Sandy Hudson Homeopathy
Homoeopathy is a system of medicine using natural substances to help individual people with individual problems. You are unique and the way you live in the world and react to the things that happen in your life is unique to you. If you have a problem homoeopathy can help you by looking at the patterns in your life and by finding the homoeopathic remedies uniquely suited to you. Homoeopathy is a whole body medicine and the benefits are felt physically, emotionally and mentally. The homoeopathic medicines are very, very dilute making them safe and gentle, fast acting and effective.
Are you tired?
Many people learn to live with a low energy, dragging, constant tiredness. Our baggage builds up and drags us down; late nights, sleeplessness, money worries, buried resentment and disappointment (it takes energy to keep unwanted emotions buried). Toxic load takes its toll; over the counter medications which blunt the edges, coffee and sugar to keep us going, no time to exercise, never feeling quite 100% again after a cold or flu.
We all have natural healing power but there comes a time when it has been hit on the head just once too often by the daily grind. Homoeopathy offers a gentle, natural solution. Not another medication to add to the burden but a spring clean from the inside out individually tailored to you to reawaken your internal healing power, your energy and lust for life.
Do you suffer from headache or Migraine?
Anyone who suffers from migraine knows what the term holistic means. people who haven't experienced it might think that migraine is just a very bad headache which it is - a world of pain - but it also has effects all over the body; nausea which may be severe, vomiting, visual disturbances and mood changes among other things. Homoeopathy is a holistic medicine ideal for treating this whole body illness. During the consultation we also look at the time line of your health and how and why symptoms have developed over the years. Why you ended up with migraine is part of the whole picture which needs to be taken into account. Understanding the causes, which are different in each patient, is an essential part of homoeopathic treatment.
Rebound headache is another problem where homoeopathy is ideal because we don't just look at a single headache but the whole pattern of headaches in your life and how they fit with the general picture of your health. Solving the whole problem will sort out the particular problem. Using homoeopathic remedies for headache will not only ease your present headache but treating the whole picture will strengthen your system so that you get fewer headaches in future.
"I suffered for years and years with really horrific migraine, with three days of vomiting which could mean 4 or 5 days off work and could happen every week. Homoeopathy really helped me - I still get the odd one but I am 90% better" - M.H.
Are you catching every bug that is going around?
Homoeopathy's longest proven track record is in acute infections so if you suffer from coughs, cold, flu, toothache, UTIs or any other infection you can use homoeopathic remedies to deal with them and possibly avoid the use of antibiotics completely. It is vitally important not to use antibiotics until they are really needed.
"Because of Sandy, my children have never once needed antibiotics. They have been sick plenty of times, but homeopathy has resolved those sicknesses so cleanly that we have never needed anything else." - B.T.
Having dealt with the present infection the homoeopath will look into what it is that is making you vulnerable to repeated infections. Dealing with underlying causes brings up the level of health so that you are not susceptible to every passing bug and helps with general well-being and energy levels. Patients often report being in unexpected good form after taking their homoeopathic remedy. It is easier not to be irritated by everyday trials and tribulations when you are feeling great.
Would you like to learn how to use homoeopathy for your family?
Children are often the ones who get these acute infections, bringing them home from school and sharing them. I teach courses in homoeopathy for the family where you can learn how to use the remedies for fever and earache, coughs, colds, tummy upsets, cuts and bruises. Using homoeopathy can often sort the problem out before you need to resort to antibiotics which means that the child's system is stronger when they next meet a bug in school.
Leave your name and email here if you would like information on the next course: hydnas@gmail.com
"When I first learned about homoeopathy I found it hugely empowering. I was able to sort out most of my children's minor health problems with the remedies in my home kit and my one book. My kids' health became a possible challenge instead of a constant worry. I would recommend that any parent learn the basic homoeopathic remedies and how to use them." - S.H.
Are you worried about your kids?
Watching a child in distress must be the hardest thing. There are many seemingly intractable problems that you wouldn't normally think of as being treatable which disappear when you look at the bigger picture and give the homoeopathic remedy that helps the child with issues of self confidence and self esteem; bed wetting, nail biting, school phobia, bullying, boredom, sleep problems, night terrors, temper tantrums, violence, and jealousy to name but a few.
Kids who are unhappy for some underlying reason or who have daily physical discomfort that falls below the radar can get stuck in patterns of bad behaviour which they want to escape as badly as you want them to. Homoeopathy will help.
"For us as a family the headline act has been the way Sandy has helped the behavioural problems of our wonderfully wild young son. The right remedy has eased his life at times, has calmed the storms in his little brain and body so that we can see the shining light of him instead of only his raging darks, and enjoy his gorgeous company instead of only ever fighting, fighting, fighting" - B.T.
Do you want to avoid using strong medications in pregnancy?
