves nervousness and restless sleep.

The directions say to dissolve 2 tablets under the tongue three times a day until symptoms are relieved.

We have a few more days of family vacation, then we climb back on the plane for the dreaded flight home… Do some laundry, refill the fridge, send some Charlie Brown Christmas through the speakers, trim the tree and a little corner of the house, too… plop the already wrapped prezzies under the tree and enjoy the decorated days with my boys.

As for the stress of putting Christmas back into the boxes? That’s a whole other issue — I don’t like to enter the New Year with the house full of the old so after enjoying just a couple days of enjoying the fruits of my labor, I will pack it all up again til next year. (Well, the tree stays up, but a naked tree is not fun so I will blow up some balloons and transform the Christmas tree into the New Year’s tree.

Share some of your holiday stress busters in the comments!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

* Fabric wrap: you can purchase premade bags online, though they can be pretty expensive. I found a bunch of fun fabric and then I found a person handier than I with a sewing machine who made them into bags of various sizes, attached with bright ribbons. After a few years of happily using these bags, I now look forward to them just as much as pulling out my favorite ornaments for the tree. (I liked these bags so much I did the same thing for birthdays! I highly recommend it!)

I have also found some great old silk scarves on eBay. They may have a hole or 2 and they may no longer be fashionable around your neck but they’re great for a little fancier version of fabric wrapping!

** I have no financial affiliation with this company, I just like their products.

11/23/2022

Gobble Gobble

Read Now

It’s turkey time!

If it were only the turkey, overeating probably wouldn’t be much of a thing. Add in the mashed potatoes and the stuffing (the name alone says it all!), the sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows (I’ve never tried it, but it doesn’t sound like my thing) and all the pies… now, we’re getting somewhere that ends up in overeating!

There’s not much sense in suggesting to go easy at the Thanksgiving table, but let’s see what we can do to mitigate the damage, shall we?

Before we get to homeopathy, let’s start with some Bach Flowers and see what we can do to pre-empt the debauch.

Cherry Plum to help control your behavior (both food-wise AND inter-relationally!)

Elm, especially if you’re the one cooking and preparing and hosting the big day -- there's a lot to do!

Honeysuckle if you find yourself stuck in memories of the past and having a hard time being present.

Olive if you’ve been over-doing it in the pie-making department and need a little more oomph to get you through.

OK, we’ve made it through the meal prep and the food itself and you didn’t have your Cherry Plum handy to help keep your appetite in check. What now?

Nux vomica for too much. Too much food. Too much football. Too much familial politics. All that too much has left you irritable!

Carbo veg is full of gas. Lots of burping, and that helps but, it’s not enough. Stepping outside for some fresh air helps, too.

Pulsatilla if your overdoing it was focused on ice cream, whipped cream, dairy and fats.

Nat phos for indigestion.

Arsenicum album if the indulgence has left you with burning pains. Or, if you find yourself suffering from food poisoning.

Lycopodium for bloating and gas. Better out than in!

Let’s take these last two remedies one step further and use the Banerji protocol of Lyco/Ars. Lycopodium 200c mixed with Arsenicum album 3c. It does wonders!

I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

2/22/2022

Overwhelmed

Read Now

A friend texted the other day asking for a remedy suggestion “for work stress and ready to cry — not sad crying, but overwhelmed.”

My general go-to for stress and feelings of overwhelm is Ignatia, but that remedy wasn’t quite right here. I suggested Nux vomica to her.

Surprisingly, these two homeopathic remedies have a lot in common in the mental and emotional realm. It’s not really this simple (because there is a lot of nuance to homeopathic remedies), but to me, the difference comes down to this: Ignatia is a bit sadder and Nux vomica is a bit angrier.

In the homeopathic repertory (the big, marvelous book of symptoms), the remedies are listed on a scale of 1-4, with 4 being the strongest association of the remedy to the symptom. Here is how Ignatia and Nux vomica stack up in a few mental/emotional symptoms:

Nervous excitement: Ignatia 3 & Nux 2
Grief & sorrow: Ignatia 4 & Nux 2
Inconsolable: Ignatia 4 & Nux 3
Sulky behavior: Ignatia 4 & Nux 2
Sadness: Ignatia 3 & Nux 2
Feeling dispirited: Ignatia 3 & Nux 2
Brooding behaviour: Ignatia 4 & Nux 1

Where is Nux vomica more highly indicated? Funny you should ask… I have that info right here:

Feelings of hatred: Nux 4 & Ignatia 1
Apathy & indifference: Nux 3 & Ignatia 2
Easily irritated: Nux 3 & Ignatia 2
Easily offended: Nux 4 & Ignatia 3
Disposition to quarrel: Nux 4 & Ignatia 1
Tendency to scold others: Nux 3 & Ignatia 1
Oversensitive… to noise: Nux 4 & Ignatia 3; to voices: Nux 3, Ignatia 1

See what I mean? These two remedies are very similar but just ever so slightly different (in the mental & emotional arena, anyway).

Homeopathic Nux vomica has a reputation of being a good remedy for “the businessman.” Picture the old stereotype of the stressed out, overworked, chain smoking, hard drinking, stressed out, short-tempered business man … the characters from Man in the Grey Flannel Suit* or Mad Men, or, heck, even Darren Stevens from Bewitched!

We’re now in a world where the smoking and heavy daytime drinking may have been dropped away from being societally acceptable, but the stress and the resulting grumpiness remains for all the desk jockies (not just the men in the grey flannel suits).

Homeopathic Nux vomica also addresses issues that stem from work, otherwise known in the repertory as the rubric, “ailments from being overworked".

Indigestion from the stress of being overworked.
Angst and problems stemming from business failures
Worries about business matters
Business matters infiltrating your dreams while you sleep
Headaches with irritability
Just plain worn out from work

All of this stress and worry can then lead to sleep problems which can be addressed nicely by Nux vomica:

Disturbed sleep
Stupefaction, after sleep or just generally feeling worse when you wake up
Falling asleep while sitting
Insomnia, especially if as a result of business worries

Just because the homeopathic literature speaks of the benefits of Nux vomica to businessmen does not mean it only benefits men or only benefits ailments from work related issues… but, it’s a helpful way to remember the remedy.**

Keep calm and carry a tube of Nux vomica…

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

*Aucoin (2015) has a nice overview of The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit.

**For more information on Nux vomica, see these previous articles: Calming the Cold, My Little Bag of Wellness, The Eagle has Landed!, Too Much!