visualhomeopathy Posted by Dr. Sharif on JULY 10, 2011
Can a person’s constitutional remedy change?
Some practitioners might believe that a person’s constitution does not change at all, and some give different “constitutional” remedies to their patients visit to visit. I believe that a person’s “constitution” can and does change, but not easily. There are different reasons for your constitution changing:
• Due to stressors of various types, a person’s constitution/state might change.
• As a person becomes healthier, her remedy can change into a healthier remedy.
How often do I see someone’s constitution change?
In my practice, I rarely find that a person’s constitutional remedy changes. If I just repeat my patients’ constitutional remedy whenever they become ill, I achieve great results.
Using an illustration called the “Map of Hierarchy,” in his Stramonium book, I believe Dr. Paul Herscu, ND, has wonderfully covered the subject of how your constitution may change. By looking at the Map of Hierarchy, you will realize that only a few remedies (or constitutions) are listed under each phase. This illustration is meant to be a tool to illustrate the concept of “phases.” My understanding of this diagram is that the more ill your pathology (physical and/or psychological), the larger the number of the phase. Phase 1 is healthier than Phase 2, and Phase 2 is healthier than Phase 3, and so on. People in Phases 3 and 4 are not healthy at all, and they need to shift back to Phases 1 and 2 in order to achieve health. If you see someone who is in Phase 4 on the Map of Hierarchy and you prescribe the correct constitutional remedy, I would hope that this person’s constitution would change with time. You could, in this way, fundamentally change people’s emotional makeup, but only if they are very ill (i.e. in Phases 3 or 4). A person who is in Phases 1 or 2 (who are most of the top polycrests) will have a similar personality even after they take their constitutional remedy. Assuming there is no serious acute trauma, individuals who are in Phases 1 or 2 will likely always be the same constitution (and fundamentally the same person, homeopathically speaking), but without as many rough edges when they are taking their constitutional remedy regularly.
Even though Phases 3 and 4 constitutions are probably overall “sicker” than Phases 1 and 2, Phases 1 and 2 constitutions can also become deathly ill and out of balance. For example, if a person is a constitutional Sulphur (a Phase 1 remedy), she can become extremely ill and still be Sulphur without changing constitution or moving to phases 3 or 4.
Although it is not a common occurrence, I do find that the constitution of some patients who are in phases 2-4 does change for the better as they move towards the direction of cure. Refer to the following two videos on this website to learn more about this subject. First, Loretta who used to be a constitutional Stramonium (a phase 3 remedy), and transformed into a constitutional Pulsatilla (a phase 1 remedy) over a period of a few years. Second, Eric who used to be a constitutional Helleborus (a phase 4 remedy), and transformed into a constitutional Pulsatilla (a phase 1 remedy) over a period of a few weeks.
I have also had patients who are in phase 1, and switch constitutions due to a stressful event such as the flu. For example, I recently had a Calcarea carbonica patient who became ill with the stomach flu. All her symptoms were keynotes of Arsenicum album, including vomiting and deathly nausea, severe diarrhea, stomach pain, along with significant anxiety. When she took Arsenicum, she felt significantly better within 30 minutes. A day later, she had returned to her original constitution, Calcarea carbonica. Therefore, I recommended that she takes Calcarea carbonica at this point to help her with the remaining symptoms she was suffering from.