Random raves

I am getting really fucking tired of professional sceptics bagging on homeopathy as the absolute pinnacle of dangerously naive belief systems.That all homeopaths are wilfully putting people's lives at risk, that we are cynically exploiting people, that we are the ultimate in ripping people off under false pretences.

I get really irked when people compare homeopathy to religion. Actually, no, we don't expect you to "believe" in homeopathy. If you think it's bullshit, fine, fuck off somewhere else. Or take the remedy and perhaps be helped. We don't promise you'll be "saved" (or even cured) if you use it. We don't say "non-believers" are evil - in fact, we recommend  you go to the goddamned doctor for life-threatening or severe conditions. We don't start fucking wars with people who refuse to use it.

There is not an ethical homeopath on this planet who professes to know how it works; it just seems to. We know that it can't work scientifically - we could have told the idiots doing stupid stunts like trying to "poison" themselves with homeopathic Arsenicum that we know there aren't any fucking arsenic molecules left in the more diluted preparations. (Of course, it would have been interesting if the anal, nervy types prone to headaches and stomach upsets noticed any improvement afterwards). It could be a "placebo" or "counselling" or "faith" effect that makes remedies appear to work - if so, who the hell cares? I really don't know how a placebo could work to cure my 3-week-old nephew of jaundice, but it was probably "coincidence" that it went away within 48 hours of being given a remedy. And actually, I don't consider myself to be a "person of faith", and I can appreciate its effects (since I'm qualified in the thing, obviously I'm deluded in other ways).

I found a sceptics website that seemed to consist of lists of dodgy practitioners - and there are some - who endangered people's lives by recommending bizarre "treatments" (that actually weren't homeopathy as I know it) and recommended against conventional medicine. Again, a proper homeopath appreciates the role that conventional medicine plays in modern healthcare - hello, I'm quite happy that there are things like antibiotics and surgery. You're always going to get idiots - there are plenty of idiot doctors who will feed addictions, mete out inadequate care, make errors and refuse to refer you to the appropriate specialists. So, you get morons in any field; I also don't think there are that many more in the area of homeopathy compared to normal medicine, especially since it's so lightly regulated.

[Did you know that in Australia, you have to take out liability insurance if you're a professional homeopath? If it's "sugar pills", why the hell are they making homeopaths do that?]

Anyway, I'm fucking tired of it. No-one is making you spend your money on a homeopath. The vast majority of homeopaths are not wilfully trying to exploit you (no more than any other profession). We are not fucking stupid about the lack of scientific evidence about how it works. We don't pretend to know why or how, although there are some individual theories out there (some more-or-less crackpotty). Homeopaths are not devoid of scientific inquiry - in the late 18th Century, homeopaths were among the first to use a form of scientific method - have a hypothesis, test on healthy individual, test on sick individual to see if the remedy is effective - at the time when conventional medicine was saying quinine was effective on malaria because it tasted bitter. Every homeopath I know would be delighted to point at the actual mechanism and say "that's how it works". Again, we don't operate on faith.

We are not pretending to do anything other than perhaps help with your health issues - we don't promise a cure (legally, we can't, but it'd be stupid to do so anyway). The mental health professions, in particular, can't offer anything more than that themselves. So if you want to spend $100 an hour on someone who will examine your childhood issues, or someone who will assess your constitution and prescribe a potion, or play fucking shoot-em-up games in an arcade if it works out your tensions, why should anyone else be so vehemently against your doing so?

I really don't get it.

[cute poochies, because it'd be nice to have one to cuddle up to right now]

Well, I've finally gotten around to going to see a homeopath myself, for the first time in years. While after doing 4 years of study in homeopathy (and actually qualifying), I should probably be able to diagnose myself, if I'm suffering from something or other, I find it quite tricky. It's hard to see what a pathology is when you're right in the middle of it.

I drove for two hours to see the homeopath (in Mittagong), since she's a graduate of a very reputable homeopathy school in Sydney (which is a branch of a NZ school, which is how I know of it). Of course, she promptly told me of a homeopath here in Canberra whom she recommends... and whose name I've just found now on the HomeopathyOz website. I think what puts me off that site is the fact their qualifications aren't listed. I'm afraid I have a prejudice against someone with a qualification in naturopathy practising as a homeopath (since it generally won't be "classical" homeopathy). I also wasn't too sure about the role of the Australian Homeopathic Society, but it appears they're not a grab-bag of randomly qualified practitioners - so now I know where to look in future!

Of course, the annoying thing is that once I made the appointment, my brain promptly kicked into gear, and I thought of a potion that I could have taken about umpteen years ago. And that's what she ended up prescribing to me today - go me! (I was very careful not to cast the interview in the direction of the potion I was thinking of. I hope.)

So, why a potion? Of late, I've been getting increasingly irritable, and it's starting to bug me. I'm definitely one of those people of whom it is said "her bark is worse than her bite", but there is a limit to how much snappishness - which I don't normally express at targets, actually - I can put up with in myself. It's kind of a defensive mechanism for when I'm feeling oversensitive/stressed - I'm much worse if I'm disturbed in some way after having done nice relaxing things like tai chi, osteopathy or sex - but there are probably more constructive ways of filtering trivial aggravations rather than just reacting.