Starting from conception homoeopathy is an amazing therapy to have in your life. From problems with fertility, all the way through the physical discomforts of pregnancy, the natural worries about child birth and first time parenting, the birth itself and those first few tender months of the newborn's life, homoeopathy will safely and gently ease the way. Morning sickness, piles, backache, heartburn, labour pains, wound healing, getting breastfeeding established too much or too little milk, baby blues, mastitis, colic, teething, nappy rash and constipation. You know when you use homoeopathy that you have chosen the natural, safe, gentle, effective option for you and your baby.
"Sandy helped me throughout my pregnancy, helping me deal with symptoms such as migraines and morning sickness. She was also invaluable during my daughters birth. My contractions were coming hard and fast and were so painful. I had found a position where I felt I could just about bear them, but I was so scared of them getting any worse, I didn't care if I didn't progress, I was just curled up and bearing it, I would go NO FURTHER! Then Sandy arrived, gently coaxed it out of me how I was feeling, and popped a remedy in my mouth. It didn't become less painful but somehow I now knew I could do it. I stopped being scared, climbed onto my knees and got to work!" - E.T.
Are you trying to get pregnant?
This is another problem which definitely effects the whole of your life and benefits from understanding the whole picture. A lot of things have to be right before that miracle moment of conception happens. Homoeopathy does good, basic, physical work helping with regulation of hormones, helping your body to get the nutrients it needs from your diet and helping with any physical problem. But it also helps to clear the emotional problems of past trauma and present day fear which may be physically effecting your whole system.
"I have a history of PID so I was worried I would find it hard to get pregnant. After months of trying, I was getting anxious and turned to Sandy. She gave me a remedy she described as for someone 'who longs to swim upriver and spawn!'. I know homeopathy gets a short shrift but after taking the remedy I was astounded when I fell pregnant on my next cycle!" - E.T.
Do you long for a good night's sleep?
Sleeplessness can be difficult to treat because it is definitely a whole person problem. It can be a mental problem where your mind will just not switch off, an emotional problem at a worrying time in your life or a habit engrained after a time of worry or grief, it can be a physical problem where your body will just not let go of wakefulness or it could be a side effect of long term chronic illness. whether it is pain or habit or worry that is keeping you awake or all three homoeopathy will tackle the WHOLE problem. Hearing the whole story and understanding the problem from all sides is the key to treating the cause and finding the individual homoeopathic remedy that is going to suit you and dissolve the obstacles between you and sleep.
"My troubled sleep... I am now enjoying a restful deeper sleep that I have missed for quite some time... Thank you Sandy :)" - J.K.
Are you having difficulty concentrating?
Anxiety, the stress of approaching deadlines, overcrowding thoughts, traumatic memories, boredom or just a foggy brain which may have a physical cause, can all make concentration difficult. Homoeopathy can get to the root of the problem. It is especially useful when studying for exams where the pressure of facing the actual exam is making studying difficult. Homoeopathic remedies can also be used to help with the mind blank panic which can happen even when you know your stuff.
Are you looking at homoeopathy as a last resort?
Welcome. Many people come to homoeopathy as a last resort having found no real relief anywhere else. If this is you it may just be that you need the clarity of vision that comes simply with looking at the whole picture. It can be surprising how taking a wider view of your whole health can make sense of one part and the homoeopathic remedy that fits the whole picture will help you.
"I could feel Sandy's experience while she was treating me, the treatment worked and is still working, and I'm far happier to be taking something natural instead of anti histamines" - B.M.
Are you in pain?
Pain is very, very physical yet its causes may be nebulous. If we know the cause we can find the homoeopathic remedy that fits the cause of the pain. But if we cannot find the cause at least we can look at your reaction to your pain. Whatever the cause of pain the way we feel it, when and where we feel it, the nature of the pain and how we react when the pain comes on is very different from individual to individual and choosing the exact remedy to suit each individual will help to tackle that person's pain. There are hundreds of different homoeopathic remedies for pain - there will be one for you.
"I have found Sandy Hudson to be a very good, experienced, sensitive, and intuitive Homeopath. I'm grateful for the day she came into my life." - E.B.
All of us have huge capacity for health which we don't always completely use. We rely on conventional medicine to save lives but there is a world of difference between being diagnosis free and having full, blossoming, energetic health.
Sandy's radio programme Another Way is a series of interviews with complementary health practitioners whose job is to bring people back to this good quality of health.
The practitioners interviewed have different ways of working but what they have in common is an understanding that there is more to health than an absence of symptoms - there is the PRESENCE of energy, optimism and strength to fulfil your life potential. The journey starts by tackling pain and illness and discomfort but the aim is total wellbeing; physical, emotional and mental.
Holistic medicine means the health of the WHOLE person improves. This includes feeling less fear, less frustration, less anxiety, being able to think clearly, sleep well, enjoy food and friendship and adventure and have the sheer physical energy for your beautiful life.
