By the Undercover Homeopath
Science's limitations
There is no active ingredient in homeopathic remedies. Well, by whose account? It would be more reasonable to say that according to current available resources, science has been unable to identify any active ingredient in homeopathic remedies. So if no one can’t find anything in homeopathic remedies yet it is because science has not advanced enough yet to be able to do this! I’m sorry but that seems to be the only area where people actually feel proud to boast about their impotency…when it comes to science exposing its own limitations it doesn’t seem to carry the same embarrassment and stigma of, let’s say for instance, someone not being able to perform in the bedroom…
The way things stand at moment I would be seriously concerned if something was to be found on my remedies!
Drawing from scientific analyses, and showing: NOTHING, is the way it should be for now, at least until science has developed other means of testing.
Homeopathy is alive and kicking, and being greatly promoted by the most unlikely people. It has the power to turn an otherwise cool, rational and detached sceptic community into raging, irrational individuals some of which seemed to make attacking homeopathy their full occupation…it makes you wonder who is funding them.
Criticism can be the best promotion...
If I was giving awards to this kind of negative promotion the first prize should go to the 10.23 group! When I first started to study homeopathy and I told other people about it, the invariable reply was: “homeo what?!” Now thanks to the very public antics of a group who won’t stop at nothing, not even at making fools of themselves, people’s reaction has dramatically changed. The reply I get these days when I say that I am a homeopath is more likely to be: “Oh! Are you? “ This normally follows with their pitch for a free consultation, as they normally have something they would like to know if I could do something about, which remedy I would recommend…
Still thinking about the Ten23. Why the name? Is that because they always meet precisely and punctually at the same time: 10.23? If so, I think some of my patients could learn from them…err…some are not really sticklers for time keeping and they disrupt my schedule. I think the next time someone is late I will make them sit through the latest offerings of the Ten23 You Tube , perhaps they will learn something about time keeping!
But are the Ten23 members not able to read the instructions on the homeopathic remedies they are taking? I mean they even have some school aged children among them, surely at least one of them should be able to read…don’t they know that gobbling an entire bottle of pills of a remedy at once is the same as taking just one dose? And that a remedy chosen at random without any resonance with their ailments, personality type, genetic make up, and so on, is totally useless and it could not possibly affect them? I think they know…that’s why they don’t mind involving their own children in this, otherwise it could easily be constructed as irresponsible parenting!
But I wouldn’t get children involved in these publicity stunts, staging “homeopathic overdoses”. Obviously due to the way homeopathy works there are no homeopathic overdoses, and anyway Homeopathy is perfectly safe to be used by children, that is not my concern. My concern is that once these kids will grow up, someone at college might recognise seeing them making fools of themselves along with their parents…well let’s say it’s not really the thing to put on your Face Book profile, or to impress the girls with is it?…
the power of the Placebo...
Now, one campaigner I must admit I have a soft spot for - is Dr Ben Goldacre! Perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but he is just too distracting for me: “Sorry dear, what were you saying about red pills, and blue pills? …Yeah, beautiful eyes, I’m sure they’d just changed colour…I swear they looked almost purple a moment ago…Ah! What? The placebo effect? Umm…lovely smile, great white teeth…sorry, you were saying…?” In fact it is so unfair! When a person is that attractive we just tend to switch off from their message. It doesn’t seem to work the same way in advertising thought where the message is just very basic: “Buy this! If you haven’t bought yet you are a moron! What the hell are you waiting for? Have you bought it yet?” I reckon Ben could have a very successful carer in advertising! Perhaps he could advertise Prof Richard Dawkings T-Shirts…I here is trying to peddled them on Twitter, I’m sure they would go faster!
But seriously now…Ben is saying something absolutely wonderful and empowering and I want to give him credit for that! He is talking about the placebo effect not only in homeopathy but in other medical systems, his study has even covered allopathic drugs. Well I want to believe him! If I understand him well, and I’m sure if I don’t he will come forward to correct me, he is saying that the reason why people are able to heal is not so much due to whatever they are taking but due to their believe in the effectiveness of what they are taking.
That someone well respected and admired in the scientific community is able to see this and to say it - that definitely deserves my respect! Yes, I too want to believe in the healing power of the placebo, because it empowers us humans into understanding that we are able to heal ourselves without the need for drugs or any other forms of therapy be it conventional or alternative!
Finally someone has seen the light and has invested time, effort, their knowledge, their name, and their reputation into proving what I have suspected for a long time…
we all have within ourselves the power to heal ourselves! It is only a question of believing…matter follows thought, if you learn to think yourself healthy your are most likely to get there. That is the message I give to all my patients: it is not me healing you, it is you healing yourself, I’m only facilitating the process by giving the right tools, showing how to open new doors into the unknown in order to unlock your healing powers and to boost your immune system. Thank you Ben for confirming this scientifically too!
Unfortunately the placebo theory although almost perfect, doesn’t quite explain why animals and children are able to heal despite not having this belief…
perhaps Ben your theory needs a fresh perspective, I’m not sure, but I sense that you are on the right track. More on this next week.
Now…who else is up for the awards on the negative reinforcement of Homeopathic promotion? Well, I think we only have two more names worth mentioning: Richard Dawkings and the magician, sorry I’ve forgotten his name…I really haven’t read much about Prof Dawkings reasons for being against homeopathy so it wouldn’t be fare for me to comment on those. All I can say in my defence is that I had to read enough boring material during my PhD to last me a life time…if I can I’ll try to look into it, but right now I’m otherwise engaged,: I’m half way through Prince Charles’ book “Harmony” and finding it a much more inspiring read!