The homeopath seemed quite challenged (in a good way) by the fact that I have been impatient and irritable my entire life. Homeopathy will never get rid of that kind of thing altogether, but it should hopefully be mitigated and the energy directed more constructively. If the remedy works.

At the same time, my general inertia and procrastination has been bugging me no end, so hopefully something will kick that into gear as well. She also pounced on the fact that I got knocked back for a blood donation last time and pointed out that while I'm not exactly anaemic, I'm obviously not great on the iron count. And she found the tremor in my hands quite entertaining (in that sick homeopath kind of way - the more distinctive the symptoms, the more we love it). So she pointed out that some of the lack of energy and so on could be due to simple mineral deficiency, so I need to get tested for my general iron and magnesium levels (among others). It seemed like a balanced approach.

I hate pill-popping, including vitamin supplements (being of the school that reckons if your system is working properly, you'll absorb it from your diet), but she did point out - sensibly enough - that some of us require more of this and that, and the iron thing is a clinical effect that's been made obvious already ...essentially I need to suck up the fact that I might need to take a supplement if I'm not going to guzzle red meat. Bleah. (Hah, according to that blood type diet "theory" - which seems like bollocks to me, btw, I require some degree of evidence (yes, I know, I know, I am into homeopathy) - I should be scoffing as much red meat as I can find. *snortle*)

Anyways, I took the potion, which is simply rock salt, prepared homeopathically, and called "natrum muriaticum". You know all that stuff about homeopaths shaking remedies up in a special way that makes them active? No, actually, it's when we use the Latin names for the substances - that is the magic. :-D

Anyways, I'm officially wiped out - whether by the potion or the 4 hour drive - and we will see what happens. Possibly an all-day workshop at work tomorrow about a topic I feel very cynical about is not the best timing, but I will endeavour to keep my mouth shut. Of course, we only got informed about it earlier this week - a whole day out of my schedule! - and I'm not that enamoured of the 8:30 start time. I can sense it will be fun fun already.

When I'm stressed, as I have been for most of this year (mainly due to work-related stuff), I become more egocentric than usual, and it's a quality that annoys me a lot. When I have my head together a bit more, I notice it retrospectively, engage in more self-arse-kicking, and so the cycle continues.

(See? Heh.)

Hanging out with the CDL and the Bear and their cutest of pooches has helped with a lot of that, but I need to evolve some better stress management techniques. I also need to make some other friends in Canberra. Each time I move, it takes me longer to get out there and do it (like when I went to too many schools as a kidlet), but two years is long enough. It's not like I'm planning to move again for the foreseeable (making friends when you're going to leave again is horrible, at least for me). My gym membership kicks in this weekend (not that I'm there), and I do find that physical activity helps. The thing is to try not to finish work, go home and turn into a lump. Also, I could work harder at my tai chi.

While I'm not about "making resolutions", I need to do something, since my stress levels aren't just going to magically reduce of their own accord (certainly not on the job front). And, since I've only been talking about it for months now, time to track down a homeopath. I think I'll try and book something in with this person when I'm next in Sydney. Or this one, since she's associated with the best homeopathy school in Australasia.

The nice thing about taking a proper homeopathic remedy is that the right one suddenly makes things dealable-with. When you're in a state of pathology, it's hard to see a way out of a situation, or take the appropriate action. The right remedy is like someone shining a light through the end of the tunnel, while giving you a swift boot up the arse to propel you towards the opening. You have to get there yourself, but you suddenly remember you have the means to do it.

Right then, it's a start.

It's no secret that I'm a fully-qualified homeopath. I got my Dip. Hom. about 10 years ago, which is amazing considering the fact I was going through a fairly messy relationship breakup (following on from the messy relationship) at the time. I have done precisely nothing with it, other than ram potions down various friends' throats, whether or not they actually ask for them (I'm trying).

So, I've been following with interest the current blow-up in the UK with the British Medical Association pronouncing that alternative therapies such as homeopathy, acupuncture et al should not be funded via the National Health Service. Given the state of GPs' waiting rooms in the UK, I think they should be grateful for any therapies that take the load off conventional doctors. *ahem*

Anyway, the Guardian got around to interviewing the clinical director of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital (it's "Royal" because the Queen, Queen Mother, Prince Charles and Princess Anne have all been treated there) on the issue. The Guardian headline? Bottom line is that it works, says homeopathic chief.

*Snarf!*

Oh, it just cracks me up, because it's true. It does work, and there is no logical or proven scientific method as to why it does (and no, it's not just placebo, unless placebos work on 3-week-old babies with jaundice - ie. my nephew). But I like it that he just came out and admitted it.

Well, it'll be interesting to see what results.

It's ironic that I never saw a homeopath while I was in England, tho'. I certainly could have done with one!