Read a little about the individual programmes and listen to the podcasts here.
Ten top tips for the suicidal
7th December 2016These are not tips on how to commit suicide! And that is my first tip
1. If you are feeling suicidal and yet you are alive it is vital to acknowledge that achievement. Even with this much pain you are alive. Day by day by day living through the pain, the despair, the bleakness you have chosen to live. Everyone is suicidal for different reasons but feeling badly about yourself is usually somewhere in the mix. Give yourself credit for being alive today. Count the days on which you have managed, against the odds, to stay alive.
2. It is never true that people will be better off without you. I know that while you are in the midst of the pain it feels absolutely true that your family would be better off if you were gone. But their lives will never be this rich without you – they will never have the opportunity to understand you and your experience of life if you take that life away. Your family need the wisdom that you are gathering on your dark journey. All of us have hard times and we need the guiding light of people who have been there and come back again. Gone into despair and out the other side. Been there and survived.
3. Make choices. You are still alive which means you have made the most difficult choice - to stick around. Start to make tiny choices every day - choose to cross the street to walk in the sunshine. Then notice that you are in the sunshine. Know that you chose it. If you cannot bring yourself to cross the street notice that this is what you chose and congratulate yourself on making a choice. Exercise your choice muscle. As you become a choosing being you will have more power in the world to choose what you want and things will get better.
4. Do not diet. Your life is very hard just now. Do not make it harder in any way. If you can add into your diet any foods that are alive your body is going to thank you - any fruits - any veg. But if junk food is where it is at for you; own it, love it, enjoy every mouthful. If all food is tasting of nothing these days acknowledge that you have made the difficult choice to eat anyway.
6. Throw life lines to other people . People are lonely out there, and sad. Stop and talk about the weather. Hold a door open. You may not have a smile to give but make eye contact, acknowledge all those other lives. We are in this together.
7. Be grateful. I do not mean that you should count your blessings. I have not found that to be helpful - just an exercise in counting the reasons I should be happy but am not. Just be grateful for one thing. Find one small thing that feels good; an item of clothing that is soft. A comfortable chair in a café. A briskness in the air. Notice it. Be grateful. Feel the gratitude. Let it spread. It might not last but moments of gratitude are like vitamin C to the soul – they mend you.
8. Forgive. There will be a time when you are able to forgive yourself and all of those who have hurt you. When you forgive you make yourself free and that is the reason to do it, only to make your life easier. Serious forgiving might be another day's work but in the meantime you can start small. Forgive your trousers for being too tight, the bus for being late. Forgive the rain. Say it out loud, it takes a moment only and begins to open a tiny crack in the dark.
9. Go to your homoeopath. All the holistic therapies treat the whole person which means that treatment for physical symptoms also brings huge emotional relief. If you have no physical symptoms go to your homoeopath with only your suicidal depression. Homoeopathy can help you. I am alive because of homoeopathy and I have helped others.
10. You have nothing to lose. You will come to a point – rock bottom – where the only way on is up. There will be a turning point and a recovery. In the meantime things are bad - what have you got to loose? Live as if you have nothing to loose, as if no-one is watching. Think the impossible. Take one of these ten top tips and try it out, even one might help the tide to turn for you.
Chickenpox
5th July 2015Mild fever, mild headache, mildly unwell - all manageable until the spots start to ITCH and the child starts to SCRATCH!! Cut his fingernails for a start and keep his hands clean.
The two main remedies are PULSATILLA and SULPHUR. Pulsatilla for the child who is weepy and sweet and clingy, Sulphur for the tomboy. Pulsatilla for the child who gets relief from cold bathing or wet compresses, sulphur for the child who doesn't want to get wet because it is too stingy and the itchyness is worse after bathing. Pulsatilla for the thirstless child (try and get her to drink - the remedy will help), sulphur for the thirsty child. ANT CRUD and RHUS TOX also very good for the child who is suffering from the rash. Ant crud, touchy, cranky and fearfully itchy especially worse for bathing. Rhus tox miserably itchy, SORE and BURNY though sulphur burns as well. All these remedies for the spots that are more itchy when the child gets warm in bed. All good for the blistery stage and for the crusty stage. Good luck!! If the fever is high or the headache is severe get help.
Post Natal Depression
Sunday World June 2015Post natal depression must be one of the saddest forms of depression because it comes at a time when your life should be full of the joy of a new baby.
New mothers are very vulnerable, they have been through the huge hormonal changes of pregnancy and childbirth and breastfeeding, they have been through labour and childbirth which may have been traumatic, they may be dealing with stitches or a C section wound and they have a tiny new person to care for who may be keeping them up all night. New mothers are often expected to cope with all of this largely on their own and under this pressure a healthy bout of the baby blues can settle into a serious depression.
