As a classical homeopath, I am not just interested in your diagnosis and symptoms. What I actually do, during every consultation, is look for what has changed for you from the time when you were feeling well and balanced. Illness Is a Deviation from a Balanced State
Illness Is a Deviation from a Balanced State
In classical homeopathy, illness is understood as a deviation from a person's healthy state. This is a subtle yet important distinction from how we typically think about health. We often think of illness as something that simply "arrives" - a fever, a rash, an ulcer. But what I observe in my practice is that illness almost always follows a change or triggering factor. Something in a person's life, environment, or emotional world shifts; and the body and mind respond to that shift in ways that we then label as symptoms. So when someone sits in front of me, my first question is never "What are your symptoms?"
It is usually "When did all this start? What changed in your life during that time?"
A Story Behind Everything
Let me paint a picture I see often in my practice here in Singapore: Imagine a child who has always been secure, cheerful and independent. He sleeps through the night and hasn't wet the bed in years. He is, by every measure, a thriving child. Then a new sibling arrives. Within weeks, something shifts. The bedwetting returns, suddenly and without any physical cause. He becomes unusually clingy, following his mother from room to room. He is irritable in ways he never was before. He pushes boundaries, sometimes becoming aggressive with the new sibling he told you he was excited about. And then, almost inexplicably, a rash appears on his skin. His parents are puzzled. His teachers say he is "acting out”. Well-meaning relatives suggest he is seeking attention.
But here is what I see: a child who is deeply jealous but does not have the words to articulate his feelings. He may not even fully understand what he is going through but his entire being is expressing the distress. The bedwetting, the clinginess, the rashes: these are not separate, unconnected problems. They are one story, told through the body.
In classical homeopathy, this cluster of changes, the emotional shift alongside the physical symptoms, is called a deviation from the healthy state. It is a departure from who this person was when they were well and balanced. It is this shift that I treat in my work as a classical homeopath - not the bedwetting alone, not the rash in isolation, but the whole picture of what changed and how it has manifested in this unique child.
This is why two children with bedwetting may receive completely different homeopathic remedies. Because the trigger or stress that affects each child, is entirely different. One child may have regressed after a house move. Another after starting a new school. The different situations, combined with each child’s unique constitution, call for an individualised prescription for every patient.
As parents, we often address the surface: we treat the fever, manage the stomach ache, consult a specialist about the bedwetting. All of that has its place. But classical homeopathy asks a deeper question: what shifted for this child? When we find that answer, and when the right homeopathic remedy resonates with that particular deviation, we often see something beautiful happen. Not just the rash clearing. Not just the nights becoming dry again. But the child himself “returning” - the cheerful, secure, independent child who was there before everything changed.
For Adults, It Is the Same Principle
This way of seeing illness is not only for children. I apply it to every patient who comes to me, regardless of age. The woman whose hair started falling out six months after a difficult separation. The professional whose migraines began the week of a promotion that came with impossible expectations. The retiree who developed intense fatigue after leaving a job that had defined him for thirty years. In every case, the symptoms are real and they deserve proper attention. But beneath them, there is almost always a story, and that is what I try to uncover to arrive at the remedy.
What This Means for Your Consultation
If you come to Sanctuary Wellness, expect to be asked questions that might surprise you. I will ask not just what you are experiencing, but when it began, what was happening in your life at that time, and how you were different before. I am building a picture of what has shifted so that the remedy I prescribe, speaks to you as a whole person, not just to a set of symptoms. This is the heart of classical homeopathy.
If you are noticing changes in your child's behaviour, sleep, skin, or overall well-being, or if you, yourself, feel like a different version of who you once were, I invite you to book a free introductory call and let us explore that shift together.