Women can feel ashamed of their feelings of depression, especially when everyone around them is saying how lucky they are to have a healthy baby. Being depressed is bad enough without this added stigma, and it can be very difficult to reach out for help. But help is available. Many holistic therapies can have a real impact on how you feel and help you heal from this difficult time and enjoy your baby as you long to.
Homoeopathy
Homoeopathy is one. The great thing about homoeopathy is that it addresses the whole person and the whole problem. Whether the post natal depression is due to the shock of a traumatic birth experience, the sheer exhaustion of a twenty four hour a day baby or an imbalance of hormones, each of these things will resolve as the whole person is treated.
When you visit a homoeopath she will be very interested to hear about your experience and what it feels like to be you in this situation. Post natal depression may be one diagnosis but the reasons for it and what it feels like will be as varied as the number of people who have it.
Even telling your story can be therapeutic, it may actually be the first time that you have put the whole picture together in your mind. The homoeopath depends on finding the homoeopathic remedy that most closely fits your symptoms and your experience of your situation so she needs to understand it and will work with you to fit the puzzle pieces together.
Homoeopathy is a system of medicine which powerfully yet gently helps the body to regain its healthy balance but perhaps more importantly, forming a bond with one person who is not going to be shocked by how black you feel and who has tools and the experience to help you find your way out the other side of depression is key.
Exercise with support
Some GPs are great and will make the necessary emotional connection and work with you all the way through, but the reality is that your GP may just not have the time. A good GP will suggest diet and exercise but these are difficult things to do on your own.
John Campbell who is a personal trainer in South County Dublin says he finds it very sad to see women stuck in the cycle of weight gain and lowered sex drive as a side effect of antidepressants causing them to feel miserable and unattractive and compounding the depression. He worries that these womem are being prescribed antidepressants by someone who hasn't listened to the reason that the woman is depressed in the first place. A woman may be in lock down mode after childbirth, not going out and not able to wear the clothes she wants to wear. John feels that the last thing she needs is medication that may make her gain weight.
A personal trainer like John will have a holistic approach, will form a partnership relationship with you and will have a genuine desire to see you succeed. He says that the relationship with your trainer is friendly, positive, supportive and confidential. When you train you do not have to be on guard or watch what you say. John says that once he can improve your diet and get you training the endorphin rush will come in, lift your mood, and help you with motivation to continue. It is well documented that physical exercise has a very positive impact on mental health.
Cranio Sacral Therapy
Jim Mc Mahon is a Cranio Sacral Practitioner based in Dunlaoghaire and Mallow and has an approach which is equally compassionate. He says that it's ok to feel under pressure and that this is not a weakness. Most of us will have periods of overwhelm in our lives.
The work that Jim does is not trying to fix you because you are not broken. Instead Cranio Sacral therapy will work with you, listening to what your body is trying to say, finding out the reasons it feels overwhelmed and very gently guiding it back to its state of well being. Jim say's this is done in a hands on manner working with Mother and sometimes baby and Father as well. Everyone is affected by this situation.
Jim also says that while modern medicine can be wonderful, and many of us will turn to medication for all sorts of ailments during our lifetimes, medication normally works on the symptoms and not the cause. If we go the medication route when diagnosed with post natal depression, it can happen that the root cause takes much longer to surface. Although the medication route may seem an attractive and necessary option it can be good to know that there are other options. These options can turn this difficult time in our lives into a whole new experience of growth and understanding of ourselves.
A cranio sacral treatment is typically about an hour long. It's similar to going to an osteopath - the patient lies on a treatment table while the Cranio Sacral Therapist gently maniplutes your head and limbs.
Trauma
There are homoeopathic remedies for the physical trauma of childbirth such as arnica but trauma can be more than just bruising. Labour can be an intense time especially if the new mother has a history of trauma. For example bullying at work, a history of abuse or even a frightening car crash can be vividly relived in the months after a traumatic birth or worse still the feelings of dread or anguish can be very present without really knowing why you are feeling them.
Homoeopathy has remedies to meet these situations which will spark off the recovery process. I remember another patient who has given me permission to write about her whose worst fear was that she was not going to be able to love or care for her baby. This was felt as a terrible, black foreboding and agitation. The depression cleared after the remedy cimicfuga and that baby is grown now - well loved.
Baby
Another thing that can be terribly hard for the new mother to bear is watching her baby's distress if he suffers from colic or has trouble settling on his own or problems with feeding. There are homoeopathic remedies such as colocynthesis, chamomilla and lycopodium which can help greatly with colic and remedies such as pulsatilla which help regulate the milk if there is too much or too little. When baby is happier and more settled Mum will be less anxious and will be more likely to get a night's sleep which is one of the things she needs for her own recovery.
Sandy Hudson is a Homeopath, her clinic is in Dun Laoghaire. She has over twenty years experience working with families and has written widely on Homeopathy for mothers and young children.